It's hard to describe our first week home- in a nutshell we are all doing very well. It has been a roller coaster for sure- there were times where Annie and I were crying on the floor simply because we are "getting to know you." It is hard bringing a new person into your family at any point- and in many ways it's easier- my body is in one piece, and our newborn is sleeping through the night. It took a few nights of misery for Annie to get on a schedule at night (with the help of melatonin and benadryl) but since last Tuesday she hasn't made a peep at night. It's hit or miss how nap/bedtime will go- she has cried more than not, but I feel that it's just a matter of getting used to schedule and saying goodnight to all the fun we'd had that day. On the other hand we just have to take the time to get to know her- unlike a newborn- she is walking, talking (in toddler Mandarin), running, playing with toys, hitting, pulling us one way and then another, grunting, and crying when things don't go as She planned. As each day passes, we breathe a bit easier, learn a little bit more about her. We are still waiting for the bottom to fall out- for the attachment issues so common with adoption to rear their ugly head- and for now I am trying to focus on the day at hand, almost hour by hour. Mealtime is a challenge- we let her taste what we are eating, and then I have a backup meal, and then the back up, back ups meal- all of which she might or might not like. There are a handful of things that work almost every time - at least a few bites- sticky rice with pumpkin, raisins, and ramen noodles. Who can't live off of that?
Charlie and Edie are handling her pretty well- the first few days were bad- Annie hit and slapped them both continuously, but over the course of a week that has stopped. She still grunts at them and shakes her head no- to which Charlie keeps asking- does that grunt mean no in Chinese? Yes, Charlie and in every other language too. He has become notorious for trying to parent her, pick her up, walk her across the room- we expected no less- and even with all her rejections he is resilient to win her over. I do love his patience. We'll see how long that lasts. Edie has been more cautious- keeping her distance (smart girl!) and more or less ignoring her - but when she is not with Annie she speaks very proudly of her new baby sister.
Jetlag has been worse than Ev and I expected- but hopefully in another few days we will be back to "normal."We keep hearing that for every time zone you were off, that's how many days it takes to get back on schedule= 13 days.
Cardiology report:
Annie was born with a congenital heart defect known as tetrology of fallot with secondary asd. The most serious part was the narrow entrance to her pulmonary artery that leads the blood to the heart for oxygen. She was turning blue b/c of a lack of oxygen to her body until she had surgery at 1 year in China. We saw the pediatric cardiologist at UAB on Friday morning and got a good report. He was pleased with the results of her surgery- she has 98% oxygen saturation and her VSD and ASD (holes in the walls of her heart) were repaired. They enlarged the opening of her pulmonary valve. Because of this, she has pulmonary deficiency- to be expected with this condition- but it also means she has back flow into this opening that eventually leads to overcompensation by other parts of her heart. She will have a heart echo every year until it is apparent to the cardiologist that she needs a pulmonary valve replacement. It could be needed as young as 5 or 6 or not until late adolescence. He said that currently that would most likely mean open heart surgery, but over the next 10 years he guessed most valve replacements will be done through catheterization- a non-invasive procedure.
Ok- that's us in a nutshell-....below are pictures - from a friend who is a photographer, met us at the airport and caught Annie's Homecoming....
Thanks again for all the messages- sorry if I have not replied/returned phone calls- they are very important to us, I promise. In that respect I do feel like I have a newborn as Annie needs a lot of one on one time. We are exhausted at the end of each day trying to keep the peace and catch up with the last 2.5 years of Annie's life! Will update in another week or so!
love, julie, ev, charlie, edie and annie choo choo.
The pictures are amazing and I love reading your story. I am amazed at your bravery and courage and wish you continued success as everyone adapts to their new family life!
ReplyDeleteErin