Saturday, April 11, 2009
A busy week
This week has flown by so quickly! We've been home a week now and Natalie seems to be adjusting very well. On Thursday she had her 1 year physical with Dr. Britton. It all started well with her babbling and blowing bubbles at him, then it went downhill from there. She started crying when he was checking her belly, and it didn't improve when he peeked in her ears. The worst was when it was time for her immunizations. The nurse came in with 4 to give! YIKES! When I asked her about so many at one time she explained that it was due in part to playing 'catch up' on some shots that are not administered in China. Natalie had some according to her chart from the orphanage, but had a few missing. They gave her immunizations for - 1) Chicken Pox, 2) DTP (tetanus and other), 3) Hib, and 4) Pneumococcal. Two shots in each thigh brought her to tears very quickly. She didn't fight and just looked at me with tears as if to ask 'Why are they doing this to me'! So sad!
Before all the trauma they took her measurements. She weighs 15lbs 13 oz, and is 29.25 inches tall! Long and lean - just like Amanda and Kelsey were. Her weight didn't even register on the chart for her age. Dr. Britton said he would go online to find a more appropriate growth chart for her that showed averages for Chinese children. Oh, and he noticed that her two top teeth are trying to come in so that explains all her drooling lately!
Before the dreaded shots
That was the day the nap schedule went out the window. She is still happily going to bed each night around 8pm - thankfully! But naps are a different story. She used to just grab her blanket each time I laid her down and went to sleep. Now she cries as soon as she hits the bed. We've learned that with adopted children it is not wise to let them 'cry it out' as we did at times with Amanda and Kelsey as this adds to their insecurities. So, I will let her fuss a bit, but not let her cry and get upset. Maybe once the effects of the shots wears off she'll be more amenable to her recent nap schedule, or perhaps she was just catching up and now only needs one nap per day. Who knows? We'll figure it out.
Alison, Andy's sister, came to visit on Wednesday night and Natalie warmed up pretty quickly. She was not impressed with the gift that Alison brought her. The stuffed animal (lamb) was pushed to the side and over repeatedly! It was very funny. Her aunt Phyllis came for a visit on Thursday and her gift of a stuffed animal (bunny) was treated with the same disrespect! I guess she's not a fan of the stuffed toys yet.
Natalie talking to her Aunt Alison - don't they both look so happy to be together?
Natalie with Aunt Phyllis - she seems to like the tissue and ribbon more than the gift itself!
Amanda came home for Easter break and we took a short shopping trip - all three of us. Typically she will settle into her car seat and ride contentedly. Yesterday we left home and Amanda had some banking to do so I sat in the car with Natalie while Amanda went in. She was only in the bank less than 10 minutes, but long enough for Natalie to tire of just sitting in the car seat. When started out again for the mall area she began to cry. The crying fairly quickly turned to hysteria and I found a place on Commercial Street to pull over. I got her calmed down and asked Amanda to drive so that I could sit in the back with her. Oooh boy - that was a stressful 10 minutes! She was not happy to go back into the seat and just looked at me, crying with big tears streaming down her face, and working herself into quite an upset. Poor Amanda was trying to drive and I could tell the stress was taking it's toll.
We finally made it and she was very happy to get out of the van and into her carrier. We made a couple of stops - looking for her Easter basket, of course, and went to the mall to have some lunch. We ran into Jane Laplante while there and Natalie warmed up by happily dropping her stacking cups for Jane to pickup! She was very interested in all the people and activity going on there too.
After that we stopped by the high school for Amanda to introduce Natalie to one of her favorite teachers - Madame Laplante (yes, sister-in-law to Jane!). Natalie was so happy to see everyone at the high school. Some teachers knew all about her arrival and were excited to meet her, others were confused and asked 'who is this'?
Last night Teresa, Andy, Anna, & Drew came over for a visit and Natalie really enjoyed it! She gave a show by throwing her cups, her rattle, or whatever you happened to hand her, and big grins. She is very interested in others more her size. She reached a couple of times for Anna while poor Teresa sat watching patiently waiting for the day when Natalie will feel comfortable enough to be held by her Aunt!
Anna just loving Natalie! No worries Nana! She's in a t-shirt here, but she had a sweatshirt on and was getting ready for bed!
Natalie with Amanda, Drew, and Anna - showing a bit of her fiesty nature...gee, she'll fit in here!
Bedtime last night was a breeze - she laid down easily and fell asleep almost immediately. Around 10pm she began to cry and I was worried that she was awake - but she just needed a bit of holding and fell back to sleep on my shoulder. So sweet - she just melts you!
She's been trying a lot of new foods and now seems to ask for it! She readily goes into her chair and smacks her lips waiting for her meals. Yesterday she really liked the strained peas I served! She had peas, apples/pears, and spaghetti for dinner. She doesn't mind trying different foods which is really good. And she still really likes her bottle and waits for it as soon as she's done with her 'solid' food. Her doctor recommended introducing the sippy cup more, but she is just not interested. Perhaps we need to try a different one or maybe she just needs some more time with her bottles.
So all is going extremely well. We seem to be connecting as a family of 5 now. She seems to be more and more comfortable with her surroundings and the new people we introduce dont' seem to cause her to be as nervous. It's cute to have her pulled up to the table and eating with us. Of course the conversations get a bit distracted, but we are loving that she is finally here with us, healthy, happy, and loved!
