Thursday, June 17, 2010

Two Weeks Home

We have been home two weeks today (actually yesterday, I started this post yesterday and due to a sleepless babe never finished). Hard to believe! We've been slowly adjusting to being a family of three. The first week home was a little rough and overwhelming. Liya has been having some sleep issues, food issues, and a case of Salmonella. That made for some tired parents and a crabby baby! I do have to say she handled the major life changes better than I would have! We also have had some learning to do as first time parents.

I'm happy to say that things are going much smoother now. We have been working on getting into a daily routine and that is making everyone a little happier. I think/hope we are wrapping up with the Salmonella; although the public health nurse (did you know they have to notify the Dept. of Public Health?) said it can get worse again (and rarely lasts more than a year...what?!). For the most part Liya is back to being a happy baby most of the time. She still doesn't like going to sleep though or staying asleep. Speaking of... she went to bed at 7pm tonight and it is now 7:23pm and I can hear her talking/complaining in her crib... Two hours later...we went for a walk in the stroller, which is good for getting her to fall asleep, and I just spent an unsuccessful hour with her trying to get her to go to sleep. Now it's daddy's turn. Well, it's 10:30 and she just finally fell asleep. It's not like I had planned a productive evening writing thank-yous and a blog post or planned on going to bed early. I'm just glad that in the last week she has started taking a little bit longer naps in comparison to the one or two 15 to 30 minute naps she had been taking and had slept in until 7am the last three mornings. Does anyone have any tips for getting a newly adopted 8 month old baby to go to sleep?

Liya (aka Liyaphrata or Ephrata or Frata or Frata-poo) has surprised and amazed us since we first met her. We didn't even know if she was able to sit on her own before we met her. She could sit but would do a lot of face plants in the process and used her head to push herself back up. Fast forward three weeks and she is completely mobile. She crawls like a pro and pulls to standing on whatever is within reach. We thought we would have time to baby proof our home. Definitely not the case! She gets into EVERYTHING. She is so curious and loves exploring. This means that when she is awake momma can't do much else besides keep an eye on her Frata. This was especially challenging the first week home when there were hardly any naps taking place and Liya was waking up at 5:30 or earlier every morning (amazing because that is the time she would also awake in Ethiopia). Thank goodness she started sleeping through the night when we came back from Ethiopia!

It seems like every day she learns something new. She learned peek-a-boo in the car one day. It is so adorable when she does it. Most of the time she only covers one eye though so she can see what you are doing. Many days she will come up with some new sound to practice. Whether it's a new way to whine or talking in a high pitched voice or saying something new. The last few days the raspberry has been a favorite. I am especially fond of when she does it just as I spoon a mouthful of food into her mouth. Yesterday she practiced saying mm mmm mmmmm all day long. Today she started saying ma ma ma ma ma! Yay! She already had da da da down. It is so fun to watch her pick up new skills.

Hopefully next week I'll  post about our time in Ethiopia along with pictures. Until then enjoy these photos.

Finally, a family photo

Momma and her baby


Trouble maker! She emptied the whole first shelf of her bookcase by herself.



She enjoyed her second time in the pool a little more than the first. I ended up joining her because it was so hot that day and the pool has a nice shade over the top. We had to flee when a wasp was hanging around the outside of the pool.

9 comments:

Eryn said...

isn't it just amazing how fast they are changing and learning? It goes to show that the best place for them is in a family! Lucy is about the same...she would rock on all 4's in Ethiopia at first...and now, we can't keep her off of the stairs and she she's pulling up and cruising on all the furniture! I wasn't ready for that. So glad you guys are doing well...I actually just read in my "Parenting your Internationally Adopted Child" book, that kids having a hard time falling asleep on thier own is a good sign of them "needing" thier parents....not that it makes any less frusterating when the won't just GO TO SLEEP! It's hard, even for seasoned parents. I think the best thing to do is do the same routine every time you put her to bed. Say the same things, sit in the same chair, with the same blanket, hold her the same way. THey are all cues to her that it's sleepy time. Lucy wants to fight us too, but she seems to be getting the hang of our sleep cues. She's now settling into our arms as soon as we sit in the chair in her room. EVen when she fights, we kind of force the routine on her, and tell her "it's bed time". She gets it, and soon settles down. It's hard to not get frusterated at times, but hang in there...it's worth it when they settle into the new groove.

Matt and Kristi said...

:) Thanks for the post and the beautiful pictures!!!

The Busters said...

I LOVE the picture with Liya surrounded by all the books. SO adorable! I hope the sleeping gets better and that the salmonella clears up SOON!!! What a beautiful family!

Mairin said...

I love looking at these pictures, Lisa! I think the first one is my favorite, your family picture. It's so perfect. :)

Wes and Layla said...

She is beautiful! I'm so glad to hear that you are settling in nicely! :)

Angie said...

How adorable!!! She is so cute! Many of my friends have babies now and they all say routine, routine, routine. Keep going and it will get better :) She has to test her parents. That is her job.

Love you guys!

Laura said...

Boy do I have a cute niece! Thanks for the updates!

Cassandra Britt said...

What a beautiful family!! Congrats!!

Anonymous said...

Time for a new update!