Yucky Ears

I think we know why Madelyn acted out yesterday. Her right ear is draining yucky stuff again. It's really gross. Her ear infection is back or something else is wrong. Luckily we have drops leftover from the last prescription so we started that again and she sees the doctor Tuesday. We'll never know how long she's had problems with her ears. I only know the past almost five weeks she's been miserable with her runny nose and her ears. I'm planning on asking Tuesday at what point do we see an ENT for her ear infections. I've had problems with many ear infections in the past but never had them draining like hers does. It's got to be painful and she's dealing with it pretty good. Today she's been fairly happy most of the day. I'm even able to type this while she's awake and not crying for me to pick her up. Logan is entertaining her and the twins. (He got rewarded today for being a good big brother and got to go see a movie.)

I'd post of photo of her ears but someone might get sick looking at the yucky junk coming out. I couldn't watch Tony clean it out. It's that disgusting.

Grieving

I'm assuming this is what Madelyn was going through today. I'm no expert with adoption. I've read many stories and how this can happen at all ages. What I need to pray about is how to handle this better. I even thought maybe she was sick but after the afternoon nap she seemed much better.

During morning and afternoon nap, Madelyn cried.......and she cried......and she cried and on and on it went. She was perfectly fine if I held her. The problem with that is I was home alone with all four kids. This couldn't happen all day long. As soon as I would sit her down, she would instantly cry. I tried toys and more toys. The boys played around her which entertains her sometimes. This didn't work. Logan tried talking to her...didn't work. I was loosing my patience. I made a bottle. She wouldn't take it. She arched her back in my arms and flung her legs out and screamed. I talked to her and it still continued. I eventually held her tight, held her arms that were flying around and her legs and held her up against me like a newborn baby swaddled and calmed her down getting her to finally take a bottle. She only made it through half and it started again. Since it was getting close to nap time, I took the chance at hoping I could lay her down and this wear off. Thankfully this worked. She cried for a little bit in her crib but she went to sleep very soon after.

Ever since I've felt horrible. I feel like I failed at the time she needed me most. My patience wore thin really quick. It didn't help that I felt bad all day from not getting much sleep last night and my back was hurting.

When people ask "so how's it going?" I can only respond, we're surviving. It's going to get better and it's going to get easier. I have to keep reminding myself this.

Tomorrow is going to be a better day and maybe next time I'll be a little more prepared.

Relief

I'm going to have a few hours of relief from most of the kids one day a week. I am hiring a local college student to come one day a week for a few hours to help me out and stay home with some/all while I do errands or just rest. Now I need to find out the babysitting rate these days.

Yes, This is a Blue Bib on a little GIRL......Got more of these than pink ones

 

What Butternut Squash Looks Like on a Little Baby Girl

 

Loving one of her brothers

Madelyn and Nate being cute together.

One Month Post Gotcha Update

Yesterday was the one month anniversary of Gotcha Day. Since Gotcha Madelyn...

* is sitting up. She could not do this at all in China and now she's mastered it.
* knows who her parents are. No doubt. She recognizes us as her caretakers and knows we are the ones that will meet her needs.
* reaches for us to pick her up.
* still laughs a lot and smiles.
* loves the swing on the playground outside.
* watches her brothers play all around her.
* doesn't like for her hair to be pulled by Nate.
* starting to put weight on her legs when assisted or in the exersaucer.
* turned 11 months old on the 23rd of March.
* can pick up toys. She's starting to want to play with more than just lightly tap on them like she did at first.
* today started picking up cheerios but not to eat, only to play with.
* sleeps through the night and is on the same sleep schedule as her brothers.
* has severe separation anxiety. If she is watching us and we turn away, she will cry VERY loud.
* hates a carseat.
* still can't grasp a bottle. If the bottle is sat in front of her, she waves her arms around but has no idea how to pick it up. This will be discussed at the next dr's visit.
* in the bathtub she takes turns with each hand splashing water. She's more curious about the water splashing than the bathtoys around her. Fortunately she doesn't cry when I pour water over her head to wash her hair.

Even though I'm seeing small improvements, I'm still frustrated at the fact that I can tell the orphanage did not work with her at all. How did they feed her? Why can't she hold her own bottle at 11 months old? Did she always lay in a crib? Was she ignored b/c she is quieter than most kids? She's not necesarily quiet but her cries are not as loud as many can be at this age. Was she ever hugged or loved while there?

CDSA is coming for an evaluation 4/10. The first caseworker comes 4/20 to start working with her on her developmental delays.

