Oceanus

Oceanus is 9. We had a rough start with Oceanus. He had all the classic signs of a "spirited child". Life with him was difficult from the start.

He wasn't content to be born "normally", no, my child had to come out sunny side up and with a telephone hand.

Once born, the child didn't want to nurse. The nurse gave him a pacifier - against my wishes, the witch - and there we had nipple confusion. He ended up jaundiced (probably at least in part due to the vitamin K shot which is mostly unnecessary when you let the cord stop pulsing before you cut it) and I ended up crying and begging him to nurse. I refused to let any chance for him to nurse to pass by - at the fair, at the doctor's office for heel sticks, at restaurants, you name it.

Then the child refused to sleep unless someone was holding him. Against every thing I had ever said and believed, I brought the child into my bed so that we could get ANY sleep.

Then he walked early - just to make my life difficult, I'm sure (j/k, I think).

School was a fun hell. I wanted him in preschool so he could socialize with other kids because I was not the playgroup kind of mom (although I did try, but M.O.P.S. has very specific geographical requirements and I didn't live in the right area). How fun was that?

We started 1st grade at a Montessori school. Except Montessori was not the right name for this school - the teacher was a bitch and expected way too much out of 6 and 7 year olds and then didn't expect enough. Oceanus spent every day in trouble because he couldn't find his homework within the two minute time limit. This went on through 2nd grade.

So we moved to public school. Suddenly life was better. Now he was getting in trouble, but it was "normal" trouble - talking and horsing around with other kids. Other kids! Can I tell you how relieved that made me?

This year? The kid had an unbroken record of stickers on his behavior chart. I was beginning to wonder if he was normal. A kid of mine that NEVER gets into trouble? "Are you enjoying school? Do you have any fun?" (I know, I'm a bad mother thinking you can't have fun and be good all the time).

Well today? Today he proved he's normal. He got into trouble for horseplay in the boys' room. I made a semi big deal out of it, not realizing how sensitive he was about it. Poor kid. I had him in tears. He just knew his dad and I were going to freak out (please, Hyperion got sent to the office twice last year and we didn't freak out, what was he afraid of?).

Oceanus is NORMAL!!!