Redo

It's 4:00 in the morning and I can't sleep. I think it's because I have a million things running through my head. I'm writing this so I can organize my thoughts and remember the feelings that I am having. Let me go back to Tuesday.

It was the 3rd day of school. Really the 2nd day for Gracie because we took her out Monday for the eclipse. She came home from school and talked about how fun it was and she really liked her teacher etc etc. That night after she went to bed I looked in her take home folder. Inside was a little paper with a stoplight on it. These are used in her classroom to let the parent know how your child did that day. Gracie had 2 green lights colored in and one yellow with the words "listening and following directions". I wasn't too surprised by her getting a yellow light for this at school because I feel like it is something she has also been struggling with at home. However, looking at that paper made me stop and think "is she really ready for kindergarten? Is she really ready to start 12+ years of continuous education?"

I never had these thoughts with my boys starting school. They were R E A D Y to go in every aspect. Reading already, making friends, just in general mature enough to tackle the game of school.

Just a day earlier I had made the comment to Shad that I had never really played make believe with Gracie. He said "really? Her make believe stories are the best. She is hilarious." I had heard her play all the time but I didn't actively play with her. I'm sure it was mommy guilt but I just couldn't shake feeling like I had really missed out on something that I would never have an opportunity to redeem. I mean she was at school or on the bus for 8 hours a day. When were we ever going to be able to fit some make believe time in again? The start of kindergarten is a new era. Everything changes. She is now expected to be a big kid. She has less time for play. When she gets home she has an hour to run around and do what she wants and then it is dinner and bedtime only so we can start all over again the next morning.

Wednesday morning I pulled her out of bed. In a dead sleep. Again. She has to catch the bus at 7:45am so we are up by 6:45am to get her out on time. Every morning she would be clinging to her blankie as I carried her tiredly downstairs after getting her dressed in a dazed stuper (which was actually kind of nice because I could dress her in whatever I wanted. That never happens). I wondered if we would actually have to do this every. Single. Morning. For the next 100+ days of kindergarten. It seemed daunting to me. That morning I sent her out to the kindergarten bus and she got on. Alone. It made my heart hurt a little knowing that all of her neighborhood friends were a year behind her and there wasn't anything I could do about it.

I came back in the house and started wondering if there really was something I could do about it. Why couldn't I delay her kindergarten year? Why am I pushing her onto the bus every morning, packing her a lunch she struggles to eat because there isn't enough time, and dealing with her emotional tired blow ups everyday after school? I played around in my mind with the thought of her having one more year with me. I felt sick about it. I didn't know if I could handle it. The thought had never crossed me before. I had gotten so used to the idea of her starting kindergarten in 2017. She is 5 and although she has a June birthday, and is a small little peanut, her preschool teachers assured me that she was ready for kindergarten. So I sent her. That is what you do at 5 yrs old. She would be one of the youngest in her class making her the last to date and drive. With all of these thoughts I just kept feeling like I was making a terrible mistake. I wondered if it was too late to fix it.

I started sending out some emails; to her old preschool to see if there were spots left and to her kindergarten teacher to see what she thought. Of course her preschool was full which was a little sad because that is where all of her friends would be. She only has one friend who started kindergarten with her his year, all of the rest of her friends would be starting next year. For some reason she really gravitates to those that are younger than her (probably due to the fact that they are her size and they don't mind her bossing them around).  I talked to Shad about it and he supported me 100% and agreed that it would be worth exploring. I talked to my mom and got her take on it, and talked to some of my best friends. Everything made sense to pull her out when I talked it through with others. She just wasn't ready.

As I was talking to my mom I got the thought to look into gymnastics for Gracie. She has always wanted to do gymnastics but it has always been too expensive and time consuming to do in addition to preschool. But. If I did it in place of preschool... I looked online and found a class three days a week in the mornings. Perfect. Expensive, but doable. That was my alternative preschool. She just needed a time to play. She needed one more year to be a kid.

 I talked to her teacher Friday afternoon who said she could go either way. She could succeed in kindergarten but she could also benefit from being held back. I talked to her principal last night,who actually agreed that there are benefits to holding kids back that don't seem ready. She commended me in listening to my gut and going with it because this is a big decision that has to be made now. Once she finishes kindergarten she can not go back, at least not for this reason alone.