I'm homebound. How many adults go solo outside of home with three babies? You just don't see this in public and I know exactly why now. It's too stressful. Maybe I'll get brave one day and venture out.

Germ Sharing Part II

There's a reason why Madelyn's highchair is not close to the twins. Andrew has taken on feeding his brother and when he's not feeding him, Nate steals off Andrew's tray. Gotta love this!

Two Cuties

 

Stop the Camera

 

This Photo Cracks Me Up

 

Paid a Little Too Much

Ever paid $75 for a jar of Gerber Stage 2 Sweet Potatoe Baby Food? I did.

For months now I've had a clicking noise in my van every time I turned left. It was very loud. I could hear it over the kids and the radio. I thought it was something under the hood, maybe around the tire/axle, but wasn't sure. I took it to the dealership with all three kids (before Madelyn) and waited 1 1/2 hours and they came back with $75 bill and fixed something small. Well, that didn't work. It was still making the noise. Then Tony took it back. They fixed something else, but that still didn't work.

I had to wait until this week to go back due to all the packing and traveling and finally made it back in telling these people that I wanted them to ride with me so I could point out where that noise was coming from. The mechanic is in awe and can't believe how loud this noise is. He switched places with me and drove it and he could only make it happen turning left too and was surprised this was my 3rd trip in. He took it back to the service department and about 30 minutes later came back holding in his hands this baby food jar.

The jar was wedged under the passenger seat. They had to take the seat off to get it out. It was rolling up against some metal and that was making the noise. The jar was still sealed, not broken.

I gave the service department men a good laugh for the day. It took three trips to find out baby food was the culprit to this noise. It wasn't just me either b/c it took them two times jacking the van up and taking the wheels off searching for what was clicking and popping under the van.

It will be a while before I can show my face there again. It's probably on my record there so they can laugh everytime they pull up my vehicle.

Bad Hair Morning

I'm not sure who is having the worst bed hair morning...Nate or Madelyn?

No More Nap Skipping

It's not so bad when one misses a nap but when three miss a nap, it's HORRIBLE!

We decided to take Madelyn to church today for her first visit knowing we would only last through Sunday School and that would probably be it b/c of nap times. The boys have never taken good naps at church. They might fall asleep there but it's short. I don't think one has ever napped more than 20 minutes, if that.

Well, Today we put Nate and Andrew in the nursery and took Madelyn with us to Sunday School. She was a silly girl and smiled and laughed and showed off. We had to carry her out of the room during prayer b/c of noises she was making with her nose. Then when the lesson started, Tony took her out again b/c she was making more noises. They came back and she was distracting us from the Bible lesson and we were worried she was distracting others that I went ahead and took her onto the nursery and stayed in there.

The boys were exhausted when I got in there. If they make it to 10am without a nap, they are dragging and we pushed them until almost 11. When we left we hoped they would stay awake until we got home but they didn't. That meant short nap again b/c once they fall asleep in the van, that's it. Either we keep driving or give up on any more napping when we get home b/c they wake up carrying them to the crib. Sure enough, short naps. Madelyn didn't fall asleep so after feeding her, we got her down for a nap but that ended up being her only one for the day. The boys only took one more short nap b/c it was off schedule. They HAVE to stay on a morming routine nap schedule AND an afternoon nap or else by the evening they are the most irritable children you've ever seen.

When they get off schedule, it ruins their day and ours. They are too tired, cry about everything, and drives me insane. They are now in the bed, all three, before 6:30 tonight, but not asleep. Hopefully they'll give it up and go to sleep. I think Madelyn might have already fallen asleep. She was even irritable too and wouldn't finish any bottles today completely.

There's a reason why you don't see higher order multiples at church. I've been going to church all my life and I think I've only seen one set of triplets ever at church and that was an evening weeknight program. It's impossible unless there are more adults to help out.

Also, parents shouldn't have to sit in the parking lot and come up with a plan for getting all kids inside a building. There wasn't room for strollers so our plan was for Tony to crawl into the back of the van, take Nate and Andrew out of their carseats and I held both of them at the same time and carried them inside. That wasn't easy. They total over 48 lbs. Then Tony unbuckled Madelyn and carried her in. I couldn't crawl into the back of the van with a skirt on. No more dresses or skirts for me to church for a while.

Tony and I may have to start taking turns going to church with Logan until the twins and Madelyn are older and can skip the morning nap or at least push it a little longer out. Our kids were half of the nursery this morning (3 out of 6 were ours). I feel bad b/c we are the reason why more nursery workers miss Sunday School class.

