Well, I'm not sure it's cleared up since it's still terribly smelly. I KNOW, JUST what you wanted to read today! But it's getting better, I think. We just have to wait until its normal. Might be the diet, might be the giardia still, might be the antibiotics for his sinus infection, who knows...
All I know is he now holds his nose and says "Stinky" which is completely hilarious.
And he says "diaper" "up" "Dagny" "Mommy" "Poppy" "Meow" "Water" andall the Amharic baby talk. But he knows what I'm saying most of the time, I think. I asked him to take off his shoes today and he sat down and did, then he took them and put them away in his room. And when I asked him to take off his coat, he did and then tried to hang it up on his hook. So he's getting it!
And today he went to daycare for an hour, since we're trying to ease him into it. I don't plan on going back to work for another week, but I want him to feel comfortable there, so we started now. I was really worried that he wouldn't come to me after an hour, that he'd bond with Rota of Lorraine and forget about me, or he'd be really upset that I left him somewhere with a gaggle of kids. But he did really well, and came right to me when I got there, arms up, saying "Mommy!" which felt really good.
And Dagny stayed without a fuss, and she played with him really well. Here's hoping she can adjust better. She's been so jealous and acting out terribly for the past few days. She's been in a lot of trouble, but we're trying to be understanding at the same time. It's difficult. We'll see how tonight goes. Marc has bowling and so I'll need to put both kids to bed, so she'll have to be patient. Hmmm...three-year old patience...yeah, you can all laugh now.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Church!
Okay, so we went to church this morning so everyone could get a look at the new addition and people were so glad to see him! He played in the nursery with one of us (we alternated halfway through the service) since we had the feeling he wouldn't make it in the sanctuary, and then we had cookies at fellowship. It was very nice, but...
We seem to have a bit of a problem with "indiscriminite affection" in that he'll go to anyone without looking around for mommy and daddy. We were expecting this, so it's not like it's a surprise. Lots of orphans have that problem, since they learn early that they have to be cute in order to get people to meet their needs. So they'll hold their hands up to anyone to get picked up. We had to explain to people that they couldn't pick him up, that he needed to learn to be clingy for awhile before I could encourage him to branch out.
Everyone was fine with my explanation, which was nice since I think it sounded a bit rude. "Hey, no, don't pick up the kid. He has to learn who mommy is first..." Okay, so I used different words, but that was the gist of it.
His poop hasn't cleared up, but we're eagerly awaiting it to. Funny how I look forward to diapers at the moment to see if anything's changed. Well, simple pleasures for mommies, right?
We're having a quiet afternoon of laundry and vacuuming today. I might even get a chance to read a bit of my book. Wouldn't that be a shocker?
We seem to have a bit of a problem with "indiscriminite affection" in that he'll go to anyone without looking around for mommy and daddy. We were expecting this, so it's not like it's a surprise. Lots of orphans have that problem, since they learn early that they have to be cute in order to get people to meet their needs. So they'll hold their hands up to anyone to get picked up. We had to explain to people that they couldn't pick him up, that he needed to learn to be clingy for awhile before I could encourage him to branch out.
Everyone was fine with my explanation, which was nice since I think it sounded a bit rude. "Hey, no, don't pick up the kid. He has to learn who mommy is first..." Okay, so I used different words, but that was the gist of it.
His poop hasn't cleared up, but we're eagerly awaiting it to. Funny how I look forward to diapers at the moment to see if anything's changed. Well, simple pleasures for mommies, right?
We're having a quiet afternoon of laundry and vacuuming today. I might even get a chance to read a bit of my book. Wouldn't that be a shocker?
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Health Update!
Right, so most of the tests are back now, except for the TB mantle, which will be read on Monday.
HIV (both tests) - Negative
Hep A - antibodies present, so he's had it before. That's good, that means he doesn't need the shot because he's already protected.
Stool Culture - ugh...you've got to be kidding. Not only does my poor boy have giardia, he has worms - two different kinds. In fact, they had to call Pediatric Infections Disease at the Mayo Clinic to find out how to treat one of them. Good news is, the treatment is only three days long. Bad news, he's not covered by our insurance yet and it was really expensive. Ah well, doesn't really matter, the price. Gotta get my kiddo well! He took the deworming pill really well, mixed into mashed potatoes which he didn't have to chew. The instructions say we can't crush the pill, because the bitterness could cause vomitting...whoo hoo!
