Our First Days In School

~Bianca's First Day For School 08.20.08~

Well our first few days were definitely quiet eventful! There was a little bit of everything! Also I would like to thank Gramma Shirley, Dr. Amjad and others that have been so helpful in providing me w/some very much needed feedback. From things I can incorporate into her nutrition to things she has full rights for in class! That kind of input in priceless for us at the moment…and will always be! So please for anyone that has any input ~ no matter how insignificant you think it might be ~ trust me it really is not!

~ Let start w/Wednesday ~ 08.20.08

We made it promptly to her class. It was such an exciting day filled w/so many emotions all at the same time…will she be okay? How will the other children interact w/her? How will the teacher handle an incident (we got to experience that one but more later on), how will lunch time, PE time and all the chaotic moments of Kindergarten go for her? Well needless to say I got all my questions and then some answered in 72 hours! As she was settling in she looked like a pro at meeting and greeting other kids. At first some did stare at her bandages (tubular gauze) covering her arms – while others were just straight out and friendly! She did have a very good time in class and followed orders very well. Her first assignment to draw a Brown Bear… easy enough b/c she got a happy face! As time went by she made it out to “PE” which was mostly sit by the sidelines and do low key fun stuff in the park. She enjoyed that and NO ACCIDENTS thank the lord…but keep reading! There was a small incident where a little girl mistook Bianca’s hands for being dirty. I guess it’s because of how they look. I mean we’re not oblivious but the little girl was down right nasty! She told her to don’t touch her because her hands looked all yucky! And I know Bianca prides herself in cleanliness because it’s been our forte since day one! Just ask those that were with us on her first days in the NICU…SCRUB DOWN!!!!!! So it’s a staple in our house to first wash our hands from the time we walk into this house and then handle everything else! But I also attribute it to lack of education & awareness. I do know this little girl’s attention was called upon several times in class by the teacher until she was finally moved and put in time-out. Of course the whole thing did not phase Bee one single bit. She moved on with her day and actually made a nice friend. Her name is Lisa. The funny thing here is that Bianca actually got up in the middle of the class to ask her teacher for a pencil. Turns out the pencil was for Lisa. Go figure my daughter who usually needs some assistance is the one helping out her new friend so she won’t get in trouble! LOL! At lunch she did pretty well which was a concerned because I thought she would not eat too well w/out first having a bottle (yes I know I know) but she actually surprised us all! She went down a nice list of items during lunch time! So you know I’m a happy momma there!!!

Oh I forgot to mention that she has been able to walk all over the place w/out any assistance in her stroller. Which I am very proud of her determination to “Do It”. God knows how that might play down the line when classes get much heavier but we’ll build and cross that bridge when we get there! She also has her Nana w/her in class as a volunteer until we have the aide set in place. Hopefully all that is coming along just well…but w/the school system boy you never really know. But I keep my hopes up and a parachute on my back just to make sure I land safely when things don’t go through as planned! When I picked her up from school she was allllll pooped out! She was like I need milk and my blankie please! Then she sprawled on her Princess Pull Out Bed in the living room and relaxed! Then she was off to a relaxing bubble bath! Awwwww to be a kid again!

~ Thursday ~ 08.21.08

~Bianca's Booboos from her very nasty fall in school~

Well Thursday did not go quite as expected. All was going well until they had to walk the extreme of the school to the library. Out of all places Bianca took a nasty fall and landed on her right knee and right palm. You can imagine what happened after that…honestly call me a fool or just observant but when I saw the wounds after she took a fall they were really not as bad as they would have been say a year ago. Funny ~ or not so funny ~ is the fact that when this happened no one pushed her, bumped her, or did anything to her for her to trip and fall! It was all Bianca! But trust me she learned from that one. The teacher did take advantage of the moment to provide an educational awareness of what Bianca has and why they must all be very very very careful w/Bianca. To try and help her out as much as they can but to be gentle. She also went on to tell Bianca that it is okay, you don’t need to go home. I think she had a mix of embarrassment and pain from the fall which prompted her to want to go home. But the teacher was very receptive and said “no no you’re okay, you can stay and keep going w/the rest of the class”. It was almost twisted but since I know how Bee reacts to those situations I was really worried more about how the teacher was handling it. But she seems to have been A-Okay for the time being since the wounds weren’t really bloody ones. The day progressed and everything went well…Bianca is such a good student. But she does have a minor fault ~ read on.

