Happy Happy Monday!
Can you believe we’ve had our girl for two months?! I didn’t do a post-adoption one month post because I was still in the middle of our China recaps so this is gonna be a big one. A LOT has changed in the last two months. We were given a quiet, reserved, not-gonna-show-them-my-cards eighteen month old and we now have a joyful, sweet, and absolutely precious twenty month old.
We’ve been soaking up all kinds of firsts with Miss Britt….
*She’s attended birthday parties.
*She enjoyed a little weekend staycation in Dallas.
*She’s watched her fair share of basketball and football games played by her older siblings.
*She celebrated her daddy on Father’s Day.
*She’s had lots of doctor’s appointments.
*She’s been to church every Sunday since we returned.
*She’s seen not one but two firework shows and has celebrated both Independence Day and Memorial Day.
*She’s met a ton of friends and family who loved her before they even met her.
*Eating*
Eating is going pretty well. She’s not as adventurous with what she’ll try as she was the first month or so. She eats both baby food and table food. I’m still giving her bottles…with whole milk and PediaSure. This last month she’s really started wanting what we have more and more…she’ll drink my water, take some bites of whatever I’m eating, etc. She has her big palate surgery scheduled for next month and her recovery includes a liquid diet for two-three weeks. Knowing that, I’m trying not to transition her to table food until after all that. And I know milk and PediaSure will be our BFF during those two-three weeks so I’m keeping that up until afterwards as well.
*Health*
She’s doing great! When we got her I just felt like we were so far behind in having things checked out and tested so the first couple weeks home we had a lot of doctors’ appointments.
*Milestones*
We’re working on all the things but a few things I’ve gotten way too excited about lately…
*She can say, “Mama”. And I think at this moment she understands it.
*She’s also learned how to say, “Uh-Oh”. Her voice is the cutest thing ever!
*She is doing so well walking while holding our hands. She isn’t there yet solo, but has made huge strides in the last several weeks. We’re also working on crawling….one slight problem when she’s placed on her tummy she SCREAMS. She absolutely hates it. I took her to occupational therapy this week (it was AMAZING…like I cried when we walked out to the parking lot kind of AMAZING) and her therapist really wants us to continue trying this frequently throughout the day. We’re obeying but she hates it.
*Her fine motor skills are great…she can pick up all the little things…even little pieces of something I didn’t even realize were present! ha! Two months ago when you set food down in front of her she just stared at it. Now she picks it up and stuffs it in her little mouth.
*If you ask her how big she is, she’ll hold both arms up and we’ll say, “SO BIG!”.
*When I hold her and am patting her back, she’ll lay her head on my shoulder and pat my back too.
*She waves “hi” and “bye”.
*If you wink at her, she blinks her eyes very slowly like she’s winking.
*When Ebby Lee sings, Britt tries to join her. For some reason she only does this for Ebby Lee but it is too funny.
*She can do all the right moves to “Patty-Cake”…she claps, rolls them up, and throws them out.
*She knows her name.
*She manages to let us all know what she wants with grunts and pointing. hahaha!
*She shakes her head “no” and means it. She’s just starting to do “yes”.
*Likes*
*She loves her family…she loves us all but I’m her favorite at the moment.
*She loves Puffs.
*Swimming is one of her very favorite things to do.
*She’s got some rhythm. This girl loves loves loves music. If you play some music, she’ll be sure to dance along.
*She also likes to read books.
*Attachment*
This is going so well. I prayed and prayed about Britt attaching to us and this has definitely been an answered prayer. For the first eight weeks, Tab and I were the only two who held her, fed her, or comforted her. We wanted her to know by us alone meeting her needs that we were her parents. I’m not gonna lie…it was a long eight weeks. I’d been so used to having my independence whether it was a babysitter watching the kiddos when I had an appointment or simply just Tab and I having a few minutes alone to chat while the kiddos were in bed. But…I’m SO glad we did that. I feel like she has attached very well to us, she’d prefer one of us to be holding her, and she knows we’re her family. Like I mentioned last week, if at any moment we feel like she isn’t acting attached anymore then we’d immediately go back to just us being the two holding her and such.
*Sleeping*
Sleeping is getting so much better. This was a rocky subject six weeks ago. 🙂 Britt usually sleeps through the night every other night. On her “off” night, I get her up, offer up a bottle, and then put her back to bed. Usually she goes right back to sleep.
*Nap Time*
Britt usually takes a one and a half to two hour nap. So much of this depends on when she goes to bed and when she wakes up. This summer we’ve been going to bed way too late, sleeping in way too long, and taking way too short naps. ha! I’m thinking when the school year starts and we’re all on a good schedule then naps will be longer.
This sweet girl has turned me into the sappiest mom on the planet. haha! Did you read the part above where I cried walking into the parking lot because our first therapy session was SO good?! I’m telling you I’m like putty in her little tiny hands. The thought of this sweet girl living in an orphanage for eighteen months literally breaks my heart. She needed us, but I had no clue how much we needed her. I just asked Nixon (my crazy, wild ALL boy seven-year-old who is also happens to be putty in Britt’s tiny little hands) yesterday how our lives would have been if we hadn’t listened to God and adopted Britt. His response, “TERRIBLE”. We could have missed this. And just the thought breaks my heart.
Our baby girl nine weeks ago to this very day was so reserved, scared, and nervous (and who could blame her for that?) but let me add that she was oh, so brave.
Now she’s looking a lot more like this…is so full of life, such a carefree baby, and has a smile that’s contagious. We love this girl so very much and feel so blessed to call her ours.
If you’re feeling led to adopt, I urge you to learn more. Trust me…if God has this planned for your family, you don’t wanna miss this.
Don’t forget, I’ve been taking adoption questions and have a Q and A post coming soon. If you have any question(s) you’d like me to address, please e-mail me at alittlebitofeverything83@yahoo.com.
Have a GREAT day! XO
