I'm late posting this since she actually took her first solo steps a couple of weeks ago. Then she didn't show much interest until the last couple of days. She is still a little wobbly and you can just see the concentration in her face. She is just so proud of herself when she gets from point A to point B. If you had bet me two months ago that she would be walking today, you would have won.
Yeah, I know it's been a while since my last post. All is well, just busy and haven't made the blog a priority. We had my friend Andree' from Seattle here and then my parents, sister, nieces and nephew were here. LuLu enjoyed meeting her Aunts and cousins and was happy to see my parents again. We really had a blast and both of those visits deserve a post of there own. I'll try and get some pictures up soon.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
Six Week CheckUp
We went to the Dr. last Wednesday for our 6 week checkup. Yes, we have been home 6 weeks. It has FLOWN by!! She now weighs 18.4 pounds and is 29.25 inches long. So, in 6 weeks she gained 3.3 pounds and grew an inch!! We are now officially on the growth charts.
She is also pulling up on anything that is stationary for a second and cruises around from object to object.
Here are a few words that she will say:
Da Da
Ma Ma (finally!!)
Nite Nite
Thank You - although it sounds nothing like "Thank you" and I'm sure I'm the only one that would recognize it.
She will do the signs for "eat", "more" and "dirty" (we made that one up - you just wave your hand over your nose)
She can point to her foot, teeth and dimples. Well, she actually points to the same general area for both tooth and dimples. Yeah, I know most people start with nose but we think the others are much more fun.
Really the only thing that could be improved is the sleeping. I don't think she has slept through the night since we got back from China. The last week has been a little better in that she is easier to get back to sleep once she wakes up so hopefully we are headed in the right direction. Typically she wakes up around 1:30 and 4:30 am expecting a bottle and is downright peeved if you don't immediately produce one. I really think the ONLY way she knows to fall asleep is with the bottle. I'm sure she's waking up more now during the night due to the huge transition that she has gone through. And then of course once she's awake and trying to fall asleep again, she is looking for the bottle. So it's a process of teaching her HOW to fall asleep. I'm sure we'll get there, it's just taking a little time.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Do You See What I See?
Yep, there is a tooth coming in on top. I thought I should make an announcement. My friend Kristen heard it from the owner of our local Thai restaurant and wasn't too happy about that. The latest pearly white peeked through a few days ago and I think the second top tooth isn't far behind.
I know her life will be much easier with teeth but man I'm going to miss that gummy smile.
I know her life will be much easier with teeth but man I'm going to miss that gummy smile.
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
For Those Yet To Travel - Part Two
As I was giving LuLu her bottle last night, I realized how far we have come. We all hear over and over again that the caretakers in China have probably cut a larger hole in the bottle's nipple. Most packing lists include several nipples and something to cut the hole larger. Even though I had heard this for over three years, I had no idea just how big the hole would be.
When we received LuLu, we also received two boxes of the formula and a bottle that she was using. If I had not seen the nipple myself, I would never have realized how big they make the hole. About one third of the nipple was gone. No sucking required as with a hole that big, the contents would literally pour out.
We immediately went to a smaller hole. Even with that, she would not suck but would just move her tongue around to get something out. We have gradually worked our way to a slightly modified fast flow nipple. In the last couple of days, she has also been drinking out of a straw style sippy cup. She is so proud of herself when she is successful with that cup.
I know this was our experience and yours may be different but I thought I would mention just how big of a nipple your child may be used to. If I had not seen it myself, I would never have guessed.
Here she is with her new sippy.
When we received LuLu, we also received two boxes of the formula and a bottle that she was using. If I had not seen the nipple myself, I would never have realized how big they make the hole. About one third of the nipple was gone. No sucking required as with a hole that big, the contents would literally pour out.
We immediately went to a smaller hole. Even with that, she would not suck but would just move her tongue around to get something out. We have gradually worked our way to a slightly modified fast flow nipple. In the last couple of days, she has also been drinking out of a straw style sippy cup. She is so proud of herself when she is successful with that cup.
I know this was our experience and yours may be different but I thought I would mention just how big of a nipple your child may be used to. If I had not seen it myself, I would never have guessed.
Here she is with her new sippy.
Thursday, September 03, 2009
For Those Yet To Travel
Last night, I was reading through the posts from China and it occurred to me that it really doesn't tell the entire story. Don't get me wrong, in many ways I think our trip was a "best case scenario" and I don't take that for granted. However, for those yet to travel to meet their little ones, there are a couple of things I wanted to point out.
First of all, even under the best of circumstances there are some tough moments. LuLu came from what some say is one of the "better" orphanages. I do think she was shown lots of affection and I am grateful for that. I will admit however, that I wasn't quite prepared to be handed a child in her physical condition. I won't go into details because it's her story not mine. I've travelled all over this world enough to know that different cultures have different standards for cleanliness. It's just different. But when you are handed your child in that condition, it's hard. I would have told you I was prepared but I wasn't.
Also based on updated measurements and these pictures that we received just before we travelled, I knew she would be tiny. However, her size literally took my breath away. Even our facilitator (who has seen lots of babies over the last 12 years) was concerned about her size. I fought back tears everytime I changed her diaper.
Now all of these things are EASILY overcome. But they are real and they were hard to see so I wanted to mention them for my friends still PATIENTLY waiting.