This morning he took his giardia medication without a problem - it's a liquid - and that was good. He just has to take it with food for three days, twelve hours apart. No big deal, we'll get it done.
Marc was wondering this morning how the poor kid is going to react when he actually has a solid poop. He'll probably freak out.
We're adjusting pretty well, though he hasn't really attached to me yet. He'll go to anybody quite happily, so we're working on getting him to understand that I am mommy and he should go to me first. We'll get there, too.
Dagny is terribly jealous. She's acting out a bit, but it's tolerable. It'll pass when she realizes she's a good helper and will get more attention if she's good. Marc has instituted an allowance program for her (a quarter a day) if she helps and doesn't have too many meltdowns. We don't expect perfection, we just expect a bit of an attempt. :D Good luck with that for us!
We went out to town today and visited a craft fair, which was fun. We also stopped at the library so I could get some work for Monday. I go back part-time from home for a week or so, which I think will be okay. I'll go in every morning after taking Dagny to school or daycare, and I'll get the mail and turn in bills and things like that. It'll all get done and Sintayehu will come with me and help. *snort* We'll see how that goes.
It's very busy being a family of four. My parents left this morning, so we're alone (the four of us) and for the past eight hours or so, it's been going quite well. I'll keep you posted.
HIV (both tests) - Negative
Hep A - antibodies present, so he's had it before. That's good, that means he doesn't need the shot because he's already protected.
Stool Culture - ugh...you've got to be kidding. Not only does my poor boy have giardia, he has worms - two different kinds. In fact, they had to call Pediatric Infections Disease at the Mayo Clinic to find out how to treat one of them. Good news is, the treatment is only three days long. Bad news, he's not covered by our insurance yet and it was really expensive. Ah well, doesn't really matter, the price. Gotta get my kiddo well! He took the deworming pill really well, mixed into mashed potatoes which he didn't have to chew. The instructions say we can't crush the pill, because the bitterness could cause vomitting...whoo hoo!
This morning he took his giardia medication without a problem - it's a liquid - and that was good. He just has to take it with food for three days, twelve hours apart. No big deal, we'll get it done.
Marc was wondering this morning how the poor kid is going to react when he actually has a solid poop. He'll probably freak out.
We're adjusting pretty well, though he hasn't really attached to me yet. He'll go to anybody quite happily, so we're working on getting him to understand that I am mommy and he should go to me first. We'll get there, too.
Dagny is terribly jealous. She's acting out a bit, but it's tolerable. It'll pass when she realizes she's a good helper and will get more attention if she's good. Marc has instituted an allowance program for her (a quarter a day) if she helps and doesn't have too many meltdowns. We don't expect perfection, we just expect a bit of an attempt. :D Good luck with that for us!
We went out to town today and visited a craft fair, which was fun. We also stopped at the library so I could get some work for Monday. I go back part-time from home for a week or so, which I think will be okay. I'll go in every morning after taking Dagny to school or daycare, and I'll get the mail and turn in bills and things like that. It'll all get done and Sintayehu will come with me and help. *snort* We'll see how that goes.
It's very busy being a family of four. My parents left this morning, so we're alone (the four of us) and for the past eight hours or so, it's been going quite well. I'll keep you posted.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Did I just catch up?
Hey...I'm writing on the right day!! Whoo hoo!
So this morning Dagny had a haircut and she said she wanted to cut it as short as her brother's (!). We compromised and she got it cut above her shoulders and its adorable! I love it. Sintayehu was pretty good at the hair place, too, and I was impressed that I got both kids out the door and made it to a 9:00 appointment!
After that, we stopped by the museum so Susan could meet him and then stopped by daddy's work, so he could see the haircut and then Dagny had school. We dropped her off and she was so proud of her hair! And Lori got to see Sintayehu in the parking lot, which was great.
I had to go to work for a little while, so mom and Sintayehu sat in the car and watched a bit of a movie, but eventually they came in and walked around while I did my meeting and then we came home for lunch - leftover pasta. Sintayehu took a nap in HIS room in HIS crib for the first time and he slept for 3 hours! And he seemed to really like his room! So Marc and I may have our room back soon, which I'm really looking forward to!
And I got caught up on my blogging, as you can all see. We are adjusting very well. I'm hoping he doesn't get too sad when my parents leave, because I think he thinks they're part of the family and are permanant residents. I'm so glad they're here and have been helping but I'm worried about what will happen when they leave. Oh well, no use stressing out about that now!
