She's finally home!!! :-)
We brought her home yesterday amidst a shower of tears (her caretakers and her own at being in a car seat for the first time), but she is happy now and getting used to her new place. She's been soliciting a lot more cuddling and holding, which I really enjoy and am glad to give her as she gets used to everything. We have both noticed her just soaking up the extra, dedicated attention after being in an environment with 5 kids to 1 adult.
The hardest thing has been that she doesn't want to be put down to sleep (nap or at night) and just sobs and sobs, even if we lay down with her. I'm not sure if that's normal behavior for her or just a result of all the changes (since we were never at the orphanage as she was actually going to sleep.) She's also very shy with new people, but I take that as a healthy developmental sign and it seems to encourage her attachment to us.
It's been fun putting her in all the little clothes we've been gathering, although I amazed that at 18 months she can actually fit into some 6-9 month clothes. She is so tiny! One weird thing I've noticed in myself is that I am having to come to terms with the fact that she's actually going to WEAR the cute clothes and even get them dirty! :-) Evidently, that's what kids do...
She seems to be liking the cloth diapers (we got fuzzi bunz) which makes me happy. There's just a great pleasure in finally having charge of her and being able to dress her, feed her what we want (though she's pretty picky!), and be responsible for everything ourselves. It's a big responsibility, but it feels like the time has come and we're jumping in with both feet.
Matt's out doing some grocery shopping to get some foods that she will eat (she can't have milk products and doesn't like fruit, so we're kind of limited). That's another hard thing. She has been "trained" into a lot of habits (and not trained into others) that are different from how we would have raised her, so we just kind of have to take her as she is and hope that gradually we can introduce some new tastes, behaviors, and routines. This will take a lot of grace but we are enjoying the payoff with every little smile, giggle, and cuddle.
She's a precious little girl and we are so happy!
(By the way, we have lots of pictures to post soon, but a few technical difficulties as our digital camera just died, as well as our computer... :-( We're trying to line up new equipment, but it is taking some time. The timing is a real bummer! That's why our website hasn't been updated in a while...)
2 comments:
Jenny, I am so happy for you guys (as I've written on Matt's blog). I'm glad to get your perspective on this change as you have written some more details that Matt didn't include. I pray patience for you. I think (from my limited "training" and experience) that a lot of the things you wrote about are normal baby things, especially cuz she is adjusting to a new routine. But kids do need routine so think about what routines you want to have and try to stick to them. I might email you more so I don't take too much space here. But also remember that no one is an expert because each child is an individual (some things you learn to do with Anna will be totally thrown out the window with the next child you have). I love you guys and will be thinking of/praying for you.
Hi Jenny,
It is so great that Anna is with you!!! So much of what you write reminds me of things my sister said when they first got their two precious kids. Like Anna, Gracie cried a lot before being put down to sleep and often did not want to go to sleep even though she was so tired. So, it sounds like it maybe a common behavior upon coming home.
Lots of love to you three and I look forward to meeting Anna when you are ready for visitor.
Blessings.
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