I love my children more than anything else, but I am so thankful for bedtime.

Forgot to mention in last post....notice Madelyn sitting up in a highchair in the picture. She could not do this in China. When we would go to breakfast every morning in our hotels, they would always bring us a highchair for her. If we sat her in it, she would fall to the side, front or back. Today Tony placed her coat in front of her for a little support but otherwise she was sitting up just fine in the highchair. The one we have at home reclines some so she can lay back. This was the first time since coming home she has sat in a backless highchair. Amazing how far she has already come in just a little over a week since we've been home.

First Family Outing

 

We were brave today. We had our first outing as a family of 6 today to Chuck E Cheese for a birthday party. What an adventure that was just getting ready to go. We started about the time we got out of bed and we were still late for a 12pm party. How many families do you see in restaurants with three highchairs? Let's face it, none. Triplet, Quad, or more families just don't go out when the children are this young.

Madelyn loved the attention she got. The boys ate everything placed in front of them. Logan ran wild like always in there. I think I saw him twice the entire time we were there after walking in the door. He went home with the birthday girl for the night.

Not only did we venture out to CEC, we even made a stop by a dealership to sign papers on a new truck. It's a pre-owned 2004 F-150 SuperCrew. We traded in our little truck over 2 years ago when we decided to upgrade to a mini-van. Over the past two years, we've regretted not having a truck. Well, up until today, we only had one vehicle that would fit ALL of us so we decided to go ahead and buy a truck that would seat six. Everything was suppose to have already been taken care of by the time I got there but it wasn't. I ended up having to get out of the van with all three babies. I had a double stroller with the twins and put Madelyn in a baby carrier and wore her inside pushing the stroller. Not a single person didn't turn and look when I walked in the door with all three. I don't like being stared at.

We still have the mini-van. Those things are just not made for lots of carseats. The best arrangement we've come up with is putting the twins in the back and Madelyn and Logan in the middle. Since Logan is in a booster, we can take out his booster, lay the seat down (we have captain's chairs in the middle that stow away), put Nate and Andrew in the floorboard of the van, jump in the van ourself, then place Nate and Andrew in their carseat in the back. This will be much easier when they can start to climb into their carseats themselves but I'll still have to get in the back and buckle them up. If the truck turns out to be easier on a daily basis dealing with carseats, maybe I might be looking into getting one of those for myself to drive and just have two family trucks.

Blood and X-ray

Can't sleep so taking some quiet time to post.

I took our princess to have blood drawn Thursday morning. Her pediatrician sent us to a laboratory saying that she usually has the blood drawn there but most of the time they don't get enough so she would rather us go to the laboratory and make sure they draw enough to begin with. However, when I got there the lab people were in shock Madelyn was having so much tests done plus the stool orders were written wrong. This took forever for them to get together all the papers and had to the call the peds office and wait on their call back which didn't happen while I was there.

It took three lab techs plus me. One did the drawing of the blood, one held her arm, the other held her chest and body down and I just sat there and brushed her head trying to calm her down. She definitely screamed through this. It was pitiful.

We later had to trot over to Imaging for a chest x-ray. I had never seen an infant get a chest x-ray and hope I never have to see that done again. I tried to find a picture online of what it looks like but couldn't so I'll explain best I can. They sat her straight up in this little container where her legs dangled below and the casing wrapped around her body leaving her arms raised above her head. I've heard in mammograms breast are squeezed and that's what I was thinking with her but this was her abdomen instead. I was to stand and hold her arms up higher over her head and keep her crying. They said they could get a better view if she was crying and they took it when she was inhaling realling big. Well, she cried but only when they weren't ready for the picture. For the last photo, the tech held her arms thinking if I walked away she would cry but that didn't work either. We don't know the results yet. If she could eat ice cream, that was definitely a trip she deserved to the "ice cream factory" as Logan would say.

Then came the stool collection. The lab wanted the stool within an hour of pooping. When we got home she finally did it. That was Tony's job. I do good to get the diaper changed but collecting it into three containers wasn't going to happen if I had to do it. Just talking about it now makes me nauseous.

She's done with all the tests now. We don't know if they'll tell us results at her visit next Wednesday or if we'll hear before then. I do know her ears still bother her. I don't know how many times a girl needs antibiotics before they give up and send them to an ENT but it seems like three antibiotics within less than three weeks might be an indicator to get a specialists opinion since there's no relief. I don't want her to have surgery and have tubes put in but if it makes her feel better, I'm all for it. She's digging in her ears constantly. It's gotta hurt.

