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We're Home
Tuesday,
December 29, 2009
Whew!!! This entry to supposed to entail what has been going on
the past 6 weeks as Brielle has adapted to her new surroundings
and we settle in as a family of four. What we can't describe is
what went on the first two weeks ... we literally can't remember
what happened! Our foggy memory stems from severe lack of sleep
incurred due to 1) Jet lag (that we were never able to recover
from!) 2) Brielle's (lack of a) sleeping pattern; and 3) keeping
up with our 2-year old, Brayden. Through the generosity of
friends and family we were kept well fed - that we do remember.
Additionally, Aunt Grete and Grandma Kim provided relief care
when we needed it most so that we were able to get an hour of
sleep here or there, clean up the house or run errands when we
needed to. We began to wonder if Daddy needed to take more than
4 works off from work given how slow we were at getting basic
day-to-day activities done around the house!
The two weeks before Daddy went back to work were packed with
several physician appointments. The first one was to the
University of Minnesota's International Adoption Clinic where
Brielle had a very thorough check-up with a pediatrician who
specialized in seeing international adoptees and an evaluation
by a physical therapist. The second visit was to a pediatric
cardiologist where we received great news regarding Brielle's
congenital heart defect that has begun to correct on its own and
will require a wait-and-see approach over the next couple of
years. The third trip was to our regular pediatrician's office
for a baseline exam, some blood work and getting her vaccination
schedule up to date. And, finally, a visit to the pediatric
opthamologist to evaluate a minor "lazy eye" - another condition
we simply have to "watch" periodically. Whew - that was a lot of
appointments, but fortunately since we both have medical
backgrounds, we were not overwhelmed by everything to keep track
of. All in all though, we have a healthy, happy baby girl who is
just very small for her age and needs to get moving around on
her own to strengthen her leg and abdominal muscles.
After the first few weeks at home we began to see some semblance
of normalcy. We made major progress in getting Brielle into a
more "patterned" sleep schedule. It started with her sleeping 8
to 12 hours at night without the need to be bottle-fed. Daytime
naps were another story as she would only sleep for about 30
minutes once or twice a day. One would think that her lack of
naps during the day would make for a cranky baby, but not
Brielle! She is always happy and smiley except when she wants to
be fed. Speaking of feeding we have discovered two facts about
Brielle's eating preferences: 1) she does not like being spoon
fed; and 2) she will eat anything we place in front of her as
along as she can eat it with her hands! We are amazed at how
fast she can pick up the little bits of food and pop them into
her mouth.
We would be remiss if we didn't mention how Brayden has taken to
his new little sister. His initial meeting at the airport with
Brielle was priceless - a gentle kiss and a rub on the forehead.
Since then it has switched between sweet goodnight pecks on the
cheeks to rolling over and laying on Brielle or taking "his"
toys from her. Brayden is still doing his own thing much of the
time which one would expect out of a 2-year old, but everyday
you can see that he is getting more familiar with and gentle
towards Brielle.
After the "fogginess" of the first two weeks home, the
experience of bringing home our daughter has been better than
either one of us could have possibly imagined. Wonderful.
Joyous. Complete. Miraculous. All of these and more. Adoption is
such a beautiful gift. Brielle definitely knows that we're her
Mommy and Daddy, and has attached to us better than we ever
dreamed she would ... and for this we are extremely blessed and
thankful. She has brought so much joy to our family, and we love
her with all of our hearts!
“All children come
from God - for some the journey home just takes longer.”
~Unknown
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Our family is together at last!
Home for one week, and she's all smiles!
Sitting up on my own now!
Happy, happy girl!
Our little sweetheart! |
Brielle's first Christmas - spent with Grandpa Ken,
Grandma Kim, Grandpa Bob, and Grandma Carol
“Having a place to go is home;
Having someone to love is family;
Having both is a blessing.”
~Donna Hodges
Website by
myadoptionwebsite.com
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