Well, since I have been religiously checking blogs for court dates and referrals with no luck, I figured I should use this time to update our own blog. I'm feeling a little responsible for everyone being on edge. I really thought that things would move so much quicker once the courts reopened, but a week open with no news is really frustrating. The one thing that I did learn while I was over there (and during our process) is that Gladney tends to get everything buttoned down before getting ANY information out (most likely to avoid any potential and unnecessary disappointment). So for those of you waiting on various things, I have to believe that once you actually get a referral or court date, everything will move at lightning speed. I know that Belay, Ryan and Abby are working overtime trying to get the referrals ready and papers submitted to the courts, even though you aren't hearing anything yet. Hang in there - I can't wait to see the news coming pouring in!
As far as us, we have settled in nicely. It's hard to believe we've been home for two weeks. The first week was chaotic. It actually was really only hard trying to get everyone back to normal - go through all the mail, school papers, laundry, etc. I just kept piling the mail up and up until I couldn't ignore it anymore. I'm happy to report that that pile is now gone!
I think it was the first day that John left for work that I realized that I am responsible for FOUR little people. He was heading out of the kitchen and they were all eating and playing in the kitchen and I just looked at him like, you are really ok leaving me with all of them?!?!?! I feel like I'm still an irresponsible high school kid sometimes and couldn't possibly be in charge of all of this! Have no fear - they were all safe and we were able to keep everything under control!
The kids are doing so well with Sophie. It really makes all the difference when the new baby can laugh and smile immediately. They have all been so proud to get huge belly laughs out of her. I think Katie has made every bottle for her that she's been home for and Matthew and William love to read her books - see below :)
She has been a great baby. She sleeps about 13 hours a night - straight through. It's pretty unbelievable, actually. She also goes to bed SO easily. Pop in the pacifier, rub her forehead or belly for a minute and she's out! One night she even fell asleep while I was changing her diaper and putting her pjs on. She takes two naps and those were probably most affected by jet lag. They were each about 3 hours when we first got home, which was actually kind of a pain to be "trapped" at home for so long, but now she's settled in to about 1.5 hours for each, which is perfect. It took her about a week and a half, but she now actually wakes up happy in the morning. At first, she would wake up with this terrified cry. At first I thought she was starving, but then I realized that she calmed down as soon as we got her and was didn't need to eat right away. I don't know if it was being alone in the crib or room, but I think we're over that hump now.
The biggest issue has been all of the health stuff that they warned us to expect. The first day home I brought her to the city to a pediatrician specializing in adoptions. She was checked from head to toe. She had an ear infection, a terrible skin rash and possibly rickets (vitamin D deficiency). They gave her 5 immunizations and took a ton of blood. The shots were nothing compared to the blood work. Because they needed so much, they laid her on her back and had her head hang off of the table while they drew blood from her JUGULAR!! As horrifying as it was (although the "hanging" and being held down bothered her much more than any needle did), apparently it is the easiest and fastest way to draw that much blood due to the screaming and gravity. I'm not so sure about that! Anyway, she was 3% in weight, 12% in height and 45% in head circumference, so we're thrilled that she's even on the charts. The way she's chowing now, I bet she'll blow through these %s. Her birth mother was so tiny, though, so I don't know how big she'll end up (though her mom might not even be done growing). Looking at her most recent pictures, I think her face has already fattened up!
Last week we saw our regular pediatrician. In hindsight, I probably should have just started here since he seemed totally on top of any potential issues from Africa and that way he doesn't have to wait around for results from labs he doesn't know, etc. He was surprised to hear about the rickets and doesn't really think she has it. He had us take her for leg xrays (the least invasive and most conclusive way to check for rickets). He left a message saying everything was fine, but I'll speak to him in person today. The amoxicillan wasn't doing anything for her ears, so he switched her antibiotic, which had the added benefit of killing the bacteria that we found in her belly at the same time, so that's good. We had to treat the original rash with a pretty harsh cream that basically set her cheeks on fire! She also has excema, and it really flared up on her cheeks. We've been able to keep it calm since we figured out that it's just excema, but it's definitely still there. Given how many random little annoyances she's had in the past two weeks, she's really doing great. She is eating a ton and generally very happy. We'll see the Dr every month for a few months to check her progress, but he is optimistic that she'll continue to grow well.
Two days after we came home, we had the opportunity to see Melissa Fay Greene speak at a local library. She was even better in person than in her book – and she’s really funny! For those of you who don’t know it, or haven’t read it, I highly recommend Melissa’s book
http://www.thereisnomewithoutyou.com/. It was so great to see local families with Ethiopian babies at home. I even ran into a woman that I know from town that's seriously considering Ethiopia for adoption. I'm so happy to see this really starting to happen in our community.
Oh, and I almost forgot - this was a big week for TEETH! Sophie got her first tooth on our first Wednesday home and got her second this past Thursday. She has two more on the verge. And her biggest brother Matthew FINALLY lost his first tooth this week (he might be the last kid in 1st grade with all baby teeth!). I think Katie and I were much more excited about the tooth fairy than he was since he tried to give the dollar to Daddy in the morning!
Ok, that's all for now. I can't wait to see new baby faces on other blogs soon. Hang in there guys!
See the first one? It's there!
