Today marks ONE week of being home and we are all finally beginning to feel like ourselves again! Summer has kicked in to full-gear (in Bend, OR, you only have 2 seasons... WINTER that lasts 9 months and then SUMMER the remaining 3 months). I am so thankful that we get to have this "adjusting period" with a new toddler during my favorite time of year.
We are all doing well, although I think I might have a cold now. It's funny because I kept praying God to keep us all healthy during our trip in China... it's like I forgot to pray that we'll REMAIN healthy afterwards... I am so, so thankful that nobody in our family was ill during our time in China and that we all made it home without too much pain. One great praise is that Selah did NOT get any ear pains on any of the flights at all. I am so thankful for that because I had heard and read that often cleft babies get ear pains. Speaking of ear, Aaron thinks there is a chance Selah can't hear well out of her left ear. I am not 100% convinced yet, but he did conduct a few unofficial "tests" to see if she responds to sound in that ear, and at the time he did it, she didn't respond, but ofcourse, we've since done other tests where she HAS responded. I think I'll have to bring it up to our pediatrician when we see him next week and possibly our doctor we'll be seeing for her cleft next week as well.
We celebrated 4th of July, mostly groggy and not quite ourselves.... my sister-in-law and BFF, Anna and her family came to visit us and to see Selah for the first time over the weekend and it was so nice to see her and talk with other adults besides just Aaron. She was so sweet and brought meals to us everynight that she was here so we didn't have to cook.
The week started off with Aaron going to work on Monday after the 4th... he barely got any sleep the night before (due to jet-lag we couldn't fall asleep)... but had to go to work at 7AM and operate 'till about 8pm. I did OK with all the kids... the boys have been a life saver for me with just being extra hands around here and watching the girls whenever I need to take a break. God has orchestrated this so perfectly with the boys being out of school during our transitional time. The boys also started their swim team practice 3 days a week... this year all 3 boys are participating, but thankfully, I have some carpools worked out so I don't have to drive all the time.
Selah is adjusting so well! Her and Anna actually don't fight anymore like they did in China! It really surprised me how she has become much more tolerant and even Selah is relaxed a bit and as long as I provide gentle reminders to each girl about "being nice", they really seem to be getting along! I even have some pictures of the girls hugging over 4th of July and since then, it has become a regular ocurrence that they hug and play nice. I know I will probably have challenges to come, but for now, I am so glad that they don't hate each other :)
Selah loves her bath, so it has now become a nightly bedtime routine for the girls to take a bath in our big bathtub. They both have so much fun in the tub and it is quite a relaxing time for me also.
Here are some info about Selah:
She loves bath
She LOVES bananas! I am not kidding, she eats about 5 whole bananas a day! we've gone through 4-5 bunches of bananas in just the ONE week we've been home!
She does NOT know how to climb upstairs
She does NOT know how to climb downstairs and I'll add that she's even shows signs of being scared when I tried to teach her.
She wears size 18-24 mo clothes... anything else seems tight :)
She wears size 5 shoes
She is VERY helpful in getting dressed and getting shoes on
She can sign "more", "please", and "all done"
She says "Anna" and "Noah" but really doesn't say "mama" yet. I am trying to teach her that one.
She seems to understand quite a bit of what we say.
She LOVES the outdoors and often grabs my hand to pull me outside. I think this is so cute but also can become tiring :)
She can EAT, and EAT, and EAT... the girl is ALWAYS hungry.
From what I can tell, she has 4 bottom front teeth, 2 molars in the back; 4 front top teeth and 2-3 back molars in the back... kinda hard to tell because she doesn't like to open her mouth and due to the cleft palate, it's not all in a neat row.
When she smiles, her face squishes down and it's so adorable
She really doesn't like being laid down for bed... she cries 1 out of 3 times when I lay her down...but usually falls asleep on her own within 5-10 minutes. If she doesn't cry, she is usually just happy and talks back and forth with Anna.
She still drinks formula at bedtime. apparently, she used to drink formula 3 times a day, but since I feed her alot of other foods, she doesn't seem to need it.
She LOVES to dance. It is so cute when she hears music, she shakes like crazy and laughs outloud.
She is VERY competitive with Anna for attention. If I am playing a game with Anna or giving her special attention, she cries out for attention too. This has been a challenge for me to try to give them both some love, not to mention trying to make sure the boys don't feel like they have a mom. Only God can help me with this one, as I feel totally incapable of adequately loving each person in my life.
