Changes for the Family (Private)

[Shy-Diapers]

Michelle smiled and happily picked Rowan up. “Hey sleepy head.” She said cheerfully. “Let’s get you changed and then we can go downstairs for dinner.” She said once she realized the girl’s diaper was wet. She gently laid her down on the bed and started changing her. “This is gonna hurt a little bit but it’s gonna make you feel better.” She explained before applying the diaper rash ointment. Once Rowan was in a fresh diaper she carried her downstairs, poking her head in the playroom to get Izzy. 
 

Izzy hopped up and ran to the kitchen when her mother came in. She happily climbed up to her seat and patiently waited for everyone else to get to the table so she could start eating. “I’m starving!” She exclaimed as she wiggled impatiently. 

[justagirl4fun]

Rowan whimpered a bit but settled down once she was back in Michelle's arms.

"Must be going through a growth spurt!" Peter said with a laugh as he served Izzy. Then he cut up a little bit of plain pasta, in case Rowan wanted to try it. "Babe, was there any thickener in her bag?" he asked when he remembered she couldn't have thin liquids.

[Shy-Diapers]

Michelle carried Rowan to the table and sat her down in her chair. “I didn’t see any.” She said to Peter. “Just clothes, diapers, and her formula.”

Izzy started scarfing down her food, also chugging down the milk from her glass. Though she was always a good eater, the girl’s appetite had been increasing lately. “Can I have more please?”

[justagirl4fun]

"No big deal, we can just give her extra water in her feeding tube tonight, and I'll run to the drug store in the morning," Peter said with a shrug as he got out a bottle of Rowan's PediaSure and a syringe. "Wow, that was fast!" he said to Izzy. He put another serving on her plate and filled her cup halfway.

 

[Shy-Diapers]

Michelle nodded and turned to Rowan. “Do you want to try some noodles?” She asked sweetly. 
 

Izzy happily started eating her second serving, though not as fast this time. 

[justagirl4fun]

Rowan pushed the pasta around on her plate but showed no interest in eating them. After not being allowed to eat or drink anything for her first few years, due to the risk of aspirating, the girl had developed an oral aversion. Though she had made some progress over the last few years in feeding therapy, anything stressful tended to trigger a regression. In between bites Peter filled the syringe and gave Rowan the recommended amount of PediaSure through the feeding tube.

[Shy-Diapers]

“That’s okay sweetie you don’t have to eat it.” Michelle said when she saw Rowan avoiding the pasta. The couple always tried to be laid back about food for the foster kids that came through. 
 

Izzy finished up her food before the rest of her family. After a while of sitting still, the girl got bored and antsy. “How much longer til I can go play with Rowan?” She asked with a hint of a whine. 

[justagirl4fun]

"I think it's safe to say she's done," Peter said after giving Rowan the last of her formula. He lifted her down from her chair and gave her a gentle pat on the bottom. "Why don't you go play with Izzy," he suggested, though the girl just stuck a thumb in her mouth and stared at her foster sister.

[Shy-Diapers]

Izzy frowned when Rowan wouldn’t move. Suddenly she got an idea. She ran and grabbed the coloring book she’d picked out for the girl earlier. “Here!” She said happily. “It’s for you!”

 

[justagirl4fun]

Intrigued, Rowan reached for the coloring book. 

Peter smiled. "You like that? Go with Izzy, she'll get you some crayons," he prompted, giving her a light push in Izzy's direction. The girl took a few steps toward Izzy, then looked back at Michelle for approval.

[Shy-Diapers]

Michelle nodded at Rowan. “Go on, it’s okay. I’ll be right here if you need me.” She reassured. 
 

“C’mon!” Izzy said, gently tugging the girl toward the playroom. In the playroom she gave Rowan the coloring book and got out a bucket of crayons. “Here!”

[justagirl4fun]

"Easy, Iz," Peter called, flinching a little as his daughter pulled the new girl along.

Rowan opened the book to a random page, grabbed a green crayon in her fist, and started scribbling, her tongue poking out the corner of her mouth in concentration. Soon the crayon snapped in half from her pushing too hard. She dropped it back in the bucket with a soft uh oh, selected a black crayon, and carried on. Within a couple minutes she managed to break a half dozen crayons.

[Shy-Diapers]

Izzy was playing with her lite bright and watching Rowan color. She cringed a little when the girl broke the first crayon but figured it was an accident and she’d be more careful. She scowled when Rowan kept not only breaking them, but mixing them back in with the others! “Hey! You gotta be gentle!” She said a little louder than she intended. “Breaking things isn’t nice!”

[justagirl4fun]

Rowan jumped when Izzy scolded her, then burst into tears. Grabbing the doll she hadn't let out of her eyesight she ran off to find Michelle and attached herself to the woman's pant leg.

[Shy-Diapers]

Michelle frowned when Rowan came running out to her. “What’s wrong sweetie?” She asked the little girl as she scooped her up. Figuring Rowan wouldn’t be able to tell her, she headed to the playroom to ask her daughter. “Izzy why is Rowan crying?” She asked with raised eyebrows. 
 

