Week One at Home...a little about Kailyn!

This is a weekly journal I plan to include in Kailyn's lifebook for at least the first few weeks.  I may not post every one, but just to give you all an idea of how she is adjusting, and for the grandparents...

Week one August 11-17

Kailyn seems to have adjusted very well with being at home with us.  We all have been able to relax now more and Kailyn loves being able to run around freely and explore the house as well as the yard.  She LOVES our dog Riley-and I mean I think she is our dog’s biggest fan right now.  It is so cute.  She tries to hug Riley and keep up with her- of course she can’t, but she does try.  If Riley is anywhere in site-even just outside the kitchen window, Kailyn is too distracted to eat.  Riley is way too exciting for her.  We also have several baby toys that she likes (and thanks to a neighbor, yesterday we got a few more!) and she is also fascinated with the boys’ train set and hot wheels wall tracks.  We can tell that she hasn’t been around toys much-maybe at all; even the simplest toys are a new challenge.  Right now she is really into things that open and close, things that you can put objects into, stacking, and sensory items like play doe and touching different textures.  She loves playing peek-a-boo and mimicking each other with things like our tongues or shaking our heads.  I also started rolling a ball back and forth with her the other day and when she finally got that I wasn’t trying to take the ball from her, she started rolling it back to me-or at least trying to roll it back.  She likes to bang things as well so she loves the baby xylophone we have.  We have to work with her on throwing objects she is either frustrated with or done with.  I got hit in the head the other day with a wooden block.  What we are doing with her right now is leading her to pick up the object she threw, and then making her carry it back to its proper place, showing her how to place it down-not throw.  Hopefully, she’ll catch on to this- I am sure that she will. 

She LOVES the bath!  It is so cute!  When we are in the bathroom sometimes she will tug on her clothes and then lift that one little foot up trying to get in!  We have got to get this baby some more bathtub toys.  We don’t have many right now because Joseph and David have outgrown them. Hair washing is going quite well now-as compared to when we first washed it in China.  She really doesn’t fuss about it at all.  I have let her watch me wash David’s several times and I think that has helped a lot.

Teeth brushing is coming along somewhat.  Kailyn is so sweet and wants to do everything we do so she actually opens up her mouth to be brushed.  At first, with Andrew holding her and me brushing, I would brush a little (ok barely) then we would clap and say yeah!!! at every attempt.  She loved that. Then eventually, we figured what we were doing was not going to keep the cavities away, and going on 3 weeks with her now, we are actually having to do some forced brushing, and she usually fusses.  But I think in time, she’ll get used to it.

She loves being held, we hold her A LOT!  Which is fun!  But we can tell she is getting more comfortable, especially if the boys are home, she will try to play with them and not worry about mom and dad so much.  She has completely warmed up to Andrew as well.  I guess she has seen that he isn’t going anywhere so she might as well put up with himJ not really, She has fun with daddy and daddy can do things like feed and hold just like mommy. 

We have finally getting her on a good sleep schedule.  It doesn’t always work out perfect, but we aim for a 1:00-3:00 nap each day, and have been in bed the last couple of nights at 9:00.  This morning (Aug 17) was a huge breakthrough.  She slept until 5:00, stirred and fussed, I was able to go and sit in the rocker by her bed –without even touching her and she fell back to sleep until 6:30!  She must be feeling more comfortable in her room to just fall back to sleep like that. 

Her eating habits have become much more fitting for a toddler since we’ve been home as well.  One day, I noticed she wasn’t eating near as much as she had been in China, and Andrew reminded me that the amount she had just eaten was actually about right for her age-instead of the enormous amounts she had eaten with us the two weeks in China.  Her eating schedule is about like this: (notice very particular times for milk and juice-always after a meal because she won’t eat if she has either to choose at a meal.  It is really cute to watch her with juice or milk, she drinks the bottle start to finish, no letting go.  Also-a friend did get us some soft sippy cups, but she can’t quite handle them yet and the liquid winds up all down her face, neck and clothes.  So for now, we are sticking with the bottle.)

Breakfast – mushy raisin bran cereal or grits made with whole milk, bottle of whole milk

Morning snack – 3.5 oz of diluted apple juice (a favorite!)  with crackers, cheerios, etc.

Lunch – entrée of choice  (always a mushy choice like small veges & rice, scrambled eggs, fruit)

Nap- mommy rocking with bottle of whole milk

Afternoon snack - 3.5 oz of diluted apple juice with crackers, cheerios, etc.

Dinner - entrée of choice, bottle of whole milk, butter cookies for dessert

Bedtime – snack with the family like fruit (loves bananas) or yogurt, small amount of warm formula with mommy rocking