Brianna asked me today, "Mom, how come I am smaller than all the 'nother people? The only people I'm bigger than is babies, well, except the big babies!" My heart ached for her as she showed real concern about being so much smaller than her friends! This got me thinking about how she will do in school with being small and having food allergies. She starts preschool next week and she couldn't be more excited!!! We had to make a chain to count down the days until school starts so she could be satisfied! Unfortunately, I'm already "that mom!" at her preschool. At the open house I had to explain to one of the teachers that Brianna is allergic to play dough. I asked if I could provide some gluten free play dough for the class, and they seemed fine with it. At the parent teacher night, I came up to ask about whether I had to sign up for snacks since I'll be providing her own snacks every day and I was greeted with several teachers saying, "Oh, you're the playdough mom!" They were nice about it, but I couldn't help thinking about what they might be saying/thinking about having a child with so many allergies in their class.
Brianna has been a real trooper through this whole allergy mess! I couldn't have been blessed with a more willing and accepting child when it comes to her limitations with food! She is much stronger than I am with it! She's my little hero. And while I don't worry about her safety at school because she is so good about her foods, I worry about how she will feel about being so different! Maybe I should provide snacks for the class every so often, so they can all eat the same thing with her and maybe not be so different for a day!
Here are some photos I took of my little Super Bri the other night to finish off her 4 year photoshoot! 
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3 comments:
She is so beautiful, Erin!! And she'll do great at preschool. But I know how you feel about worrying about her being different. I worry about Charlotte that way too. But for Charlotte, that's just the way she is. She doesn't know life without finger pokes and counting carbs... our little girls are so much stronger than we often give them credit for. It's the mommies who tend to cry. The little girls are tough!
I remember being "that kid" in school too- I couldn't have anything with milk products so when everyone had snack with milk I had snack with juice or water. All the kids were really nice, and the teacher too. Brianna will do so well.
Elliot sits next to a boy with peanut allergies. He came home one day and said, "Mom! I don't want to bring peanut butter sandwiches anymore, it makes Kyle sick and I don't want him to get sick!" It was cute- Brianna will have all those nice friends looking out for her, too.
I'm that mom too...what can be done about it? I've worried about snacks in Emma's kindergarten class, but her teacher reports that the other kids are usually jealous that they don't get what she's having. Who'd have thunk? I think it helps that they are so young - they don't remember it being any other way.
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