We had a setback after the last post. When I returned to the room Bethany had a melt down because I was gone for about 30 minutes. We spent Monday running all over creation doing paperwork and taking pictures. She started grieving yesterday and it had continued today. We have had screaming fits all day today. Also, everytime she wakes up, she realizes she is in a strange world and loses it. She gets scared and just shakes. Please pray for her adjustment and getting used to us.
Okay...this is Stacey now. Our guide let us use his computer for the rest of our time here in Nanchung - until this Friday. As Todd said, yesterday was really bad. She screamed and wailed and just grieved and mourned all day. She did for several hours today also. Today was better than yesterday but still really rough. Her grieving is heart wrenching but it's good also because it means she was attached to something or someone at the orphanage. She in a way, we're glad for the crying, but looking forward to the end of her grief. As Todd said, keep praying for her - we definitely see improvement in eye contact and her wanting kisses from us.
Now...about Bethany......She is precious! She is so sweet and absolutely beautiful! As you can tell from the pics, her hair was NOT cut! YAH! She has the longest eyelashes and is skinny as a little rail. She definitely needs to be fattened up! She is long - yes, my Daddy was right! She is long! Lengthwise, she fits perfectly in 18 months, but they fall off of her. She loves attention - it's amazing how much she has progressed since we've had her. She also loves Gerber cheese puffs, congee and apple juice. She loves her stuffed animals - we have a few here and she's crazy about them. She also loves the few toys we brought for her - a bouncy ball that lights up and a little sing along toy. She's figured out how to make the toy sing and she loves to play with it. She LOVES to be tossed in the air and a little teether we bought for her. We didn't think she'd be able to suck it, but Todd wanted to bring, and so glad we did. Somehow she can keep it in her mouth and she really enjoys it. She is definitely a "hold me" baby. She loves to be held - especially while standing. She's figured out that whining works really well, and she whines until we stand and hold her. She loves for us to stand in front of the mirror and hold her so she can she herself. I already have arm muscles, just from 3 days of standing and holding her - not that I mind. :) We were outside alot yesterday - which is a story too long to tell - but she seemed to love being outside. She didn't love all of the going, but she loved being outside. Right now, she's playing with Todd and has actually started crawling around some. She's not in the right position, but the fact that she can hold herself up with her arms to crawl around a little is amazing. Before today, she had no arm strength to hold herself up. Her progress is truly unreal - more than we could have expected in such a short time.
Now to what Bethany doesn't like.....She does NOT like baths!!!!! Breaks my heart!!!! ;-) She knows how to throw a fit, and bath time is fit time. We've tried showers and baths, and she doesn't like either. Oh well......She also doesn't like anything that involves changing her clothes. She hates to have clothes put on or taken off including diaper changes. She also HATES to have her feet messed with - she doesn't like socks or shoes to be put on or taken off. She's not real crazy about hats either, but she has to wear them b/c it's so cold when we go out.
We are going to see how she does getting out by going to a park to sightsee tomorrow and to the porcelain street. Our regular guide Mr. Zhou said it would be good to get her out and thought she would do well. Oh, and she is starting to respond to her name a little bit. We are trying to get her ready for bed so more later. Stacey is having to stand with her and feed her because she is so rotten (so I guess now I - Todd - have 2 of them to deal with).
T&S
Okay...this is Stacey now. Our guide let us use his computer for the rest of our time here in Nanchung - until this Friday. As Todd said, yesterday was really bad. She screamed and wailed and just grieved and mourned all day. She did for several hours today also. Today was better than yesterday but still really rough. Her grieving is heart wrenching but it's good also because it means she was attached to something or someone at the orphanage. She in a way, we're glad for the crying, but looking forward to the end of her grief. As Todd said, keep praying for her - we definitely see improvement in eye contact and her wanting kisses from us.
Now...about Bethany......She is precious! She is so sweet and absolutely beautiful! As you can tell from the pics, her hair was NOT cut! YAH! She has the longest eyelashes and is skinny as a little rail. She definitely needs to be fattened up! She is long - yes, my Daddy was right! She is long! Lengthwise, she fits perfectly in 18 months, but they fall off of her. She loves attention - it's amazing how much she has progressed since we've had her. She also loves Gerber cheese puffs, congee and apple juice. She loves her stuffed animals - we have a few here and she's crazy about them. She also loves the few toys we brought for her - a bouncy ball that lights up and a little sing along toy. She's figured out how to make the toy sing and she loves to play with it. She LOVES to be tossed in the air and a little teether we bought for her. We didn't think she'd be able to suck it, but Todd wanted to bring, and so glad we did. Somehow she can keep it in her mouth and she really enjoys it. She is definitely a "hold me" baby. She loves to be held - especially while standing. She's figured out that whining works really well, and she whines until we stand and hold her. She loves for us to stand in front of the mirror and hold her so she can she herself. I already have arm muscles, just from 3 days of standing and holding her - not that I mind. :) We were outside alot yesterday - which is a story too long to tell - but she seemed to love being outside. She didn't love all of the going, but she loved being outside. Right now, she's playing with Todd and has actually started crawling around some. She's not in the right position, but the fact that she can hold herself up with her arms to crawl around a little is amazing. Before today, she had no arm strength to hold herself up. Her progress is truly unreal - more than we could have expected in such a short time.
Now to what Bethany doesn't like.....She does NOT like baths!!!!! Breaks my heart!!!! ;-) She knows how to throw a fit, and bath time is fit time. We've tried showers and baths, and she doesn't like either. Oh well......She also doesn't like anything that involves changing her clothes. She hates to have clothes put on or taken off including diaper changes. She also HATES to have her feet messed with - she doesn't like socks or shoes to be put on or taken off. She's not real crazy about hats either, but she has to wear them b/c it's so cold when we go out.
We are going to see how she does getting out by going to a park to sightsee tomorrow and to the porcelain street. Our regular guide Mr. Zhou said it would be good to get her out and thought she would do well. Oh, and she is starting to respond to her name a little bit. We are trying to get her ready for bed so more later. Stacey is having to stand with her and feed her because she is so rotten (so I guess now I - Todd - have 2 of them to deal with).
T&S
Everything you describe is normal! Yay! I am so glad you are posting. I got impatient and called Stacey's mom yesterday. She, too, was being quite impatient.
ReplyDeleteYou are right. She is gorgeous! I am so glad to hear that she is eating for you. It sounds like she and Anna Grace are almost exactly the same size. If that's the case, she's doing well!
The grieving is healthy. It shows that she can form attachments. That will get better soon. You will be amazed at her progress and what a little love can do. When we first got Anna Grace, she would barely crawl for us. On day 2, she got up and walked into her Paw Paw's room.
Anna Grace didn't care for baths either. We washed her in the sink the first few times. It seemed to work better. I also gave her a toy to distract her while we washed her hair (the worst part). It sounds like our two girls are kindred spirits. Anna Grace hates shoes, socks, hats...well, clothes. She would much prefer to be nekkid.
Keep the posts coming. We were getting ready to organize a blog posse.
Hello My Precious Children,
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see you and hold you and kiss you. Todd, you better not have let your beard grow! I would love to be able to hold our precious little Bethany, but I am waiting till it's good for her. Praying for you not just daily but continuously. LOVE EACH of YOU! Hurry home!!! Mom and Dad
Bethany is absolutely beautiful!!! I feel like I have adopted a granddaughter as I go through this process with you both. I can only imagine how it must feel to hug her and give her kisses. Give her both for me.
ReplyDelete