Mihretu is doing amazing. Since the major meltdown on Monday, I am happy to report that all meltdowns since have been brief and minor in comparison. Praise Jesus.
Tomorrow will be one week since we got home. Wow - only a week and so much has happened. He's come so far already. My sweet, smart boy.
Yesterday was a good day. We woke up at 5 am after going to bed the night before at 7pm. Getting more adjusted to time zone. Mihretu loves shoes. He even wants them on at night and during naps. The only time he wants them off is in the tub. Chamas - shoes - is a word he says a lot. So cute!!! I talking him into wearing slippers to bed last night instead of tennis shoes. I told them they were bedtime shoes and I put on my slippers. This made him excited and want to put them on. I think these slippers are much better for sleeping than tennis shoes so I'm glad he was up for it. In the mornings, he's been waking up smiling at me and touching my face and then giving me a kiss. What a sweet snuggly boy. Then he sits up and points to the door - he wants to go to the bathroom where he proceeds to get a drink of water with his toothbrush cup. Yesterday, we then took a bath, got dressed, let the dog (woosha) outside, and we ate oatmeal and applesauce. He has now decided he wants blueberries in his oatmeal like mommy. Still no rasberries. But he likes the blueberries. After breakfast, we then went for a walk with the dog. As of yesterday, he's riding in the stroller and I'm able to also walk the dog. This is awesome and much easier on mommy than carrying him in the ergo since he's almost 30 lbs. YAY - victories!!! Throughout the day, there were several baths, lots of dirty diapers, one time going on the potty, several changes of clothes, lots of hand washing and putting things in their place, M helping mommy with laundry, playing with puzzles and legos, swinging in the little tikes swing hanging from the tree, exploring the backyard and another walk in the afternoon. Merrill came over around 4 to bring dog treats and batteries for M's activity table that plays music. Then we went to Green Hills for our first doctor appointment. The docs office schedules new patient appointments last in the day so it was scheduled for 5pm. They called on our way and said they were running behind. I needed some things at Trader Joe's so I decided since we were over there - why not? I'm a proud momma. Mihretu did awesome in the van and his car seat. He did awesome in Trader Joe's sitting in the cart smiling and looking around, never once trying to get out of the cart or never crying or anything. Granted - I'm a power shopper and we were in and out in 15 minutes. But still - he did so great. He was just checking everything out. The only moment where he got mad was when mommy wouldn't give him the whole bag of cheese puffs in the car. He got over it quickly and ate the handfull I gave him in his car seat cup holder thingy. At the doctor - he did awesome. He even let me take his shoes off to get on the scale, let the nurse move him over to the measuring height area and let the doctor pick him up and put him on the table to look in his ears, eyes, throat, listen to his chest and examine him. Didn't cry at all. Wow - that was definitely a great first outing. We came home and grabbed something to eat and then it was time for bed.
We went to bed at 8 pm last night without a fuss by the way. We have a new routine where we get in our pjs and I put down the air mattress on the floor. I'm sleeping in his room with him since he's freaked out without me right now. Instead of having him in my bed, I thought sleeping in there would make for a good transition to his own bed when the time comes. It's not the most comfy thing but it works. And he squirms and moves a lot in his sleep so a regular bed would not be a good bet anyway. I wouldn't want him falling out. His toddler bed has a railing so once he's in that, we should be good to go. In the meantime, he snuggles up with mommy. So after pj's, we sit on the rocking chair and read 3 books. Then I say "taga" which is sleep and he lays down on the mattress and mommy covers him up and then lays next to him. He kisses my cheek and smiles and then lays there quietly until we both fall asleep. Cutest thing ever. This morning, he woke up at 6:15 am which was great. If we can do 8pm bedtime, up at 6ish am, 12 noon nap for 2 hours - that will be a perfect schedule to continue with once he's in preschool and mommy goes back to work.