 

Checking Out Her New Bunny

 
It's amazing that she is grabbing toys now. Until this week she would only take toys in her hands if we put them to her hands and helped her grasp it.

Doesn't this look painful?

 

Posting Time has Diminished

Trying to play catch up...

There were some things that happened on our trip that never got posted that I wanted to share especially about our last day.

On March 7th, we had our swearing in ceremony. Our group plus the other families from the same agency we used arrived first. Soon after more and more families piled into this one room. Our guides did something at the beginning and later we were all called up to show our passports and identify who we were and show our baby and who she was. Around 4pm, a lady began speaking to everyone there. She told us there were 54 families there that day from the US. FIFTY-FOUR That number amazed me. That means at least 54 children were being adopted and brought back to the US on this day. That's not counting how many all week or how many were adopted by families from other countries. 54 orphans were receiving homes and forever families. After her speech she had all of the parents raise their right hand and swear that all documents submitted were true and then congratulated all of us. It was quick and simple...probably the easiest part of the entire process. The children would then become US Citizens upon landing on US Soil and handing over a brown envelope full of documents.

We later boarded the bus and headed to the airport. Some families took a train and some stayed another night. We waited in long lines at the airport to check in and then found a restaurant that would take credit card b/c we had spent the rest of our Chinese money. Afterwards we waited with several others from our group dreading the long flight home.

The flight wasn't as bad as I thought it might be but it wasn't fun either. Madelyn had diarrhea the entire flight. We lucked out and the seat beside us was empty so we had a changing area plus a little more elbow room. Logan slept almost the whole flight home which was a big relief to us. Madelyn inbetween diaper changes slept on me or Tony.

Food on that flight was not good at all. It was disgusting. Luckily we had snacks. They also don't believe in cold drinks. They serve Pepsi and Sprite room temperature and water boiling. One time I walked to the back to ask for water and when I picked up the little cup I thought I was going to burn my hand. How are we suppose to drink that? I understand China has to boil their water but on the plane you'd think they could have bottled water. There also was no ice on that plane.

LA airport wasn't much fun either. At one point we were waiting on customs to go over our passports and documents and while we waited they told us to roll our luggage over to a place that said "do not leave luggage unattended" and then told us to sit away from that. Made no sense whatsoever. Everywhere we stepped it seemed we were asked for passports. Take five steps "passports please." At one time I just wanted to say "didn't you just see me pull these out to that person right over there (pointing just a few feet away)?" We had to claim luggage there and check it back in. LA airport is big! Lots of walking! Thank goodness for baby carriers. My back was killing me though through all this.

After checking in we had to go through security. They took our water bottles (except one) and then had us dump our water in our thermos. One of the families with us had their thermos dumped in front of them but the man checking us made Tony take it outside himself and dump it. They even took my hand sanitizer which was well below the allowed liquid size. We had no water after that to make bottles with. Luckily McDonald's later filled our thermos with hot water. We had enough to make it back to Charlotte after that plus had one water bottle left (it was down in the diaper bag and security didn't find it). It didn't matter to them if the water bottles were sealed. They'd take it and toss it right in front of you. We had a 5 hour layover in LA. We used all but a little over one hour for customs, check-in, security and eating.

The LA flight to Atlanta was bad. Madelyn was restless. She wouldn't sleep at all. When we got to Atlanta, we barely had enough time to get to the other terminal (from T to B) before our next plane. She was restless also on that plane right but at least it was short. Logan was worse. His mouth ran non-stop until Charlotte. I was ready to pull out that duct tape. I had to apologize to the lady behind us he kept turning around to talking.

***awake babies now***post more later***

Life is Tough

I admit it ... it's rough here right now.

I think everyone that was on China time has adjusted but me. I'm still dragging during the day and rolling in the bed wide awake at night. I can't seem to get back on the right time. I also don't think I fully recovered from being sick last week in China. It's mostly nausea but last night I did vomit from the smell of Madelyn's diaper. She's got some killer poop. Bad smells do this to me anyway but I haven't felt so great since we've been home.

Madelyn is sleeping through the night (at least for the past two nights) and we had all three little ones taking a nap at the same time this morning. This afternoon isn't going so well with naps though.

Madelyn has been sitting up today. This is a big improvement. She also hasn't cried everytime I walked out of her sight. She sat in the floor with a boppy pillow as her support and watched all three boys play for a long time. She still only taps her fingers lightly on toys that are placed in front of her. At meal times we put her in a highchair and try to spoon feed her but she still can't figure out how to use her tongue and swallow the food. Almost all of the food is pushed back out. