Well, things are going really, really well. Wow. She is just doing amazing. In fact, The Rockstar Nurse and I just noted that she rarely is the child that is misbehaving. It is rarely her and ALWAYS the others:)
The rest of the crew is finally pretty much back to normal. Sha Sha is still having a rough time. I believe it's because she is no longer the only girl...plus, she is a "mommy's girl" and I always have YaoYao by my side.
It's actually been refreshing for the Rockstar Nurse to be back to work. I enjoy creating my own routine. Plus when Daddy's is not around, Lil' Rocker allows me to hold him and snuggle him. And speaking of Lil' Rocker...he is falling in love. He now LOVES his YaoYao. Don't be deceived, it's not ALL of the time, but these 2 are definitely creating a bond.
He loves to hug her
And they will "kiss" on command. I can never snap fast enough to get a good kissing pic....
But Yao Yao, was a little ticked off when Lil'Rocker planted one right on her lips.
I love it!
I was a little nervous about the "twin" thing to be honest. However, it has been a blast so far...I'm loving it. Now, don't get me wrong...I know I'm completely and TOTALLY cheating. I got to skip the hard twinning stuff...and I'm glad to have fallen into "twinhood" at age 3. (Lil' Rocker turns 3 in 3 days...they are 22 days apart in age.)
So, I've tackled grocery shopping with coupons in hand and the 3 year olds in tow and all went well...so life is good:) Speaking of the grocery store...you should have seen Yao Yao's eyes when we walked in. She was in awe of all the food!!
The older kids are starting to bond with Yao Yao too. Sha Sha enjoys bath time with her...they really laugh together. She also has enjoyed holding Yao Yao on her lap as she slides.
The Ringleader can entertain her when he decides too. Remember he's The Ringleader for a reason. He also will help with her...again when he wants to. Last night he brushed her teeth for me and did an awesome job!
Of course everyone wants to know how much English YaoYao is speaking. She's not spontaneously speaking much, but holy cow is she learning it! She understands a ton. Really almost anything to do with daily routines. And that's just after 2 weeks home!
The sleeping thing is FINALLY going well. Actually, I'm amazed where we have come. The same little girl that basically had me laying on top of her to be able to sleep is now sleeping with out me!!! I am so excited. Lil' Rocker is now in her room..well, back in his old room.
Let me just show you some photos of why we needed to get back to normal...
This is my bedroom. It has been taken over by this.
The Ringleader in the bed with daddy. (the pictures on the wall are cards from our kids...they've been making them and putting them there on either side of our bed for the past several months.)
Sha Sha on the floor at the foot of the bed.
Lil' Rocker is in the pack and play by the bed.
There are sheets on the blinds because the kids were waking up and some ungodly hour. Anything before 7am is like breaking the 10 Commandments in our home:)
So, needless to say the room was trashed and no one felt normal. So Lil' Rocker got moved back and moved in with Yao Yao. The oldest 2 are now back in their own room too.
Tonight is the night that I finally left Yao Yao before she fell asleep. I have been transitioning out of the room for the past week. For the past 2 nights I've been 3/4 out of the doorway. She is fine with that...so I could tell that with Lil'Rocker in there she would be fine. She cried off and on for less than 15 minutes and fell asleep quietly. I suspect in less than a week all will be normal.
I'm also going back to my own bed to sleep tonight. The last time I slept in my bed was March 24th (the night before we left for China) and I'm thrilled to be moving back in on April 24th!! Yao Yao is definitely feeling secure. She has not awoken in the middle of the night with any crying for almost 10 nights...so my presence is not needed in her room anymore at night.
On a different note, now that we are home and can easily compare her with Lil'Rocker we can see that she is delayed. She is delayed in gross motor. However, the largest delay is in life experience. She is almost at a 12 month to 18 month level with some things. She lacks a sense of gravity. She has fallen down our stairs several times because she just doesn't "get it". I've caught her ready to walk down them pushing a shopping cart. She will also just jump and twirl around half way up. Of course she falls at that point because she struggled to get there:)
She is an accident waiting to happen. She barely misses edges of tables with her head. She was unable to crawl up on a kitchen chair when we came home...now she can. She needs help crawling up on the couch. At the playground she has to have help to figure out how to climb through a tunnel or how to sit down on the slide the 1st time there. I've also found her under the table retrieving a ball and she doesn't know how to get back out. Again, this is all normal for a younger child.
I think I will hold off with getting her evaluated right now. I do not see anything alarming in her delays. Plus, she has already grown with some of them. I believe that just being in a family and her living life will get her to where she needs to be.
Emotionally, I still have hard days. However, it's rarely about her. It's over life stuff and other kids...and yes, sometimes her. The 4 kid thing is getting way less overwhelming since I've been on my own (sounds weird I know). I've been Target shopping with the 4 of them alone, so it's now all under control:)
I'm so fulfilled watching YaoYao change and grow. It is just amazing to think where she was just over 3 weeks ago. She just watches my other kids and pretty much blends in. And the good news is that I have WAY more good days than bad.
However, the Rockstar Nurse still walks around the house muttering something about the "quiver being full":)
8 comments:
Tell the Rockstar Nurse to PUT A SOCK IN IT about that quiver full crap-he's jinxing his own self. Back to the precious one-she is just that. Whene did lil rocker get his hair cut? where have I been?
Don't let RockStar fool himself - only God knows when that quiver is full! Our sweetie came home at 27 months old and couldn't even stand on her own - let along walk. She learned to walk in one week and quickly caught up with other gross motor skills. She did fall off of couches/stairs etc. for a long time - just like your little one - she had no spatial concept. You are doing a GREAT job!
Donna
dlmcnew@wwestsky.net
LOVED THE UPDATE!
Forget the eval. She is doing fine, besides developmental evals only focus on what a child CAN'T do..they tell you nothing about what she CAN and WILL do.
They are a joke in my opinion.
But hey...that's just me.
I'd live up on top of a mountain with no TV if I could...I am probably just being anti-ANYTHING. ;)
A
So glad to hear all is going fine. Love the pics of the "twins" kissing...somedays we kiss and some days we don't. Claire (4 1/2) is having the hardest time. We are slowly making progress.
Maybe Yao Yao is an untaught child and not delayed. Now that she has the best teachers she will be climbing with the best of them. Kevin had NO idea about a swing. He loves it now. I am sometimes saddened at the things they haven't seen...Yet.
I love how Lil'Rocker and YaoYao are bonding! I know you were hoping that would happen. It is so cute to see them together! It is amazing to hear about the progress that she is making in such a short time!
So glad to hear things are going much better. Keep in mind when you bring a new born home to meet the rest of the flock the adjustments that you go through, as some children if they drink from a cup will want a bottle, if potty trained will wet etc. you get the pic. Hang in there you two are doing a fine job. I love the pics of the kids. Give it time before you jump to conclusions about her delays she will blossom and if not talk to my daughter about pdd and the questions to ask before hand.
lo
Thanks for the update. It looks like she is just one of the gang. Congratulations on your sleeping. I'm sure you slept well!
I totally understand how things can somewhat be easier when the hubby gets back to work. My hubby has been home for 3 months now and my house seems in more disarray than ever. I love having him there, I just don't get as much done :)
My daughter, also from Wuxi, only wanted kisses on the cheek. I think they were only allowed to kiss on the cheek.
Both of my daughters from China were not safe on the stairs and they also didn't seem to know they could get hurt if they flung themselves out of our arms. There are definitely concepts they do not understand when they come home. It's amazing how much they learn in a very short time.
Christy
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