I'm coming to understand my house will never be clean again and that there are some things that I will have to just give up on. And I think I can live with that.
I think this is going really well. I keep waiting for something bad to happen, but I should just count my blessings and go forward, right! So that's what I'm praying God will help me do!
And our family is complete now. And we are so happy.
Be prepared for less blogging now that I've caught up...there are more important things in my house!
So this morning Dagny had a haircut and she said she wanted to cut it as short as her brother's (!). We compromised and she got it cut above her shoulders and its adorable! I love it. Sintayehu was pretty good at the hair place, too, and I was impressed that I got both kids out the door and made it to a 9:00 appointment!
After that, we stopped by the museum so Susan could meet him and then stopped by daddy's work, so he could see the haircut and then Dagny had school. We dropped her off and she was so proud of her hair! And Lori got to see Sintayehu in the parking lot, which was great.
I had to go to work for a little while, so mom and Sintayehu sat in the car and watched a bit of a movie, but eventually they came in and walked around while I did my meeting and then we came home for lunch - leftover pasta. Sintayehu took a nap in HIS room in HIS crib for the first time and he slept for 3 hours! And he seemed to really like his room! So Marc and I may have our room back soon, which I'm really looking forward to!
And I got caught up on my blogging, as you can all see. We are adjusting very well. I'm hoping he doesn't get too sad when my parents leave, because I think he thinks they're part of the family and are permanant residents. I'm so glad they're here and have been helping but I'm worried about what will happen when they leave. Oh well, no use stressing out about that now!
I'm coming to understand my house will never be clean again and that there are some things that I will have to just give up on. And I think I can live with that.
I think this is going really well. I keep waiting for something bad to happen, but I should just count my blessings and go forward, right! So that's what I'm praying God will help me do!
And our family is complete now. And we are so happy.
Be prepared for less blogging now that I've caught up...there are more important things in my house!
March 18 - Poop Day
Dagny came into our room at 7:00 this morning and asked to get into bed with me. I had Sintayehu on one side and Dags on the other and I was really warm and comfortable and about to fall back asleep when...
"Mommy, I'm hungry. So is Sintayehu. Let's have breakfast." So I get up. Cocoa krispies seems to be the order of the morning, so they both get bowls of cereal and I make some eggs for myself. Of course, as the habit goes, they both want eggs, so I end up sharing most of my eggs between the two of them. That's all right. I can eat pop tarts later. Ha.
We lollygag around all morning and I end up not taking Dagny to daycare until 11:00, which isn't a bit deal. Sintayehu fell asleep in the car on the way up to Pipestone, so we just drove around and did some errands and let him sleep. We stopped at the drug store and mom went in, then we went to the grocery store and I went in, then we drove about a bit so he got about an hour and fifteen minutes of sleep.
I had to collect three poop samples today, which wasn't hard at all, and deliver them to the clinic to have them looked at. Hopefully they'll be able to figure out quickly what he's got so we can start treating him for it.
When we were driving home after picking Dagny up, he said her name in the backseat. I couldn't believe it, but that's what he said! "Dagny!" and then he said clearly, later, "diaper." So he's learning fast! It's great.
We had pasta for dinner last night and both kids had huge plates and finished all of it quite happily. They also shared a breadstick! What a nice evening. I'm beginning to believe that I can do this mommy of two thing!
"Mommy, I'm hungry. So is Sintayehu. Let's have breakfast." So I get up. Cocoa krispies seems to be the order of the morning, so they both get bowls of cereal and I make some eggs for myself. Of course, as the habit goes, they both want eggs, so I end up sharing most of my eggs between the two of them. That's all right. I can eat pop tarts later. Ha.
We lollygag around all morning and I end up not taking Dagny to daycare until 11:00, which isn't a bit deal. Sintayehu fell asleep in the car on the way up to Pipestone, so we just drove around and did some errands and let him sleep. We stopped at the drug store and mom went in, then we went to the grocery store and I went in, then we drove about a bit so he got about an hour and fifteen minutes of sleep.
I had to collect three poop samples today, which wasn't hard at all, and deliver them to the clinic to have them looked at. Hopefully they'll be able to figure out quickly what he's got so we can start treating him for it.
When we were driving home after picking Dagny up, he said her name in the backseat. I couldn't believe it, but that's what he said! "Dagny!" and then he said clearly, later, "diaper." So he's learning fast! It's great.
We had pasta for dinner last night and both kids had huge plates and finished all of it quite happily. They also shared a breadstick! What a nice evening. I'm beginning to believe that I can do this mommy of two thing!
