Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Our First Night/Day Together

It is 1:15 on Tuesday afternoon right now and Lia Kate is sacked out in the bed taking a nap right now. I would have posted sooner today but we have been busy since this morning with appointments -- signing our official paperwork and doing her medical checkup.

We had a pretty good first night together. She started out sleeping in the crib, but she woke me up several hours later by moving around in it. I looked over to see what she was doing and saw she was reaching her arms far out in front of her as if she was trying to grasp something. My guess is that she was reaching for her crib mate. A few minutes later, she was sitting up in bed agitated and trying to throw her blankets and crib bumper out. She saw me awake and started crying. I picked her up and put her in our bed and she quickly calmed down and fell asleep between us. For most of the night, she was lying horizontal between us ... kicking Danny's back with her feet and her head hitting my back. She moves her legs a lot in her sleep. She woke up one other time crying and fell back asleep in my arms. She slept through both of us getting up this morning and getting ready. We finally had to wake her up at 8:15 this morning so we could get her ready and go down to breakfast before we had to meet our guide at 9:30 a.m.

She ate very well this morning at breakfast! She sat in a highchair and I fed her spoonfuls of scrambled egg, oatmeal and yogurt. She would not swallow the previous bite until I had another spoonful in front of her mouth, which I hear is a common thing with orphanage babies. She ate every bit of food I gave her but she is a slow eater. She probably would have kept eating if we hadn't had to meet our guide. She has taken a bottle of water/apple juice, which she loved and some of a formula bottle today. I tried a sippy cup but she has no clue how to use it. She also ate a jar of baby food I brought from the States. She is doing well on the eating thing.

Lia Kate cries whenever we change her diaper, change her clothes or lay her down. She is comforted quickly when I pick her up though, so for the most part, she is living in my arms. That is fine with me as the most important thing right now is for her to bond with us. Part of this process is meeting every need she has without hesitation. We have noticed a slight improvement in her mood over yesterday. We have seen just a couple of smiles that may have lasted for one second or so. And I even heard her laugh for  a brief second when we walked outside today. Our guide tells us most children don't come out of their shell until the third or fourth day of being with their new parents. I can tell she is going to be a happy little girl one day. Her Asst. Orphanage Director said that she is a very happy girl but she is afraid of strangers. Right now, we are the strangers. I'm sure we look, sound and smell so different to her. Also noticed today that as we had to turn her over to the doctors for her medical appointment, she was very upset, but would stop crying as soon as I picked her up. That is great because she is learning that I am safe.

We have also noticed that she rubs her eyes and plays with her hair as a self-protection mechanism. Anytime you try to directly interact with her (like play pat-a-cake) she will immediately pull her hands away and rub her eyes or play with her hair. She also did it at breakfast some this morning ... this is what she is doing in some of the pictures. The other pic is of her sleeping this morning. She looks so big in it but keep in mind that she is in a 9-month romper!

I will write another post tonight about her adoption paperwork appointment and medical appointment today. Also, have some pics of that to include.

3 comments:

Julia said...

I am so glad she is learning that you are safe! I can't wait to see pictures of the scowling princess with a big smile!

Julia

Kelley Brown said...

She's definitely learning that you're safe...that made me smile. I love hearing all the details and about how she's responding. I know you were so thrilled to see those couple of smiles. :)

athena01 said...

How wonderful that things are moving along -- grief, safety, love, even a couple of smiles! Wow! Absolutely LOVE all the details. We love all four of you!!!