MOVING!

No, we are not moving.. as in house wise..

My posts are now moving over to my main blog...since our Journey to China has ended and it is easier to just keep up 1  blog and not two..

Make sure to come on over to the main blog.. there will be updates, posts on schooling, cooking, crafts and more.

Hope to see you there!

THE MAIN BLOG

3 weeks home..

Tomorrow marks 3 weeks home..

We had our appointment with the Cleft Surgeon.. it was a good appointment.. pretty quick since he found nothing of concern (yay!).  She has a Cleft Notch of the Primary palate...repaired and a cleft lip, repaired.

He explained that our mouths actually have 2 palates.. the primary, which is your gum that you teeth descend from  and your secondary palate which is everything behind that.. what is most commonly referred to as "the palate" by everyone..
 Little Miss had a cleft lip into the nasal cavity and a cleft notch into the primary palate.. both were repaired in China at 10 months of age. He says from observation of the movement of the secondary palate when screaming (and trust me, she was screaming!) and an absence of scar tissue, there was never any secondary palate involvement. This is a very good thing for Little Miss..it also can indicate that she will not have as many problems with her ears..we are to keep an eye on that.
 She will need nose revision surgery when she is older, probably around 4 to 5 years of age and may need a bone graft to even out the gum line at the notch but maybe not. She will most likely need braces..

We go back in 6 months..


Little Miss is really warming up and showing her personality. She adores her brothers and sister and is warming up to daddy. She isn't scared of the dog or cats now... in fact they are learning to give her a wide berth!

Today Little Miss decided she wasn't napping.. this was not a wise decision.. and for the rest of the afternoon she was quite emotionally fragile.. by 8pm she was a screaming mess.. As she lay in my arms as I rocked and rocked, she screamed and screamed and screamed. I took her little hand and stroked the soft lamb my sister had give her that I had tucked into my arms with her, and the little cat my mom had given her.. and I just had her stroke it and stroked it. Slowly the screams turned to sobs, which turned to moans and then sleep.. So I think my goal over the next few weeks is to promote Transitional Object attachment.. AKA.. find a lovie..

2 weeks

I can surface for air every once and a while..

Things are going quite well...in a larger sense..

Little Miss has decided she likes the cats and the dog.. and will only scream in fear if she thinks they are approaching her too many times.. this usually results in said animal high tailing it in the opposite direction and usually ends with Little Miss laughing about it..

 She has decided she adores her oldest brother and gets into a little snit if he is busy and won't pay the attention to her that she feels she deserves.. which perplexes him quite a bit but he is usually easy going and jovial about it and dotes on her. I love to see him play with her. She's good for him.

 Today the three little ones spent nearly 45 minutes playing tea party in Dancing Queen's room..it was a wreck of plastic tea sets, knitted play food and other toys but they had so much fun. I was very pleased that they played together.

The car is still a source of constant tears..mostly just soft moans now and some screams.. I hope that this means we are working towards acceptance of the car and the carseat..

 

Sleeping is going better.. on most days we have a schedule that includes a nap around 1pm..for at least an hour.. although some days preclude a nap due to appointments....She will usually go down without much fuss in my arms and transferes to the crib without waking.. Waking from the naps is another beast.. she wakes SCREAMING..stiff, shaking.. disoriented..and just inconsolable... it is awful.. I wonder if she has been dreaming of China and then wakes.. and just doesn't know where she is...it seems that way...

  

Sleeping at night has been better.. she does not go down quite as "nicely" as she does for naps.. usually I put her down drowsy but not totally asleep.. or if she does fall asleep in my arms she wakes.. then she will wail as if I am breaking her heart when I close the door.. and I stand there.. at the door.. hand on the knob ready to rush back in as the wail stops.. and she is done.. quiet.. never more than a few seconds of protest..and it is a protest.. not a cry of fear.. She will then usually wake up once... but settles before either one of us can even get to her door.. so we haven't opened the door to disturb her.. Which may not sit well with some.. but she isn't being left to cry alone.. she just lets out a cry and then nothing.. The few times we have gone in after that.. she is up for HOURS and just miserable.. so we are opting to let her sleep.. and us too..

 She has been waking up cheerful.. unlike her naps.. I hear her start to stir around 6:30 or 7.. and she will talk and sing a bit.. and then will call out for us. She will raise her arms to get UP when I walk in and is usually smiling. So that is good.. very good..