We had put off doing father's blessings for school for lots of reasons. Life just didn't slow down for a while. After church we decided Shad would give all of the kids blessings. I fasted all day to help me feel at peace with this decision. To make sure it really was the right one and to help the spirit confirm it to Gracie as well. Before Gracie had her blessing we pulled her aside and talked about what we wanted to do. Her reply was "oh good, then I can stay home with my blankie". Yes little girl, you can stay home with your blankie, and play dollys, and play dough, and read books, AND play make believe with mommy. She was not mad, or sad, she was relieved. She was not ready for kindergarten. When we told her about the possibility of gymnastics she squealed with joy. I had a sigh of relief.

So here I am Monday morning. This school year will be different than I had anticipated. I will have three at home again instead of the two I was planning on. Even though that makes my life harder, I am so grateful that is the way it will be. I feel like the Lord has given me a little gift, a chance to redo a year with a new perspective. How often do we get those chances? The spirit spoke to me last week and I am being rewarded for listening to it.

I have recently been relistening to the April 2017 LDS General Conference talks in preparation for the next conference in October. This quote from Elder Rasband's talk entitled "Let the Holy Spirit Guide" stuck out to me and made me realize how crucial it is that we listen to the promptings of the spirit when they do come:

"We must be confident in our first promptings. Sometimes we rationalize; we wonder if we are feeling a spiritual impression or if it's just our own thoughts. When we began to second-guess, even third-guess, our feelings- and we all have- we are dismissing the spirit; we are questioning divine counsel. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that if you will listen to the first promptings, you will get it right nine times out of ten."

I have more confidence than ever that the spirit will help me if I listen to the promptings that come and not dismiss them. I second guess myself in so many things but I am working on not second guessing the Holy Ghost.

I am looking at this year with all new eyes. I get to do the things with my daughter I feel like I had missed out on. I don't have to live in regret that I didn't play princesses with my daughter or read more books, or bake cookies together. I have a chance to really make it count and I am determined to make this our best year yet even if it means that my bathrooms are never clean or the laundry sits unfolded. My little peanut and I are going to enjoy her last year of freedom.

This was taken on Gracie's first-first day of Kindergarten

Indiana Dunes

One of the huge advantages of having a daddy that travels is that sometimes we get to go with him. Because it is the end of the school year, Shad has been attending a lot of Seminary graduations. His last one was over Memorial Day weekend (May 30th) and was the furthest away (Valparaiso, Indiana), so we took advantage of the holiday and decided to do some family exploring. We stayed the night in a hotel Sunday and then headed to Indiana Dunes State Park in the morning which was only about 25 minutes away.

We had a fantastic time on the shores of Lake Michigan. I always knew it was a big lake, but you don't realize how big until you are there. It really does feel almost like an ocean without the huge waves and without being salty. You can't see the other side of the lake (although we could kind of make out the Chicago skyline in the distance). The sand there was so amazing! It was the finest most beautiful sand of any lake I have ever seen.

Benny was in love with the sand. He loved throwing it along with the rocks. We had sand in every little crease by the end of the day.

One thing that really made the day awesome was the friends that we found on the beach. We set up all of our stuff and then another family (with 5 kids) set their stuff up next to us. I could tell almost right away that they were Mormon just listening to their conversations. Our kids were about the same ages and they became instant friends. They live in Chicago and were just there for the day too. The other great part was that the father and one of the sons is also diabetic and have pumps. So, while Jack was plugging in his pump and checking his blood sugar, they were too!

Before we left we got their phone number and became friends on Facebook so that we could keep in touch. The next week we also found out that they are cousins with Bill Holmes who is in the branch presidency with Shad! It's such a small Mormon world! It was actually really great because Bill had lost touch with them after going to school and we found them for him.

Although I really do enjoy our outings together just with our little family, I thought it was a huge tender mercy that the Lord sent us some "Mormon cousins" for us to play with that day and especially ones that we had so much in common with. The Lord really is watching out for us as we are away from so many of our close family and friends.

