My mornings currently

    I am working on getting to a place where I am not in survival mode every morning. Allow me to explain.

    For the past week, we believe Leo's teething has really ramped up. He seems to be getting 5 or 6 year molars (he's 4.5 yrs old). I'm never certain that it's teething. But I'm as certain as I can be. But for the last week, he's been grinding his teeth on another level, much more frequently and with a much harder bite. He also has more saliva and snot. And we've had many instances of unexplainable pain or discomfort that Tylenol has seemed to help. It's kept him up at night sometimes. And overall, generally smaller discomforts seem to be more magnified when put together with teething.

    Thus, his mornings have been very difficult for me as well as for him. So, Leo gets food through his g tube at night, fed very slowly. He sleeps--as best we can keep him--on a bit of an incline so as to help his reflux. However, it has seemed to be common that when Leo wakes up, the reflux bothers his throat, mucus and saliva have increased (I believe reflux can cause this, as well), and he usually hasn't pooped yet. He's also dealing with a tummy that's somewhat full. What this means is after he wakes up, he's usually grinding his teeth, coughing, and puking up snot for about 1.5 hours. With teething, the grinding and gagging has just been worse. I'm struggling. 

    I literally wrote down a list last night to try and brainstorm ideas to help my mornings not be consumed by trying to keep my cool and hear as little teeth grinding as possible. I struggle SO MUCH with hearing it. I can get much less compassionate in how I move him when his limbs are straightening with such force as he coughs up some snot. I don't mean to gross anyone out. And I've been brainstorming ways that I can help his stomach wake up better, too. I want to help him be more comfortable, but I haven't found a way out of these mornings yet. So we have to go through them. 

    

    We have a teething tool that I can put into his mouth for him to chew on. I do that when he grinds his teeth. Often I will put a tv show on to help distract me. I would sit with him while I give him his morning meds slowly and hold the tool in his mouth while I hold him up. Often the meds eventually start to help his stomach calm down. However, as a personal habit, I am pulling back from screentime significantly. Consequently, his mornings have been more difficult because I'm simply sitting there focused on his teeth grinding and continually reminding myself that he's uncomfortable not being a pip.

    I don't know if it sounds like I'm being really dramatic or like I'm just complaining a lot. I don't mean to communicate either of those things. While I do think his mornings can be a bit dramatic, I'm just trying to say it's hard to keep my cool. It's mentally and emotionally very taxing. And I'm tired of feeling like a good portion of my morning is taken up by simply trying to survive. I would like to enjoy time with my son. I would like to help him. I would like to mentally put energy into what we have going on that day and how I want to start that day. And it doesn't feel possible. 

    Well, these are some of the ideas that I'm trying. First, I got up a little earlier so I could set the vibe. I put on some acoustic chill Christian music, set up a cozy spot on the couch, lit a candle so the house smelled like Christmas, and got a drink for me right beside it. This morning it was water with lemon, but I might try some tea or coffee. I want to set the vibe of the morning that I am going for. Another idea I had was that maybe a walk outside would do both of us good. So I would set out our cold clothes in order to make getting ready for a walk as simple as possible. I also have some podcasts that I enjoy listening to that are helpful in the mornings. And maybe Adventures in Odyssey! 

    Those are the ideas that I have so far. I've been trying other things in regards to helping Leo's stomach wake up better. But I just wanted to share all of this for three reasons:

1) I wanted to say that listening to teeth grinding is HARD for me.

2) to be able to tell people some of the thought processes that I go through and try and show what problem solving looks like for a medically complicated kid. It's a constant thing in parenthood, for sure.

3) and to get your ideas if you have any about how to approach these mornings with intentionality.