We have been home for a week now and still are not fully recovered. Not only was the experience exhausting, but we both (Lisa and I) caught terrible colds in the process. Thank goodness neither Amaya nor Alia are showing any signs of getting ill - we're keeping our fingers crossed!
The attached photo is at Lambert Airport in St. Louis. After waking at 3 am for a 4 am trip to the Guat. Airport and then flying into Houston, sitting for nearly an hour in immigration and then on to St. Louis, this is the "best" we could do to put on two excited smiles haha. Immigration was interesting because there were nine babies in all. A couple of us experiencing it for the second time, but most were "first-timers." The nice thing was we were able to meet some very nice families and children along the way, from the Ross family to the Heatherly to the Hillan to the Shields to the Cartwrights and others I cannot recall. Very nice and caring people.
After all the "drama" of adoption, Alia has become an instant fit into this family. Much like when Amaya arrived, we cannot imagine our life as it "used to be." We have quickly transformed her sleeping and feeding habits to be more in-line with "OUR SLEEP SCHEDULE!" 8) We fill those bottles up and stuff the cereal in her as best we can. So far so good, because she has slept completely through the night the past two nights. Nothing like a baby that loves to sleep! She is very ticklish about everywhere one touches her and she loves to laugh. She pushes up on her hands and sticks her head up as far as she can reach - sort of like a turtle popping out of its shell. Not crawling yet, but only a matter of time and we'll be chasing her around the house.
We are so proud of Amaya for the way she handled herself at Grandma/Grandpa's house while we were away, and for the way she has dealt with having a sibling. While in Guatemala, we checked regularly via email on how she was handling her first "overnight" away from Mom and Dad. We kept waiting for the word that she was being a holy terror or just missing us. We refrained from calling out of fear of disrupting a "good thing." We "prepped" her as best we could for nearly a month, but one never knows for sure how it will turnout. Of course we have had to slowly remove the pedestal she stood on all week with the grandparents, but overall everything went perfectly.
Other than one little "sharing of Dad's lap" incident, we haven't noticed any serious jealousy at all. We keep waiting for it and are prepared, but once again, we are very impressed with Amaya's maturity in all of this.
We've been extremely busy, and I haven't had a chance to respond to individual emails as I normally do, so If I have missed responding to someone please contact me again.
tw
Troy,
Congratulations! I've enjoyed the updates on your story. You said Alia wasn't crawling yet. I was wondering if a motor delay is pretty common. Our Katie come to us at 6 months and she was sitting up. She just started crawling at 15 months--she started scooting on her bottom much earlier. I'm a physical therapist, and I'm not overly concerned, just wondering other experiences people might have had.
You are a beautiful family. My husband and I are waiting for a referral of a baby girl. We are blessed with our 2 year old son but know that adoption is how we will build our family. Thank you for sharing and giving us hope. Rosanne
Posted by: Rosanne at July 18, 2007 09:22 PMCongrats on getting home safe and sound. We are leaving Monday to pick up our daughter. We too are anxious to see how our son does when his little sister comes home. I hope as well as you are reporting! Congrats, she is beautiful!
Posted by: erin at July 18, 2007 09:49 PMCongratulations!
Danette, our baby has been in PT for 2 months now and just started crawling at 15 months also! She has been scooting on her bottom since about 11 months though.
Stacy
Posted by: stacy at July 18, 2007 11:45 PMI've read in several places that motor "delays" are common in Guatemalan children, simply because they are not typically put on the floor, so do not have experience in crawling. (Guatemalans, in general, see the floor as unclean and not the place for babies; they carry them a lot.) Our foster mother, in contrast, told us our baby (7mos when we visited) loves to crawl on the floor. He was noticably more active, compared to other babies we met in the baby room at our hotel. I've read on several listservs that these supposedly "delayed" babies catch up very quickly once home and given floor time.
Posted by: sjbj at July 19, 2007 11:43 AMsjbj is correct. As a rule, infants are behind "physically" for varied reasons. In an hogar setting with 25+ children, there are not enough resources available to provide sufficient individual attention. And, in foster care, the the children are held/carried for the most part of their infancy. Our first daughter could not set up or even attempt to crawl at 8 months - when we started fostering her. Ironically, she was walking at 13 months while we were with her each and everyday. She'll turn four the end of August, and I'm happy to report that she has no motor delays whatsoever. As a matter of fact, she's quite "athletic" in nature and has amazing control of her body. Of course, I'm a football coach, so I look for all of these things by nature! 8)
Posted by: Troy at July 19, 2007 12:06 PMOh my goodness! She is beautiful! I am so happy for you all!!
Posted by: Mary at July 20, 2007 08:49 AMTroy congratulations on the newest edition to your family. She is beautiful and I love her hair. We just got back from a visit trip to meet our son and I can't wait until the day we go to pick him up. I miss him terribly but I love to see children coming home.
Posted by: Nancy at July 26, 2007 04:14 PMShe is such a doll Troy. You are truly blessed. Good luck with everything, you deserve it.
Liz and Tim Fallon
She is such a doll Troy. You are truly blessed. Good luck with everything, you deserve it.
Liz and Tim Fallon