“She kept breaking my crayons!” Izzy said defensively. She was picking out the broken pieces from the bucket while she talked to her mother. “I told her she has to be gentle! Then she just started crying!”

Michelle sighed and shook her head. “Izzy you know you need to be gentle and nice when new kids come here.” She scolded, knowing her daughter knew better than to scold her foster siblings. 
 

“I wasn’t being mean!” Izzy protested with crossed arms and a bit of a raised voice.
 

Michelle wasn’t amused however and shook her head again. “Go to the corner Izzy, you know better.” She said sternly. Izzy tried to protest but Michelle didn’t budge. “Now Isabella.”  Izzy frowned and threw down the crayons when her mom used her full first name, stomping her way to the time out corner in the living room, crossing her arms once she sat down. 
 

“It’s okay sweetie.” Michelle reassured Rowan, trying to soothe her as she went back to the dining room. 

[justagirl4fun]

"What was that all about?" Peter asked when Michelle returned. He stroked Rowan's wispy curls as she wailed into Michelle's shoulder.

[Shy-Diapers]

“Izzy was scolding her when she broke some of her crayons.” Michelle explained. She wasn’t happy about punishing her daughter but knew they’d told her numerous times to be gentle and kind to new foster siblings. “I think she scared Rowan pretty bad.” She rubbed the girl’s back soothingly and tried to calm her down. 
 

Izzy frowned as she overheard her parents talking about her. She decided she didn’t want to listen to what they were saying about her so she reached up and took off both of her implants, preferring to sit in total silence than hear how she was bad. 

[justagirl4fun]

Rowan slowly stopped crying, but refused to loosen her grip on Michelle's shirt. Despite her brief nap she was still tired and cranky on top of being scared and confused band missing her family.

Alex gave Izzy a few minutes to cool down before going to have a talk with her. "Hey, Iz," he called from the playroom doorway. "Izzy. Isabella!" he called before realizing she had her implants off. Finally he approached her and tapped her on the shoulder, then pointed to his ears when she looked at him.

[Shy-Diapers]

“Do you wanna play some more with the baby? Or we can play something else or watch TV.” Michelle asked as she continued to stroke Rowan’s hair and rub her back. Her heart ached for the small girl and just wanted to make her as comfortable as possible. 
 

Without her implants on, Izzy couldn’t hear anything whatsoever. When Peter finally tapped her shoulder, she turned to look at him and reluctantly put her cochlears back on. “What?” She said as she crossed her arms again, not wanting to look at her father. 

[justagirl4fun]

"Booey?" Rowan asked upon hearing TV. With four siblings and one television she rarely got to watch anything she liked, but she enjoyed Bluey when the opportunity to watch it arose.

"Izzy, you know you need to be nice to Rowan. She just got here and she's already upset, she doesn't need you yelling at her already."

[Shy-Diapers]

“You wanna watch Bluey?” Michelle asked with a smile. She got settled on the couch with the little girl and scrolled through Disney+ until she found Bluey and turned it on for her, happy to give the girl what she wanted. 
 

“I was being nice” Izzy protested, tears coming to her eyes already. “I didn’t yell! I just told her she has to be gentle and breaking stuff isn’t nice!” She huffed and turned away from Peter, upset that he was accusing her of being mean when she was being nothing but nice to the new girl. “You and mommy tell me to be gentle all the time! She’s the one who broke my crayons!” She didn’t know why she was feeling so strongly about this, but for some reason she felt extra sensitive, the accusations really hurting her, more than usual. 

[justagirl4fun]

Rowan clapped excitedly when she heard the theme song start, and even danced a little. 

"Izzy, look. I know Rowan looks like a big girl, but her body and her brain don't work like a big girl. She might not know any better, and maybe she needs a little help coloring," Peter explained. "Tell you what. If you're patient and kind with Rowan for the rest of the week, this weekend I'll buy you a new box of crayons that you can keep in your room, where she can't get to them. Deal?"

[Shy-Diapers]

Michelle smiled and cuddled up with Rowan. She was happy that she was.

Izzy stomped her foot in frustration. “I was bein kind!” She didn’t appreciate her parents acting like she yelled at the girl. She didn’t always realize that she was being louder than she intended and didn’t know why Michelle and Peter assumed she was mean. “You weren’t even here!” She pointed out as the tears started flowing down her face. 

[justagirl4fun]

"Izzy, I'm sure you weren't trying to be mean, but...sometimes you get a little loud, and you don't sound very friendly when that happens," Peter explained gently. "Do you understand how that might have scared Rowan?"

[Shy-Diapers]

Izzy frowned and sighed. “You tell me all the time to be gentle.” She mumbled unhappily, not understanding why it was mean when she said it, but not when her parents did. She nodded after a while though. “I wasn’t trying to be mean.” She said, her voice cracking from crying.