One funny story while we were there: Some of the kids were playing about 10 yards from our "base camp" on the beach in a small stream leading into the water. Gracie wanted to go over there to join Shad and the other kids. I told her to start walking that direction and you would see him. I was watching Benny and didn't want to walk over there. Then, about 15 minutes later I looked over there and didn't see Gracie. I went and asked Shad where she was. He said he thought she was with me. Then, right on cue, the loud speaker for the beach comes on and we hear "We have a lost little girl. Her name is Grace and she is wearing a purple seahorse swimming suit and carrying a blue bucket. If she is your child please come and pick her up at the life guard station." Shad went running and hitched a ride on a 4-wheeler to the life guard station. He found her there, surrounded by 10 lifeguards, doing a coloring page, and talking their ears off. They thought she was the cutest thing ever. Apparently she walked in the other direction, someone noticed she was wandering by herself, and brought her to the lifeguard station. Later  as we were walking to the bathroom and passed the life guard station all of the life guards said "Hi Grace!" She had made some pretty good friends. It's going to be a little joke for a while.

There are lots of great hikes to do in the Indiana Dunes park, but by the time we were done with the beach, the kids were beat and ready to go home. Next time we will have to try out some of the hikes before we hit the beach and cool off in the water.

September so far

Nothing to be ashamed about not blogging for 9 months right?! I'm so bad at this. Time to play a little catch up. Here are some pictures from our September so far. 

On the 3rd I had my 16 week Dr. appointment. Everything looks good and we have a good strong heartbeat. These kids were so good. They really have become best friends since Haken has gone to school. I often find them outside playing with each other without any other kids around. Makes my heart happy to see Jack taking care of his little sister.

Gracie has become a little diva and figured out how to dress/undress herself. It can really be a problem some days. Especially when all she wants to wear is her swimming suit. 

Jack started a little joyschool with two other little boys. I taught the first week and we learned about bugs. The next week he went on a caterpillar hunt and unfortunately didn't find any caterpillars but had a great time playing in the mud afterwards. I wish I would have gotten a picture, he was covered in mud from head to toe. They have so much fun together on Tuesdays and we are excited for all of the new things he will learn. 

Having a ladybug snack made out of apples and raisins. 

 We have the best neighborhood and I am sad at the thought of winter coming. These spontaneous play groups happen everyday but this one was especially fun because we had all of these kiddos out playing nice with each other for a solid hour. Of course Haken was the organizer and the "boss" of the whole group. I love these kids.

 We planted some trees to add variety and give us some privacy. We ripped out the grass and created a flowerbed around the rock that was already there (thank heavens we don't have to mow around it anymore). We ended up bringing in 4 yards of dirt to build up the flowerbed. It was quite the job and we were very grateful to neighbors who have trucks they don't mind us borrowing. Can't wait until these trees grow up. We decided not to do the fruit trees we had planned. I was a little disappointed but I didn't want to have to worry about the deer as we already have a big deer problem with our other plants.

 Gracie grew up and also had her first haircut by daddy (apparently it was a big month for her because most of the pictures are of her.) She is really growing up before my eyes and I just can't help but capture her while she is still my baby.

Sporting her new do. 

Looking so grown up before church

We realized about a week ago that we had a mouse living in our garage. Shad opened up the garage door and saw it run across. Apparently it has been living off of the crumbs in our recycling. After a few days of opening up the door and being scared to death I made it to the store to get some sticky traps. It really was the last straw when I started to spot tons of droppings on the stairs that my kids use everyday. Within 4 hours that mouse took the bait. Being the manly man my husband is he disposed of the cute little thing by drowning it in a bucket of water, bagging it up, and throwing it in the trashcan. It was pretty hard to watch. Kinda felt bad for the cute little thing but victorious at the same time. Hope we don't have to deal with that ever again. 

And last but not least, here is my fat picture at 18 weeks today. I seriously can't wait to get past this awkward fat stage. Maternity clothes are too big and my normal clothes don't fit. I think I might have felt the baby the other day, but it is hard to tell since I don't sit down long enough to know for sure.  

Negative

Gracie's 18 month doctor appointment was scheduled for 2 weeks after Jack's diagnosis. I'm glad there was a little bit of a gap between the two because it gave me time to gear up for what the doctor might find wrong with Gracie. I really was expecting the worst.

She is a petite little girl and her developmental strides have been small in the past few months. I know it is not always good to compare your children to others, but at this point I needed to in order to know if I should be worried about her. This shows you just how tiny she is:

- She wears 3-6 month or sz 1 shoes. On a lot of her shoes I have actually have hot glued traction onto the bottom since they don't expect 3-6 month olds to be able to walk. She would fall flat on her face with our slippery wood floor otherwise.

