Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Settling in

As expected, we are all suffering a bit of jet lag with Katy having the worst of it.  She's been waking up between 2 and 3 AM and the first night she woke her sisters.  I set her room up so that she could read if she woke up again the next night.  She's been entertaining herself since then and not waking her sisters but we're going to have to come up with another solution.  This is what I found this morning . . . 





We're trying to get early naps in today and Katy is now cooperating and is sound asleep in her room but, my easy sleepers have decided today that it's not such a great idea.  I put them down in their room with twin beds and when I would hear chatter or noise I'd go in.  All I have to do is walk near them and when they hear me they scurry back to their beds.  They've already established whose is whose as they have done with the high chairs.   I sat with them for a long time and know that they are both exhausted but they keep trying to hold hands, smile at each other, trade stuffed animals, etc.  I then decided to try the playpens in my bedroom.  They're now both laying down but neither seem close to falling asleep.

The girls are both doing great and Katy is hanging in there.  They seem to be very happy and Courtney has come a long way in her motor skills.  She is very serious compared to Camryn but she does smile a lot too.  I have noticed that they rarely cry but when they do, they start with the heaving that kids do after crying for a long time.  They don't make any crying noise so it's hard to know when they're doing that.  I don't know if it's because they never got a response to loud crying so they keep it to themselves but, it's very sad to see.  The tears are flowing but they're just making the heaving sound very quietly.  Camryn started doing that when I moved her into the playpen - it's heartbreaking.  Courtney was doing it in the middle of the night one night and I picked her up to rock her.  She then let out a loud cry which I thought was probably a positive thing.  

I have appointments for the girls with a doctor specializing in internationally adopted children for next Tuesday.  I'm anxious to get that done so I know which direction to go with the girls. They went with me to drop Katy off at school and Camryn went right to the work table and got some work out.  She pulled out a little chair and sat at the table to begin working.  It was like she'd always been doing it and she was excited about it.  She was very sad when I took her out of there.  Courtney shows interest too but she's always a bit more hesitant to jump right in.  I'd like to get them in a couple of mornings a week just for the social interaction as well as the pre-school program which is very good but I'm waiting to see what the doctor says.  If they need something more specialized then I will do that but, right now, I don't see that that's going to be necessary.  Even physical therapy is questionable at this time because Courtney has changed drastically just in the last week.  Camryn never had any issues.  Both girls are strong  and capable and don't seem to be very far behind at all in physical issues.

The areas I think they are behind are language which is a given but they're understanding a lot already.  Also, Courtney still is a little slower with her fine motor skills then Camryn but when comparing there's always going to be one ahead of the other.  Neither one knew how to use a bottle or a sippy cup and they both have the sippy cups down now.  I think they were hand fed everything including drinks so they never learned how to do that.   In comparing them to other children their age they seem pretty close.  

So, after one week together I think we're doing great although we are all still exhausted from the trip and the newness of it all.   I was talking about getting rid of some of our excess toys and Katy thought I was talking about her sisters and was upset.  That was a good sign!  She does like her sisters and still wants them here!  They really are so much fun for me and, although I am tired, I am loving every minute with them.   Individually they are both very endearing and loving and, together I find their interaction so interesting and amusing.  They are so connected. I find that if I hold Camryn's hand or ask Camryn to do something then Courtney follows along.  Even walking into the house, if I only have one hand I'll take Camryn's then I don't have to worry about Courtney.   I hope to help that change one day but for now it's making two much easier.  Actually, the two of them are easier work wise then Katy ever has been on her own.  They play together and entertain each other which is very helpful when I have something I have to do.  Katy didn't have that and needed to be with me every second.  Sometimes, she's still like that!  


Sunday, October 12, 2008

We're Not in Moscow anymore

We are so glad to be home.  All 3 girls are doing very well.  I wish I could say it was an uneventful trip home but, it wasn't.  A woman died on the plane about 2 hours out of Moscow and, as surprising as it was, we just kept going.  She was on the plane for 9 1/2 more hours!  There was an investigation after we landed which took a long time and was difficult with our little baby train.  But, we go through and emerged as a group of 6 US Citizens which was when I knew I could finally relax and we were truly done.  I still had a 2 1/2 hour drive and was exhausted but everything looked so pretty, clean and well-organized that I was excited about seeing things.  I've never thought that LA or So. Cal was very pretty around the main freeways but after having spent 5 weeks throughout the Urals in Russia, the US looks incredible.  Everything works and is clean and, the workmanship here is so good and solid while over there even the new buildings were done poorly.

But, more importantly, our friends and family were there to great us and it was so great to see everyone.  As soon as I had my 3 girls lined up in their car seats in the car, we took off.  Camryn immediately started  her excited chatter and Katy chimed in which lead Courtney in as well.  They were so cute together.  Then Katy asked for one of her favorite songs and when it came on they all 3 started rocking out to it.  Lots of fun!

Coming home was so great - so much home-cooked food, the house was all baby proofed and ready for the girls and me to settle in without having to do anything.  I'm always amazed at how lucky I am with my family which has been the driving factor in wanting more children.  I want my children to have what I have when they are adults and I hope they are so lucky to be able to get a long as well and be as helpful as we all do.   Katy was so happy to see everyone and introduce them to her sisters so it was really fun.  We had family and friends stopping by most of the day and, although initially I was concerned about over stimulation, etc., the girls handled everything so well and really enjoyed playing outdoors with the other kids.  They fit right in and were not shy at all with the kids.    I think they did really well and know that they are going to enjoy our friends and family as much as Katy and I do and visa versa.  

Courtney is like a different kid already.  Her coloring is better, she's eating food, drinking out of a sippy cup, smiling, playing, is friendly and happy.  I can't imagine what she will be like an a week or even a month.  Camryn was already doing all of those things and she is just so happy.  Tonight we were playing in the play room and Camryn decided she was tired.  There were 3 other adults in the room but she came to me and crawled up on me.  She laid on me for about 5 minutes and then fell asleep.  It was months before Katy would have done that even if I had been the only person in the room.  She'll do it now but she's so active that it's not often that she'll admit to being tired.  It was very sweet.

There's lots more to tell but I am still exhausted from the trip and need to sleep when I can.  I'll update more later on how the girls are doing . . . I love the response I get from the blog and the stories that it generates and the people I have met through it.  It's really added a whole new element to this adoption that I didn't have with Katy's and I can't wait for the girls to read it someday.   I have so many people to thank for things while I was gone and so much to catch up on that it's a little overwhelming.  Katy's back at school tomorrow so that will help free up a little time to start the process.   But for now, I have 3 sleeping girls so I must sleep too!