~ Friday ~ 08.22.08

~Bianca Ready For Another WONDERFUL Day At School!~

Well here we are – made it through a whole “week”, sort of speaking, of school! I was able to get Bee dropped off in class on time ~ well about 40 minutes early! I managed to take the time to speak w/her teacher to see what concerns she might have…she said Bianca is doing well just that she seems very tired by 11AM but that she doesn’t think it’s anything to do w/her EB just a transitioning period of her not being used to work work work like a busy bee! But other than that she said she’s integrating well into her class. Today was an example of a great day! She did all her homework in class ~ draw an Orange Bird and a Yellow Duck ~ she received yet another HAPPY FACE! But that didn’t keep her and her new little friend Lisa out of trouble! You see they seem to TALK quite a bit in class. (God for those that have known me for a while who those that sound like in school?) Lisa ended up in timeout and Bianca was one more word away from being put in timeout herself. Who would have thought - my daughter la chismosa! I can only wonder who she might get that from…as soon as we got home she pooped out again. She was super tired and you can tell by her eyes. This poor girl has been waking up at 6:40AM every day. And that’s simply because I have to do some very minor wound care on her to be able to be out of this house by 7:20AM. By Friday Bianca managed to become friends with three new friends in her class, Molly, Emily and Lisa.

~ Woundcare ~

So how are we holding up? Within all pretty good. Unfortunately the booboo on the bottom of her foot peel opened again. It’s a pretty raw wound but it’s in an area that I can bandage up just fine. Then we have two dime-sized booboos on the back of her thighs. They’ve been heck to heal since they’re in a high-traffic area. But they’re slowly closing off. Aside from all this she has the two new wounds she got at school. They’re hanging in there just fine…I consider ourselves pretty luck that we’ve only got two wounds to worry about from school THUS FAR…and yes I’m very well aware that the year has just begun!

~Home Life~

Well home life has absolutely shifted quite a bit! All that time I use to find myself just sitting around doing close to nothing but pay bills, think of debts and what I have to work on for tomorrow are long gone! My day goes something like this:

• 6:15AM – Wake up and get ready for work ~ Shower, brush teeth, shave, get dressed, etc…
• 6:40AM – Wake up the sleeping beauty in the next room
• 6:40AM – 7:20AM – Get Bianca ready for school ~ quick overview of any new wounds in her body, sitting on toilet, brush her hair while there, clean her booty up, wash her hands, brush her teeth and wash her face
• 7:20AM – 7:45AM – Drop her off at school, settle her in to the front door of the class, say goodbye & head to work
• 8:00AM – 1:30PM - Work
• 1:30PM – 2:30PM – Pick her up from school, get home, do an overview of any new booboos that need wound care, change her uniform and give her a bottle of milk ~ head back to work.
• 2:30PM – 5:30PM (sometimes more) –Work, work, work and work
• 6:00PM – 7:00PM – Get home, get dinner ready, get Bianca’s lunch bag ready for the next day, and pay BILLS!
• 7:00PM – 7:20PM – Take ~what we call in this house ~ a Gypsy Shower go in and out in less than 10-15 mins., pop Bianca in the bath.
• 7:30PM – 9:00PM Serve dinner, clean up and take Bianca out of the bath for wound care and some dinner.
• 9:00PM – 10:00PM – Wound care and one-on-one w/Bianca about her day
• 10:00PM – Bed time for Bianca
• 11:00PM (varies) – Bed time for the rest of the house.

So as you can see I have a jammed packed day. And that is that I’ve missed a few things here and there….but honestly I’m enjoying my life at the moment. I’ve always been very happy to be in my house w/my family creating a home/memories side-by-side.

In closing I would like to say that we’re doing better than I’ve expected by this time…I was thinking before that I might have received 3-5 phone calls in a day asking every little question about Bianca. But thankfully the staff at Madie Ives Elementary is the most caring/understanding staff I have encountered. Plus they have such a wickedly funny sense of humor! Just my type of peeps! =)

Well that’s pretty much her first few days at school ~ FULLTIME!

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers plus send many positive vibes our way to keep going w/such a hectic schedule! Unless it starts taking a toll on Bianca’s skin this will be the schedule we will abide by for a while!

Love now and always
~Sally Contreras
Proudest Mommy On Earth of the cutest Kindergartener in the WORLD!