These were bought last Christmas when she was
6 months old and are just now fitting her.

-She wears sz 3 diapers, but could technically still fit into sz 2 pretty comfortably.

- Most of her clothes are 6-12 months size. I am currently putting away the 6 month old pajamas (also didn't have any traction)

- Her hands still look like 3 month old hands to me. Small hands run in the family though, so that doesn't surprise me quite so much.

- She is still in her infant car seat and may not reach the weight limit until she is at least 2.

- People have commented on what a smart 9 month old I have to be walking and jabbering like she is. They are always surprised when I tell them how old she really is.

Our past doctor didn't worry too much about her, but now we were going to a new pediatrician, the same one who diagnosed Jack, and I kept thinking about what else this new doctor might find in my children.

My suspicions were correct that she was small, although I was surprised that she had gained less than two pounds in the last 6 months. I thought she would have at least gained 5. She at least felt heavier to me.

She is not even on the charts for her weight (16lbs 12 oz) and her height (28.75in). Although she is following Evans suit with a larger head for her body at 25%. At least we know her brain is growing.

Developmentally she is on the lowest end of the spectrum but she is starting to catch up now that she can walk. She talks like crazy and most of what she can't do is because of her size. However, I still am currently looking into some intervention just to give her a little jump start.

As for her tiny body: The doctor recommended first a celiac test since that can inhibit growth. We immediately went to the lab to get her celiac blood test. They called the next day and it came back negative. That was a huge relief to me. Before I knew her results I started looking into what it would take to do a gluten free diet for our family in addition to Jack's diabetic diet and I was completely overwhelmed.

Next the doctor recommended a chloride sweat test to detect cystic fibrosis. We made an appointment for the next day at Primary Children's since I was already going to be down there for Jack's diabetic class. The only appointment they had open for the test was 8:00 am. Ahhh! There was no way I was leaving our house at 6:00 AM with two children in tow, so we stayed the night at my grandma's who lives close to the hospital. Jack's class was at 9:00 AM, which I ended up missing because they didn't start Gracie's test until 8:30. I was not a happy mom that morning. Luckily they had an unusually large amount of new diabetic patients in the last 2 months and were holding an afternoon class to accommodate everyone. Someone was watching out for me that day!

The sweat test was the most interesting test I have ever seen. It is one that has been done to detect cystic fibrosis since the 60's. I actually don't really know why this type of test is done, but they said it is the best indicator what whether someone has cystic fibrosis that they have found.

First they put cloth on her forearms and hooked her up to a machine that stimulates the sweat glads. They said it kind of feels like having your arms get tingly and fall asleep. They had her on the machine for 5 minutes. She pretty much screamed through all of that 5 minutes.

Then, they put a clean piece of gauze on both of her arms and wrapped them multiple times in plastic wrap, then in bandages, a heating pack, and a reflective blanket. This has to be left on for 30 minutes and then they remove it all and collect the sweat drenched gauze at the bottom which can tell them whether or not her sweat is salty enough to indicate cystic fibrosis. Really weird.

During the 30 minute wait we got to walk around the hospital. She was really freaked out by all of the wrapping at first but soon got used to it as we roamed the halls and everyone told me how darling she was.

The next day the results were back. Negative. Thank goodness. I really was not sure I could handle another diagnosis. The Dr. told us to keep feeding her bacon grease and get her weighed every few months. If she doesn't progress then we can look into something else. She is tiny, but at least we know it is just because she is tiny and not because of something else. A piece of mind (at least for right now) was worth every little bit of crying and sweating that went on that morning.  

Parenting Success

 As a woman I have so many different roles (mom, primary president, friend, wife, housekeeper, cook, and the list goes on...) and there are sometimes days where I feel like I haven't succeeded at even one of my roles. Every once in a while I have a day where I really feel successful in my roll as a parent.

In the last week I have had two balls rolled at me (potty training and weening) and I was not sure I was going to be able to tackle them, but surprisingly it has not been as bad as I thought it would be.