He has some control issues when it comes to food which is pretty common with children who've come from orphanages. Especially ones where they may not have gotten their bellies filled when they were hungry. My boy loves to eat. And he can eat a lot. This morning, he didn't eat all his breakfast - we left it on the table and did our morning routine of bath and getting dressed and then going for a walk. So after our walk - we came back in the house and he saw his oatmeal and wanted to eat it. Fine with me - he didn't care if it was cold and it hadn't been sitting out long - so why not? While he was eating it - he pointed toward the sink. Usually this means he's done and wants to rinse his bowl. I proceeded to pick him up and carry him to the sink to do so. Oh no - this is not what he wanted at all. He threw a fit, threw his bowl on the floor and went into a full on screaming/body flailing fit. Mommy misunderstood what he wanted. And since we have a language barrier and my Amharic is limited - it gets tricky. I took him to his room and sat him down and said "Tell mommy what you want bud. Use your words (I'm turning into Karyn Purvis - you adoptive moms will understand that reference). He's still crying and I start using the little Amharic I know. Bella is food so I said that and he stopped crying and shook his head yes. I said "show me" and reached for his hand. He lead me out into the kitchen and pointed to the microwave. Turns out - he wasn't pointing to the sink. He was pointing to the microwave. That's pretty much my source of cooking lately since amazing people have brought us meals - I've just been heating it up in the microwave. He was basically telling me he wanted more. Whew. Crisis averted. Boy calmed. Mommy realizing food is a trigger. We'll learn from that one for sure. All in all - it was solved in less than 2 minutes. That's a victory for sure.
Around 11 am we went back to the doctor to drop off M's stool sample to test for parasites. Pretty sure he has some. Most Ethiopian kiddos do. I think Giardia - not sure how you spell that - but I hear that's the common one. He did great in the car and we only ran in to the doc for a second. Came back home and a friend brought some food over and some toys for M. We ate lunch and then it was nap time. We read 4 books this time. He tried for 5 but mommy said no, we're done, time for nap. Sure enough - he laid down and got ready for nap. Gave mommy a kiss on the cheek and a cute smile and I snuggled up next to him and we both fell asleep. He's still sleeping and I got up shortly after to pay some bills online and pick up the house a bit. And write this blog.
Love my sweet boy. So very proud of him. He's doing so amazing. I'm going to go online and try to find fun things to do - maybe library kids music hour or something. Might take him to the YMCA to see how he likes the pool. I imagine he'll love it. I also have a zoo membership so we'll probably go there soon. Will start integrating some playtime with other kids and most likely will attempt to go to church this weekend. We shall see how it goes.
Tomorrow will be one week since we got home. Wow - only a week and so much has happened. He's come so far already. My sweet, smart boy.
Yesterday was a good day. We woke up at 5 am after going to bed the night before at 7pm. Getting more adjusted to time zone. Mihretu loves shoes. He even wants them on at night and during naps. The only time he wants them off is in the tub. Chamas - shoes - is a word he says a lot. So cute!!! I talking him into wearing slippers to bed last night instead of tennis shoes. I told them they were bedtime shoes and I put on my slippers. This made him excited and want to put them on. I think these slippers are much better for sleeping than tennis shoes so I'm glad he was up for it. In the mornings, he's been waking up smiling at me and touching my face and then giving me a kiss. What a sweet snuggly boy. Then he sits up and points to the door - he wants to go to the bathroom where he proceeds to get a drink of water with his toothbrush cup. Yesterday, we then took a bath, got dressed, let the dog (woosha) outside, and we ate oatmeal and applesauce. He has now decided he wants blueberries in his oatmeal like mommy. Still no rasberries. But he likes the blueberries. After breakfast, we then went for a walk with the dog. As of yesterday, he's riding in the stroller and I'm able to also walk the dog. This is awesome and much easier on mommy than carrying him in the ergo since he's almost 30 lbs. YAY - victories!!! Throughout the day, there were several baths, lots of dirty diapers, one time going on the potty, several changes of clothes, lots of hand washing and putting things in their place, M helping mommy with laundry, playing with puzzles and legos, swinging in the little tikes swing hanging from the tree, exploring the backyard and another walk in the afternoon. Merrill came over around 4 to bring dog treats and batteries for M's activity table that plays music. Then we went to Green Hills for our first doctor appointment. The docs office schedules new patient appointments last in the day so it was scheduled for 5pm. They called on our way and said they were running behind. I needed some things at Trader Joe's so I decided since we were over there - why not? I'm a proud momma. Mihretu did awesome in the van and his car seat. He did awesome in Trader Joe's sitting in the cart smiling and looking around, never once trying to get out of the cart or never crying or anything. Granted - I'm a power shopper and we were in and out in 15 minutes. But still - he did so great. He was just checking everything out. The only moment where he got mad was when mommy wouldn't give him the whole bag of cheese puffs in the car. He got over it quickly and ate the handfull I gave him in his car seat cup holder thingy. At the doctor - he did awesome. He even let me take his shoes off to get on the scale, let the nurse move him over to the measuring height area and let the doctor pick him up and put him on the table to look in his ears, eyes, throat, listen to his chest and examine him. Didn't cry at all. Wow - that was definitely a great first outing. We came home and grabbed something to eat and then it was time for bed.
