No No No NO NOO

Today the big bad I said NO! wasn't the words coming from the parents... 

I managed to get little un out of the crusty clothes and into a new dress this morning without a big fight,  but still no washing allowed, and she's gone to bed in the same dress this evening, no Pyjamas possible ... 

The visit with our social worker went fine this morning. She said that everything seemed to be going well and that the behaviour from little un was all very healthy and to be expected... She's relating to us well and keeps checking in with us for security when faced with a stranger.  She's playing and darting around the house very comfortably.  The  periods of distress are a healthy response to the separation from the foster family,  and the No, no,no,no,no mantra is all about control, partly because she's a toddler and would do this anyway, but also because she's trying to be independent because we're still not fully known and trusted yet. So we have to gently find a way of getting her to relinquish some of the control so that we can help her feel cared for. 

Another positive is that she's definitely recovering from the bug and when she's not having a meltdown, she's got a great sense of humour and is completely adorable...

I also thought I'd share a link that my friend Fiona suggested called 'hurrah for gin'  it really made us laugh when we read it and it gave the whole situation some perspective...