Tough adjustments

We have been back home four full days now, but I would not say we are settled in at all, yet. It has been a tough adjustment, especially since the girls are still clinging to their native time zone, 12 hours ahead of ours.

We have put them down each night and they have slept well from about 8:00 or so until after midnight. They still think that was their morning nap and they should get up to enjoy the day. So, each night they have been awake for a number of hours, despite any amount of convincing we have tried to show them it is night out and they should be asleep.

We have been able to get them to go to sleep if we hold them, but as soon as we walk within a six foot radius of a crib the wailing ensues and there is no resting. Even in a deep sleep they can somehow sense the forcefield around their cribs.

I think we are making progress, but it has been tough on all of us since we all came home with colds and just the trip itself is exhausting.

On Thursday, the afternoon after we arrived home, we brought the girls to the pediatrician, in part just for a first appointment and also to make sure they were ok in relation to their colds. That was not a fun first outing for them. They both needed three vaccines, which seemed like a piece of cake in compaison to the attempts to draw blood. The tech tried first on Clara with no success and then the physician came and tried to find a vein. Not successful, they moved on to Lucia with another failed attempt. It was awful to watch and to hold them still while the doctor tried to get the needle in. Clara cried so much she ended up falling asleep while the doctor was finishing up. Poor thing. Now they have to go back in two weeks to try again.

The good news is that they have good body mass and that is why it was hard to find a vein. They are very similar in size and I think they are just below average in weight and just above average for height, unless I am reversing the two. Anyway, the pediatrician said that she thinks they are very healthy and seem to have perfectly normal development for their age. We are so thankful for that since it is very unusual for adoptive kids coming from China to be at the same developmental stage as most other kids.

Apart from that we have just been spending time at home, getting accustomed to the new environment and taking nice stroller walks around the neighborhood.

Maggie is starting to get settled back in as well. I know it was a big shock for her when we all came home. She had been in a kennel for the past two weeks and then she was greeted by two girls who screamed in terror every time they saw her for the first 24 hours. This was quite a reversal from what she had been used to with us telling her what a sweet and cute dog she is every time she would come into a room. Thankfully the terror and screaming about her has subsided and the girls are now reaching out to touch her. This morning we were changing diapers and both of the girls were crying, but Maggie came into the room anyway and settled in nearby to observe all the action. I think she will do fine and everyone will acclimate shortly.

Our neighbors have been really kind. Anne, across the street, used a website to schedule people to bring us food every other day. It has been so nice and a great way for people to start to get to know the girls. We have also gotten a really warm reception from people around here who know how long we have been waiting and that we were on our way home. We are fortunate to live in such a nice community.

Stacey and I are talking about a big outing - Target. Of course this will require great planning and precision timing if it is to be a successful mission. Actually, the girls are pretty easy to get around and I am sure they will enjoy being in such a fascinating place. At this point they are still satisfied with a Tupperware lid, so going to a store will be big fun.

Hopefully we will be able to get on a good schedule in the next few days.