A Mom of Two

I know it's easy to have your older children get lost in the mix when a new baby is brought home. I hear moms talk about it all the time. You see, The Boy a.k.a. Jameson and I have a particularly close relationship. For months as he eagerly awaited the birth of his little brother or little sister, the only thing that caused hesitancy was the fact that mom would have to stay in the hospital for a few days. This was constantly on his mind. I tried to make the fact more appealing to him by reminding him he would be able to spend a night or two at Aunt Liz's (his special "E") and that he would probably get to eat pancakes to his heart's content at her house. This would pacify him for a while until his active mind would start ruminating again.

There are so many wonderful things about having a perceptive child and this is certainly Jameson. He "gets it". He has always been very aware socially. He's hilarious. He knows how to use sarcasm and has from a very early age. He also knows when Mom is stressed or frustrated or feeling about any other way. He just knows. When he was around 2 and I sighed, he would always say, "What, Mom?" (I usually didn't even realize I had sighed.) When I changed from full-time at work to part-time, I thought this would be perfect for him. And it was...except for he got a taste of what it is like to have Mom home during a weekday...and he wanted it more.

He loves his little brother, his "Quarter" and he is planning their future together as siblings. He has some pretty big plans - you know, like Wii and stuff. The other day he simply said, "You know Mom, brothers are pretty cool." It made me smile. It makes me grateful to my Father in Heaven who allowed me this great privilege. It makes me remember that there is a much larger plan that I often forget.

There has been no jealousy from Big Brother. Still, a huge transition for this kid, not to mention what he is going through at school. His favorite teacher, Mrs. Byrd just had her first baby a few weeks ago. So she's done with teaching for the remainder of the year. This is major for Jameson. He trusts Mrs. Byrd. She gets him. She really does. The new long-term substitute has been gentle with J. And I so appreciate that. So many transitions for this tender boy of mine.

Unfortunately I think Jameson's worries come quite natural to him. His mom deals with her own degree of OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder) - seriously. So while there are many positive aspects of having a personality like his (the aforementioned awareness and hopefully empathy for others) it comes with a huge wallop of worry. Currently, his foremost worry is end-of-the-year testing. First grade. First grade people! Even the practice tests cause him stress. Sometimes I forget about his little mind and how it works. He often worries and comes up with worst case scenario. He internalizes this and doesn't mention what he is stressing over and all of a sudden he's got a stomach ache. That's when I know there is probably days or weeks of worry behind this present symptom. And that is when I sit down with him and process his fears.

So here's my question to you all... what do you do for your children to help them with stress/anxiety? Doing what I do for a living, I know the deep breathing exercises and the like. However I'm not dealing with an adult here. So please share your ideas with me. Many thanks.