Now that I see more of LuLu's personality I know that much of her "contentment" the first few days was really just her being overwhelmed. Or it could just be that there was never any reason to fuss before, I don't know. And although she is a generally happy child I can promise you she has now learned the fine art of fussing. So my advice is that even if your child seems "fine", keep it very low key those first few days. Since we were a travel group of one family, we were able to keep it very low key and that certainly helped. Actually we were probably downright boring the first few days.
Most of this is probably things you guys already knew but I wanted to pass it on anyways.
EDITED TO ADD: Stephe's question in the comments regarding sizes reminded me of something else to share. We always hear to bring several sizes of clothes when you travel. It's true. Even if you have updated measurements like we did, it's still a good idea. Based on measurements we received just before we travelled, I could look at the clothes size charts and tell that she fell into the 6 month clothes. However, that wasn't completely accurate because most of her weight was from the belly up. So 6 month tops fit but bottoms were a different story. Most of those were too big. Of all the clothes I brought for her, I think she wore the same 4 or 5 outfits over and over. We just did laundry. You can also find what you need in most cities in China. However, for me personally I would not have wanted to worry about that in the first couple of days. As a new parent, I had enough to process those first couple of days without going clothes shopping.
First of all, even under the best of circumstances there are some tough moments. LuLu came from what some say is one of the "better" orphanages. I do think she was shown lots of affection and I am grateful for that. I will admit however, that I wasn't quite prepared to be handed a child in her physical condition. I won't go into details because it's her story not mine. I've travelled all over this world enough to know that different cultures have different standards for cleanliness. It's just different. But when you are handed your child in that condition, it's hard. I would have told you I was prepared but I wasn't.
Also based on updated measurements and these pictures that we received just before we travelled, I knew she would be tiny. However, her size literally took my breath away. Even our facilitator (who has seen lots of babies over the last 12 years) was concerned about her size. I fought back tears everytime I changed her diaper.
Now all of these things are EASILY overcome. But they are real and they were hard to see so I wanted to mention them for my friends still PATIENTLY waiting.
Now that I see more of LuLu's personality I know that much of her "contentment" the first few days was really just her being overwhelmed. Or it could just be that there was never any reason to fuss before, I don't know. And although she is a generally happy child I can promise you she has now learned the fine art of fussing. So my advice is that even if your child seems "fine", keep it very low key those first few days. Since we were a travel group of one family, we were able to keep it very low key and that certainly helped. Actually we were probably downright boring the first few days.
Most of this is probably things you guys already knew but I wanted to pass it on anyways.
EDITED TO ADD: Stephe's question in the comments regarding sizes reminded me of something else to share. We always hear to bring several sizes of clothes when you travel. It's true. Even if you have updated measurements like we did, it's still a good idea. Based on measurements we received just before we travelled, I could look at the clothes size charts and tell that she fell into the 6 month clothes. However, that wasn't completely accurate because most of her weight was from the belly up. So 6 month tops fit but bottoms were a different story. Most of those were too big. Of all the clothes I brought for her, I think she wore the same 4 or 5 outfits over and over. We just did laundry. You can also find what you need in most cities in China. However, for me personally I would not have wanted to worry about that in the first couple of days. As a new parent, I had enough to process those first couple of days without going clothes shopping.
Friday, August 28, 2009
We're Still Here
and all is well. I have just been busy and have not kept up with the posts. I was down for a few days with a cold turned ear infection but on the mend now.
LuLu is scooting across the floor with ease now and will even venture into a room by herself. Her scoot is done with one leg in a sitting position and the other leg has the foot on the floor. Hard to explain but maybe you can get an idea in this picture. It's actually quite efficient since she is half way there when she wants to sit down.
LuLu is scooting across the floor with ease now and will even venture into a room by herself. Her scoot is done with one leg in a sitting position and the other leg has the foot on the floor. Hard to explain but maybe you can get an idea in this picture. It's actually quite efficient since she is half way there when she wants to sit down.
She is now a champion eater and really doesn't turn down much of anything. Hopefully her number of teeth will catch up with her appetite soon. She weighed 15.1 pounds at the doctor three weeks ago. She's filled out quite a bit since then. Her cheeks are fuller, she has quite the belly and she is working on having thighs. We go back to the Doctor in three weeks and I'm betting on at least 16.5.
For some reason, her favorite thing is having a lime in each hand. She goes crazy for them everytime she sees them. Walking through the grocery store, she just about jumped out of the hip carrier as we walked past the produce. If you came to our house right now, I can not promise that you would not step on a lime. At this rate, we are going to have to open up a Mojito bar.
Here's A few more pictures from the last several days
Friday, August 14, 2009
Here's what we have been up to...
It's been just over a week since we have been home and it has flown by. Here's a little of what we have been up to. We have moved from Up Dog to Down Dog.
Cleaned the rug
Recovered from jet lag. As you can see, some have done better than others. 
Tried to juggle limes
Discovered watermelon
Been swimming
Had a belated one year birthday celebration. Complete with a very special dress made by my Mom and worn by two of my nieces.
We also had our first Doctor's appointment since being home. We will have more official word when the blood work comes back but so far so good. Speaking of blood work, frankly that experience sucked. I could go for a while without having to do that again.
Unfortunately, we haven't returned all the lovely Welcome Home emails and phone calls. And we haven't sent Thank You's for all the gifts that have poured in. Maybe next week.
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