I decided at the beginning of last week to start potty training Jack again. We started it a few months ago when he was motivated but then he got sick and all of his motivation went out the window so we didn't push it. I decided to just go for it even though he was now fighting me a little bit. I just kept thinking about how great it would be to have him potty trained by the summer and he was waking up with a dry diaper every morning and nap so I knew he was able to control it well enough. The first two or three days were not so great. He had an accident pretty much every 2 hours during the day. I actually think most of it was my fault because I was not queuing him like I should have been. I got busy and then forgot and then of course just as I thought about it, it was already too late. On the first day he was in the corner for throwing food on the floor and was singing "I am a child of God" at the top of his lungs, obviously not bugged at all by being in the corner.  When I went to get him out I instantly noticed the smell and of course he had pooped while standing there singing. Cleaning that out was not pretty, but it is a story that still makes me laugh. That is SO Jack.
I finally got smart and started using plastic pants this time around to save my carpet and my arms from the scrubbing. By the 4th and 5th day he only had maybe one accident a day. Then the moment of truth was when we decided to send him to church without a diaper. As we walked to church we realized what a risk we were taking because we didn't have a car to drive him home, nor did I think to bring an extra pair of clothes. Turns out we shouldn't have worried so much. He went pee in the big potty at the church (his first time in a public restroom) with no problems and came out of nursery completely dry. I am actually pretty lucky with my boys because they seem to have this amazing bladder control that I know they did not get from me. They can hold it for hours on end and I have it pretty much down to a science the times of day that they go. Pooping is the tricky one to time, it differs from day to day. However, today Jack told me his tummy hurt and I knew it was time to poop (it had been a few days, I think potty training keeps it in there longer.) He sat on the potty, read a few books to himself, and low and behold, there was a poop. Today was the first day with absolutely no accidents! I think the trick with Jack was something Shad discovered midweek last week. I was at a point with him where he would sit on the potty for 20 minutes before he would go, even in the morning when he first got up with a dry diaper. He had a really hard time just letting his body release it. It was super frustrating so I turned him over to Shad. He discovered that if he put a little piece of toilet paper in between his legs so that he didn't have to watch himself go, didn't have to point it down himself, and he didn't feel like he was going to get the seat wet, he was good. It works every time now and he'll go instantly once the toilet paper is there to block everything. Whatever works right?!
Anyway, that is probably TMI for everyone who doesn't want to know about potty training...but maybe it will help someone else somewhere down the road. Here's to many more days of dry "Thomas the tank engine" underwear. I'm not holding my breath yet for sure.

Our other mountain which will hopefully turn into more like a molehill is weening Gracie and getting her weight up. Last Wednesday we went for her 9 month check up and found out that she is not even on the charts at all anymore. At this point her Dr. was concerned because she had actually dipped down from her own little curve on the 1-3% line. I knew weening was coming soon. She just wasn't really interested anymore and it seemed like she had to eat a ton of solids to get full. She was still sleeping great, but eating wasn't her strong point. My milk supply was down and by the end of the day she would down a 7 ounce bottle of a formula/breast milk mix. The Dr. recommended we concentrate her formula to pound the extra calories. For every 2 ounces of water, mix 1 1/2 scoops of formula. I didn't know you could do that, but apparently you can actually buy concentrated formula if you want to, it is just more expensive. I knew this would be a challenge because just getting her to take a bottle a few months ago was tricky. She only liked a certain kind and even then it had to be mostly breast milk for her to take it. So, after the Dr. appointment we pretty much went cold turkey with the exception of topping her off after the bottle (which only lasted 2 days). She fought me a lot at first and really spit it out every time I would try to give her a bottle. It was like a wrestling match. She went a few feedings with nothing at all, but then finally gave in, probably out of thirst. Now she doesn't fight me hardly at all except for me to get that last little ounce in her at the end of the bottle. I'm determined to fatten her up, so I fight her to get in as much as I can. It sure is easier to make her eat with a bottle than with nursing. I don't know yet if she has gained any weight, but she already looks bigger to me. Maybe it is just my imagination? She doesn't eat as much of her solids, but I don't mind it because I know she is getting pretty full on all of that milk. She is doing really well with picking up table foods so that is mostly what she eats with a little baby food mixed in here and there.
Today we also had a big success with her taking a straw! I love using straw cups with my kids because then I have access to a sippy cup nearly everywhere I go. All restaurants have straws, but selected few have sippy cups if I happen to forget mine (which happens often). Teaching a baby to take a straw is usually kind of tricky, although Jack took to it like it was second nature. With Gracie I had to suction it with my finger and put it in her mouth and after a few times of doing that and having her suck it out, she started doing it out of the cup on her own! I was pretty excited about that. Now the trick will be to get her to hold onto it on her own. She has yet to hold the sippy cup or a bottle on her own because she has been so used to nursing and not having to hold anything.