March 17 - A Real Family Day
Dagny woke up a little early this morning, wanting to see her brother. She took him downstairs and they played ball for awhile before she had to get ready for school. She didn't want to go, but she did when she realized she'd be able to tell everyone we were home.
We spent the morning exploring the house, touching everything, looking at things, and just generally getting the layout. I made him a peanut butter sandwich for lunch, but he wanted the potatoes I was eating instead. So I gave him the potatoes and ate the peanut butter. This seems to be a habit.
He didn't take a nap and threw a fit instead. I suppose I understand - there's a lot to see in our house and he didn't want to miss any of it.
He had a doctor's appointment at 2:00 with our doctor and I knew he wasn't going to like it. Dr. Viel said he thinks Sintayehu was probably born in August or so, not in May, but said it's really not that much of a problem. he checked him over and we got the following diagnoses:
1. He has an undescended testicle. Right now, that's not a problem, but if it hasn't come down by his next visit, they'll probably have to do something. If we decide to get him circumsized, the urologist can help us.
2. He's got a heart murmer, but so did Dagny and she grew out of it. Dr. Viel thinks he probably will, too, but they'll keep their eyes on it.
3. He's got bronchitis and...
4. Some sort of parasitic ameoba causing diarrhea (probably giardia). They need to do a stool sample to figure it out and then they can treat he bronchitis and the amoeba together. So no antibiotics until they figure out what's living in his intestine.
That's okay, we'll manage. His cough is already better just from being in clean air.
So we drive up to Pipestone for a bloodtest and put him in his carseat for the first time. I'm expecting a fight and....nothing. He likes it. No problems at all. He got his immunizations (hated them) and a blood test (Even worse) but we both got kisses afterwards so at least he doesn't hate us now! After the blood test, we picked up Dagny and the two of them chased each other around the upstairs shrieking gleefully. they seem to really like each other.
We had stir fry for dinner and Dagny was grumpy about the chicken, but when she realized Sintayehu was eating everything we put in front of him, she started to eat. Good girl! She's being a great big sister! When dinner was over, I went to pick him up and...
poop was everywhere. We had to change him and give him a bath and Mommy had to wipe up the floor. After a few minutes, I hear giggling in the bathroom and I go in and Dagny is giving Sintayehu his bath, with both of them naked in the tub. Daddy is presiding, of course, but Dagny is doing most of the washing. It was so cute.
By that point, we could tell he was obviously in pain from his shots, so we had some tylenol and watched Dancing with the Stars before going to bed. He slept until about 5:30 and then got in bed with me, since Marc had to go to Minneapolis around 4:00 in the morning.
We spent the morning exploring the house, touching everything, looking at things, and just generally getting the layout. I made him a peanut butter sandwich for lunch, but he wanted the potatoes I was eating instead. So I gave him the potatoes and ate the peanut butter. This seems to be a habit.
He didn't take a nap and threw a fit instead. I suppose I understand - there's a lot to see in our house and he didn't want to miss any of it.
He had a doctor's appointment at 2:00 with our doctor and I knew he wasn't going to like it. Dr. Viel said he thinks Sintayehu was probably born in August or so, not in May, but said it's really not that much of a problem. he checked him over and we got the following diagnoses:
1. He has an undescended testicle. Right now, that's not a problem, but if it hasn't come down by his next visit, they'll probably have to do something. If we decide to get him circumsized, the urologist can help us.
2. He's got a heart murmer, but so did Dagny and she grew out of it. Dr. Viel thinks he probably will, too, but they'll keep their eyes on it.
3. He's got bronchitis and...
4. Some sort of parasitic ameoba causing diarrhea (probably giardia). They need to do a stool sample to figure it out and then they can treat he bronchitis and the amoeba together. So no antibiotics until they figure out what's living in his intestine.
That's okay, we'll manage. His cough is already better just from being in clean air.
So we drive up to Pipestone for a bloodtest and put him in his carseat for the first time. I'm expecting a fight and....nothing. He likes it. No problems at all. He got his immunizations (hated them) and a blood test (Even worse) but we both got kisses afterwards so at least he doesn't hate us now! After the blood test, we picked up Dagny and the two of them chased each other around the upstairs shrieking gleefully. they seem to really like each other.