Our days are settling into our new "normal" of schooling, and playing and running interference... she tantrums.. a lot... part of it is being 2.. and part of it is being uprooted from everything she has ever known.. and part of it is the lack of language... which is frustrating for everyone..

But.. it is good...

Gates

She's gotten over her shyness it seems.. and her need to be right next to me at all times.. This is great!

But it also meant it was time for the gates to come out from storage..

She was not too sure exactly what they all meant.. and I am sure we'll get an ear full from her when she realizes she no longer has access to the stairs....

She has good lungs...

A Week!!

A week!!

What changes do a week make?! A whole bunch!

First.. we are all sleeping better.. Hooray!!! I think that we are finally kicking jet lag to the curb! Lu and I are still quite tired come 7:30 pm.. but the nights are blessedly calmer.. with only a few wakings.. unlike last week.. I won't scare you with the tally of wakings for that week...

really... it would scare you...


Adjustments are going well.. for everyone... Lu is not screaming when she sees the cats or dog.. in fact.. she will often seek to touch them.. before screaming.


Progress..


She will go to her daddy.. with encouragement.... ie.. I hand her off and walk away for a while... yes.. it is progress.. a few cries.. then smiles.. then hands held to be picked UP UP...

She thinks her siblings are very funny.. and enjoys playing with them...

Little Steps!!

Today we even ventured OUTSIDE!! We spent a half hour walking up and down.. and up  and down.. and up and down.. the driveway in the stroller.. then she wanted out..and we walked up and down..up and down.. and up and down the driveway... We touched snow.. and held sticks and leaves.. and had a lot of fun poking snow and puddles with our stick.. until..finally... we were tired and asked to be carried..

then dinner.. this child EATS.. and eats and eats....

We had a nice evening playing with toys. then tasting popcorn.. under intense supervision.... and watching a silly cartoon..until our eyes could not possibly stay open.. and then bed.. with just a tiny bit of fussing..


Yes.. a week marks a HUGE progress...

every moment is a gift...treasure it.. and we try..

;)

Layers....

I thought I'd share some photos on the many layers that Chinese children wear... It is a belief that children in China be kept quite warm.. and after having experienced cooler weather there.. I can understand why. The windows I experienced in the hotels and buildings were single paned.. and in the cooler climes.. the rooms were cool to downright cold...

This is a photo of the layers Lu came to me in.. Every single layer, plus a diaper under those split pants..
 She looked like a sausage..

Here are some shots from an orphanage in Jiangxi province that illustrate how babies are bundled in their cribs.. (I did not take these photos, used with permission by the person who took them)

And even in their walker/potty chairs..

While we were out and about.. we saw many children bundled up.. some so much so they could hardly sit down..

The temperature was around 38-40 for these photos...

It was no wonder that so many grandmothers Tsked Tsked me when I went out with Lucy in just a fleecy "snow suit"

day 4 home

It has been an eventful 24 hours.. I ended up coming down with a stomach virus..While it was NO fun.. I was very grateful to have contracted it once home and not in China!! My husband is so wonderful, he stepped right in and managed everything while I was laid up in bed.
 Lu was NOT a happy camper.. to have to deal with "this guy" when mommy was sick.. but after some protest, she rolled with it.. Hopefully it will help with their bonding process..

Sleep is still not going well.. at all.. she screams..just about non stop from 2 hours after she is put to bed (she sleeps for about 1 to 2 hours initially) until about 4 or 5 am.. when utter exhaustion just takes over.. We are NOT doing any type of CIO.. she just cries and cries and cries.. even in arms...or in bed with us.. and even if we can get her settled and asleep.. she only stays asleep for about 20 to 30 minutes before waking up screaming again..

She had her first DR visit here in the States today. So we have ruled out any medical cause for her discomfort.. no illness etc.. The Dr feels it is part adjustment, part jet lag, part Fight or Flight... and suggested we try a weighted blanket tonight. I did try it for nap time today and she took a 3 hour nap (and so did I)!!

I have contacted the Cleft Team and am waiting to hear back with her appointment for her evaluation. Our Dr wants them to review her info and also see her to see what the next step it.. She will need some sort of surgery to help release some tissue to help her nose shape.. In the scope of things, a rather minor detail. We feel so blessed.

This poor child needs a good night sleep.. and so do we.. She is so tired, even after a 3 hour nap.. she ended up falling asleep on the kitchen floor.. She laid down to throw a tantrum.. and never even made it to that point.. but fell fast asleep.. Poor little one..