It is bedtime so I better finish this post for now and post some pictures! I am hoping to update this blog once a week for now... but we'll see how that goes :)
We are all doing well, although I think I might have a cold now. It's funny because I kept praying God to keep us all healthy during our trip in China... it's like I forgot to pray that we'll REMAIN healthy afterwards... I am so, so thankful that nobody in our family was ill during our time in China and that we all made it home without too much pain. One great praise is that Selah did NOT get any ear pains on any of the flights at all. I am so thankful for that because I had heard and read that often cleft babies get ear pains. Speaking of ear, Aaron thinks there is a chance Selah can't hear well out of her left ear. I am not 100% convinced yet, but he did conduct a few unofficial "tests" to see if she responds to sound in that ear, and at the time he did it, she didn't respond, but ofcourse, we've since done other tests where she HAS responded. I think I'll have to bring it up to our pediatrician when we see him next week and possibly our doctor we'll be seeing for her cleft next week as well.
We celebrated 4th of July, mostly groggy and not quite ourselves.... my sister-in-law and BFF, Anna and her family came to visit us and to see Selah for the first time over the weekend and it was so nice to see her and talk with other adults besides just Aaron. She was so sweet and brought meals to us everynight that she was here so we didn't have to cook.
The week started off with Aaron going to work on Monday after the 4th... he barely got any sleep the night before (due to jet-lag we couldn't fall asleep)... but had to go to work at 7AM and operate 'till about 8pm. I did OK with all the kids... the boys have been a life saver for me with just being extra hands around here and watching the girls whenever I need to take a break. God has orchestrated this so perfectly with the boys being out of school during our transitional time. The boys also started their swim team practice 3 days a week... this year all 3 boys are participating, but thankfully, I have some carpools worked out so I don't have to drive all the time.
Selah is adjusting so well! Her and Anna actually don't fight anymore like they did in China! It really surprised me how she has become much more tolerant and even Selah is relaxed a bit and as long as I provide gentle reminders to each girl about "being nice", they really seem to be getting along! I even have some pictures of the girls hugging over 4th of July and since then, it has become a regular ocurrence that they hug and play nice. I know I will probably have challenges to come, but for now, I am so glad that they don't hate each other :)
Selah loves her bath, so it has now become a nightly bedtime routine for the girls to take a bath in our big bathtub. They both have so much fun in the tub and it is quite a relaxing time for me also.
Here are some info about Selah:
She loves bath
She LOVES bananas! I am not kidding, she eats about 5 whole bananas a day! we've gone through 4-5 bunches of bananas in just the ONE week we've been home!
She does NOT know how to climb upstairs
She does NOT know how to climb downstairs and I'll add that she's even shows signs of being scared when I tried to teach her.
She wears size 18-24 mo clothes... anything else seems tight :)
She wears size 5 shoes
She is VERY helpful in getting dressed and getting shoes on
She can sign "more", "please", and "all done"
She says "Anna" and "Noah" but really doesn't say "mama" yet. I am trying to teach her that one.
She seems to understand quite a bit of what we say.
She LOVES the outdoors and often grabs my hand to pull me outside. I think this is so cute but also can become tiring :)
She can EAT, and EAT, and EAT... the girl is ALWAYS hungry.
From what I can tell, she has 4 bottom front teeth, 2 molars in the back; 4 front top teeth and 2-3 back molars in the back... kinda hard to tell because she doesn't like to open her mouth and due to the cleft palate, it's not all in a neat row.
When she smiles, her face squishes down and it's so adorable
She really doesn't like being laid down for bed... she cries 1 out of 3 times when I lay her down...but usually falls asleep on her own within 5-10 minutes. If she doesn't cry, she is usually just happy and talks back and forth with Anna.
She still drinks formula at bedtime. apparently, she used to drink formula 3 times a day, but since I feed her alot of other foods, she doesn't seem to need it.
She LOVES to dance. It is so cute when she hears music, she shakes like crazy and laughs outloud.
She is VERY competitive with Anna for attention. If I am playing a game with Anna or giving her special attention, she cries out for attention too. This has been a challenge for me to try to give them both some love, not to mention trying to make sure the boys don't feel like they have a mom. Only God can help me with this one, as I feel totally incapable of adequately loving each person in my life.
It is bedtime so I better finish this post for now and post some pictures! I am hoping to update this blog once a week for now... but we'll see how that goes :)
Comments
Sounds like everything is going well. So glad you all are about over the jet lag and that the girls are doing better with each other. Don't worry about the kids feeling as if you don't love them or are there for them. That is the beauty of mothers.... I think God made us like His son Jesus in that we can love them all, give each one what they need, and still have more to go around. It is so awesome to be blessed like that. Have a great week! Looking forward to next week's post :-)
Blessings,
Tammy in MS
www.ourchinagiftfromgod.blogspot.com