Getting ready to say good-night!
Loving my Daddy!
So sweet!
Before all the trauma they took her measurements. She weighs 15lbs 13 oz, and is 29.25 inches tall! Long and lean - just like Amanda and Kelsey were. Her weight didn't even register on the chart for her age. Dr. Britton said he would go online to find a more appropriate growth chart for her that showed averages for Chinese children. Oh, and he noticed that her two top teeth are trying to come in so that explains all her drooling lately!
Before the dreaded shots
That was the day the nap schedule went out the window. She is still happily going to bed each night around 8pm - thankfully! But naps are a different story. She used to just grab her blanket each time I laid her down and went to sleep. Now she cries as soon as she hits the bed. We've learned that with adopted children it is not wise to let them 'cry it out' as we did at times with Amanda and Kelsey as this adds to their insecurities. So, I will let her fuss a bit, but not let her cry and get upset. Maybe once the effects of the shots wears off she'll be more amenable to her recent nap schedule, or perhaps she was just catching up and now only needs one nap per day. Who knows? We'll figure it out.
Alison, Andy's sister, came to visit on Wednesday night and Natalie warmed up pretty quickly. She was not impressed with the gift that Alison brought her. The stuffed animal (lamb) was pushed to the side and over repeatedly! It was very funny. Her aunt Phyllis came for a visit on Thursday and her gift of a stuffed animal (bunny) was treated with the same disrespect! I guess she's not a fan of the stuffed toys yet.
Natalie talking to her Aunt Alison - don't they both look so happy to be together?
Natalie with Aunt Phyllis - she seems to like the tissue and ribbon more than the gift itself!
Amanda came home for Easter break and we took a short shopping trip - all three of us. Typically she will settle into her car seat and ride contentedly. Yesterday we left home and Amanda had some banking to do so I sat in the car with Natalie while Amanda went in. She was only in the bank less than 10 minutes, but long enough for Natalie to tire of just sitting in the car seat. When started out again for the mall area she began to cry. The crying fairly quickly turned to hysteria and I found a place on Commercial Street to pull over. I got her calmed down and asked Amanda to drive so that I could sit in the back with her. Oooh boy - that was a stressful 10 minutes! She was not happy to go back into the seat and just looked at me, crying with big tears streaming down her face, and working herself into quite an upset. Poor Amanda was trying to drive and I could tell the stress was taking it's toll.
We finally made it and she was very happy to get out of the van and into her carrier. We made a couple of stops - looking for her Easter basket, of course, and went to the mall to have some lunch. We ran into Jane Laplante while there and Natalie warmed up by happily dropping her stacking cups for Jane to pickup! She was very interested in all the people and activity going on there too.
After that we stopped by the high school for Amanda to introduce Natalie to one of her favorite teachers - Madame Laplante (yes, sister-in-law to Jane!). Natalie was so happy to see everyone at the high school. Some teachers knew all about her arrival and were excited to meet her, others were confused and asked 'who is this'?
Last night Teresa, Andy, Anna, & Drew came over for a visit and Natalie really enjoyed it! She gave a show by throwing her cups, her rattle, or whatever you happened to hand her, and big grins. She is very interested in others more her size. She reached a couple of times for Anna while poor Teresa sat watching patiently waiting for the day when Natalie will feel comfortable enough to be held by her Aunt!
Anna just loving Natalie! No worries Nana! She's in a t-shirt here, but she had a sweatshirt on and was getting ready for bed!
Natalie with Amanda, Drew, and Anna - showing a bit of her fiesty nature...gee, she'll fit in here!
Bedtime last night was a breeze - she laid down easily and fell asleep almost immediately. Around 10pm she began to cry and I was worried that she was awake - but she just needed a bit of holding and fell back to sleep on my shoulder. So sweet - she just melts you!
She's been trying a lot of new foods and now seems to ask for it! She readily goes into her chair and smacks her lips waiting for her meals. Yesterday she really liked the strained peas I served! She had peas, apples/pears, and spaghetti for dinner. She doesn't mind trying different foods which is really good. And she still really likes her bottle and waits for it as soon as she's done with her 'solid' food. Her doctor recommended introducing the sippy cup more, but she is just not interested. Perhaps we need to try a different one or maybe she just needs some more time with her bottles.
So all is going extremely well. We seem to be connecting as a family of 5 now. She seems to be more and more comfortable with her surroundings and the new people we introduce dont' seem to cause her to be as nervous. It's cute to have her pulled up to the table and eating with us. Of course the conversations get a bit distracted, but we are loving that she is finally here with us, healthy, happy, and loved!
Getting ready to say good-night!
Loving my Daddy!
So sweet!
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2 comments:
Natalie is as adorable and sweet in person as her proud parents have shared with us on this blog. A beautiful family of 5! xoxox Alison
Unsolicited advice...we've discovered that our doctor's office won't charge for a nurses/doctor's visit if we come back just for a shot. So, at check-ups, we get one, then we go back a week or two later for another. It's a lot of trips to the office, but with such awful reactions to even just one shot (up all night, tummy upset, fever), we decided we'd rather go more often than multiply the effect. Plus, in theory, the shots will become more "usual" and less scary. Right? A shot will be un-scary, somehow...? I'll keep telling myself that...
In any case, the shots don't seem to have taken any of her smiles or sweetness away. Dan keeps melting every time he sees her picture.
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