We had stir fry for dinner and Dagny was grumpy about the chicken, but when she realized Sintayehu was eating everything we put in front of him, she started to eat. Good girl! She's being a great big sister! When dinner was over, I went to pick him up and...
poop was everywhere. We had to change him and give him a bath and Mommy had to wipe up the floor. After a few minutes, I hear giggling in the bathroom and I go in and Dagny is giving Sintayehu his bath, with both of them naked in the tub. Daddy is presiding, of course, but Dagny is doing most of the washing. It was so cute.
By that point, we could tell he was obviously in pain from his shots, so we had some tylenol and watched Dancing with the Stars before going to bed. He slept until about 5:30 and then got in bed with me, since Marc had to go to Minneapolis around 4:00 in the morning.
March 16 - Home at Last!
We ended up getting out of bed at 4:50, which was okay since we had packing to do. Sintayehu was actually awake around 4, I think, but he played quietly in his crib until we got up, which was fabulous.
We had breakfast at the hotel and he doesn't like banana muffins, but eggs and bacon were good! The breakfast was really tasty, even if we had to pay for it!
First flight was very short, thankfully, but we had to fix our boarding passes for all three flights, since we weren't sitting together. It kind of sucked, but we managed to change them, so it was all good. While we were waiting for the first flight, we had the gate at JFK all to ourselves (we got there early to check in) and we started a game of soccer with a small ball we'd bought the night before. After a few minutes, another family showed up and their boy, Danny, had a ball as well, so they played together! A few of the other passengers even got involved, casually putting out a foot to kick the ball while they pretended they weren't paying attention. And one old chinese guy just sat in the corner and laughed with enjoyment. It was quite fun.
We didn't have much of a layover in DC, but in Chicago our layover was long...four hours. We got another soccer game going with a little girl named Samiah who really enjoyed it. Again, other passengers sort of got involved, turning their luggage to create a "field." It was fun.
Sintayehu and I also went to a bookstore, where he chose a book for me "Confessions of a Shopaholic." He gave it an excellent babbling review as he chose it off the shelf and, you know what? It's a pretty good book!
The last flight was short again and Sintayehu fell asleep against Marc. We held hands across the aisle and talked about things and I realized I was terrified that I would feel differently about Dagny when I saw her, that somehow the love would have changed. I wondered how she would take her brother and if they would love each other and I was really scared.
I needn't have worried. The second she saw us get off the plane, she ran to us and threw her arms around my legs with excitement. She missed us so much! And she was so happy to see her brother!
Sintayehu fell asleep on my lap in the car and didn't wake up until 4 in the morning. We brought him into bed with us and he slept until 7. It was really quite nice to be home again in our own bed, knowing our daughter was fine and happy to see us.
And the love didn't change a bit, it just expanded.
We had breakfast at the hotel and he doesn't like banana muffins, but eggs and bacon were good! The breakfast was really tasty, even if we had to pay for it!
First flight was very short, thankfully, but we had to fix our boarding passes for all three flights, since we weren't sitting together. It kind of sucked, but we managed to change them, so it was all good. While we were waiting for the first flight, we had the gate at JFK all to ourselves (we got there early to check in) and we started a game of soccer with a small ball we'd bought the night before. After a few minutes, another family showed up and their boy, Danny, had a ball as well, so they played together! A few of the other passengers even got involved, casually putting out a foot to kick the ball while they pretended they weren't paying attention. And one old chinese guy just sat in the corner and laughed with enjoyment. It was quite fun.
We didn't have much of a layover in DC, but in Chicago our layover was long...four hours. We got another soccer game going with a little girl named Samiah who really enjoyed it. Again, other passengers sort of got involved, turning their luggage to create a "field." It was fun.
Sintayehu and I also went to a bookstore, where he chose a book for me "Confessions of a Shopaholic." He gave it an excellent babbling review as he chose it off the shelf and, you know what? It's a pretty good book!
The last flight was short again and Sintayehu fell asleep against Marc. We held hands across the aisle and talked about things and I realized I was terrified that I would feel differently about Dagny when I saw her, that somehow the love would have changed. I wondered how she would take her brother and if they would love each other and I was really scared.
I needn't have worried. The second she saw us get off the plane, she ran to us and threw her arms around my legs with excitement. She missed us so much! And she was so happy to see her brother!
Sintayehu fell asleep on my lap in the car and didn't wake up until 4 in the morning. We brought him into bed with us and he slept until 7. It was really quite nice to be home again in our own bed, knowing our daughter was fine and happy to see us.
And the love didn't change a bit, it just expanded.
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