My son and I have been back in Georgia for more than a week now. The trip with my 17 month old went easier than I expected. Everyone’s generally nice, understanding, and sypathetic when you’re traveling with a kid. Northwest Airlines flight attendants can always be counted on too.
What was hard though, was his jetlag when we arrived which is understandable since there’s a 12 hour difference in time between Manila and Atlanta. So yeah, I didn’t get much sleep at all for the first couple of days. He would sleep in the middle of the day which I didn’t mind at first since I was able to get things done but then realized his sleeping in the day meant he would be wide awake in the middle of the night! Yep, I still have the dark circles under my eyes to document those first couple of nights. His schedule has been much more forgiving now though. He actually slept around 9 last night (yay!)
It’s hard being apart from Ivan. I feel like I’m a single mom even when I’m not. I kinda feel the same way I did when he was a newborn. My mom and siblings would help me but usually just to watch him while I take a quick nap or clean his bottles. Ultimately, I’m his sole caretaker. Okay, I probably should stop my whining now since I’m well aware that there are moms out there that have a much harder time than I do and probably don’t receive any help AT ALL. My heart goes out to them.
Stephen, who used to always prefer his dad and “yaya” (nanny) over me now prefers me to anybody else here. I know it’s because I’m the only one he knows here but I still feel good about it. He actually calls me “mama” now! He called Ivan “dada” all the time but he just started calling me “mama” a day before we left the Philippines. It was the perfect timing. It’s almost as if I can tolerate all his tantrums and whining as long as I hear “mama” at the end.
Now that his sleep pattern is back to normal, I’d really like his appetite to be the way it was when we were still in the Philippines. He hasn’t been eating since we got here and it’s got me worried. We ran out of his milk-based formula a couple of days ago and he refuses to drink whole milk. He’d sip a little bit and then throw his bottle back at me. It’s a good thing I was able to find an unopened unexpired can of his soy-based formula. He drinks it but we’re gonna run out of that soon too. Then when it comes to solid food, it’s not any better. He only likes eating crackers and cookies. Anything else, he’d let me spoon it into his mouth but then he’ll spit it right out. My family has been telling me not to worry so much.. that he’ll eat when he’s hungry. I hope this is all just temporary.
We’re going to the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) today to re-apply for his medicaid. I called them yesterday and was told that his case had been closed. We’re gonna go there today to see what I need to do to get it for him again. Then if we have time, we’re gonna go to the Acworth Health Clinic to see if I could get WIC again. I hate having to do all this. If it was just for me, I wouldn’t bother but I have Stephen to think about and until I get a job that offers insurance or a job that will let me afford to pay for insurance, this will have to do. Wish me luck!
Okay, I guess that’s it for now. I meant this post to be about all my experiences so far while back in Georgia but it came out to be all about Stephen. I’ll just post about the other things later.