We went to bed at 8 pm last night without a fuss by the way. We have a new routine where we get in our pjs and I put down the air mattress on the floor. I'm sleeping in his room with him since he's freaked out without me right now. Instead of having him in my bed, I thought sleeping in there would make for a good transition to his own bed when the time comes. It's not the most comfy thing but it works. And he squirms and moves a lot in his sleep so a regular bed would not be a good bet anyway. I wouldn't want him falling out. His toddler bed has a railing so once he's in that, we should be good to go. In the meantime, he snuggles up with mommy. So after pj's, we sit on the rocking chair and read 3 books. Then I say "taga" which is sleep and he lays down on the mattress and mommy covers him up and then lays next to him. He kisses my cheek and smiles and then lays there quietly until we both fall asleep. Cutest thing ever. This morning, he woke up at 6:15 am which was great. If we can do 8pm bedtime, up at 6ish am, 12 noon nap for 2 hours - that will be a perfect schedule to continue with once he's in preschool and mommy goes back to work.
He has some control issues when it comes to food which is pretty common with children who've come from orphanages. Especially ones where they may not have gotten their bellies filled when they were hungry. My boy loves to eat. And he can eat a lot. This morning, he didn't eat all his breakfast - we left it on the table and did our morning routine of bath and getting dressed and then going for a walk. So after our walk - we came back in the house and he saw his oatmeal and wanted to eat it. Fine with me - he didn't care if it was cold and it hadn't been sitting out long - so why not? While he was eating it - he pointed toward the sink. Usually this means he's done and wants to rinse his bowl. I proceeded to pick him up and carry him to the sink to do so. Oh no - this is not what he wanted at all. He threw a fit, threw his bowl on the floor and went into a full on screaming/body flailing fit. Mommy misunderstood what he wanted. And since we have a language barrier and my Amharic is limited - it gets tricky. I took him to his room and sat him down and said "Tell mommy what you want bud. Use your words (I'm turning into Karyn Purvis - you adoptive moms will understand that reference). He's still crying and I start using the little Amharic I know. Bella is food so I said that and he stopped crying and shook his head yes. I said "show me" and reached for his hand. He lead me out into the kitchen and pointed to the microwave. Turns out - he wasn't pointing to the sink. He was pointing to the microwave. That's pretty much my source of cooking lately since amazing people have brought us meals - I've just been heating it up in the microwave. He was basically telling me he wanted more. Whew. Crisis averted. Boy calmed. Mommy realizing food is a trigger. We'll learn from that one for sure. All in all - it was solved in less than 2 minutes. That's a victory for sure.
Around 11 am we went back to the doctor to drop off M's stool sample to test for parasites. Pretty sure he has some. Most Ethiopian kiddos do. I think Giardia - not sure how you spell that - but I hear that's the common one. He did great in the car and we only ran in to the doc for a second. Came back home and a friend brought some food over and some toys for M. We ate lunch and then it was nap time. We read 4 books this time. He tried for 5 but mommy said no, we're done, time for nap. Sure enough - he laid down and got ready for nap. Gave mommy a kiss on the cheek and a cute smile and I snuggled up next to him and we both fell asleep. He's still sleeping and I got up shortly after to pay some bills online and pick up the house a bit. And write this blog.
Love my sweet boy. So very proud of him. He's doing so amazing. I'm going to go online and try to find fun things to do - maybe library kids music hour or something. Might take him to the YMCA to see how he likes the pool. I imagine he'll love it. I also have a zoo membership so we'll probably go there soon. Will start integrating some playtime with other kids and most likely will attempt to go to church this weekend. We shall see how it goes.
Love this Autumn! So glad that you share how you two are doing :)Thank you...it really is a blessing to read and see pics of you and your precious boy!
ReplyDeletei really enjoy reading these updates. so glad to hear everything is going well.
ReplyDeleteWith the language barrier, you get to experience the frustrations of them not being able to communicate. On the bright side, you didn't miss language development-it's happening now. I know when my son was learning to communicate his needs and wants, we used sign language for some things with the words. He started to sign and it graduated to words, sentences, etc. Would it be developmentally appropriate to use this method with Mihretu? Would it be more confusing being that he have a first language? I think this chapter of your life is so exciting and happy! I love reading about it! It sounds like so much progress has been made in little time. I love that you introduced nighttime shoes:) Keep it up, you're doing an amazing job!
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