Let's not forget my sweet Haken.... Today I felt like a successful parent as we were having family home evening. We take turns teaching the lesson and tonight it was Haken's turn. He has been so fascinated with money lately so he decided to teach a lesson on tithing. He sat down and made up a game all by himself about tithing and how it is used. It was a matching game and he was so excited to have Jack play it. Here are the cards that he made:

I know you can't really really read what they say but they all say ways our tithing is used and then the back of them have numbers that match each other. He loved watching Jack play the game he had made. After that we took Haken's money jar (filled with $30 worth of change from Grandpa) and paid his tithing on it. He was so excited to pay his tithing on his own money. We had done it before, but I don't think he really got it until now. Filling out the form and counting out the money was right up his alley. He was such a perfectionist in filling out the form. He counts his money nearly every week and has gotten really good at it. Maybe one day he will grow up to be an accountant? In addition to his tithing he also decided to contribute to the missionary fund since President Monson asked us to in the last General Conference.

Needless to say I am feeling pretty good about being a parent tonight. It is a good thing that these kind of days come around every once in a while to keep me motivated to keep on going. Being a parent is one of the hardest, and yet rewarding things I will ever do in my life. Everyday my sweet kids make it all worth it.

Gracie is 8 months

Holy moly! 8 months already! Gracie is still my tiny little girl and I don't feel like she is really this old. I'm used to have 8-month-olds that are trying to crawl around and move. This little girl does not mind staying put. Her new trick in the last month has been sitting up. She is getting to be a real pro at it. If she can't reach something she usually won't risk falling over to get it. If she is on her back she kicks her legs and scoots backwards, but it isn't really on purpose. I'm not real anxious for her to be mobile, staying put works for me. She is starting to fit into 6 month clothes now, although the 3-6 month stuff fits her the best. She loves to spit and is developing a very silly personality. If someone laughs at her she will laugh back, even if it is artificial, she just like to be included in what is going on. Still doesn't love solid foods, but I can sometimes sneak veggies in with the fruit she likes. She is such a good baby and adds so much to our family.

Gracie 7 Months

I was just going to post Gracie's milestones every 2 months on the blog, but so much has happened this month that I thought I should also do one for 7 months.

Here are some highlights from this month:

Found her toes and LOVES them. I love that they are a toy that she can't throw on the floor and I have to pick up over and over again.

Got new boots! Compliments of my friend Shari. Aren't they adorable?! I does help that she is pretty adorable herself! Doesn't she look like a big girl! That 0-3 month sweater is finally looking too small. 

Sits up and plays with toys with a little help from the "Boppy." This is a huge improvement since I usually can't even get her to bend in half to sit down! She is still so stiff. When I would set her down she would immediately fall backward.

Finally eating solids! She wouldn't ever take rice cereal (or any kind of cereal for that matter). This month I buckled down and decided she needed to take something! She is just so tiny! So I started with all of the usual veggies (sweet potatoes, squash, carrots) She took them a little at first but then they would end up all over me. I really didn't have any success until we went to fruit. On my! Does she like fruit?! She pretty much lives on pears mixed with oatmeal and breastmilk. I was very grateful that she liked them because I canned a whole bunch of pearsauce last fall. I'm sure she will go through every last drop in the next 2 months. I try and do at least one meal of veggies a day. Usually it is in the afternoon when I have Jack napping and Haken at school. That way I can have a little more patience with her and try some new combinations. I have found that if I mix just a little bit of applesauce with some veggies she will tolerate them for a few bites. It is always a guessing game for sure. I am pretty tired of being sprayed with various veggies. I think I do more of my laundry than ever.

Had her first really bad sickness this month. I'm not sure if she got the pinkeye from Jack or if they both just got the same cold and then both rubbed snot in their eyes. It wouldn't have been so bad if it was just the pinkeye, but the cold with it was pretty miserable. I got really tired of cleaning out the goopey eyes every morning. I'm sure she was tired of me doing it too. It lasted about a week from start to finish. She looked SO sad! Looking at these pictures still breaks my heart! She felt so miserable that she even fell asleep in the bathtub.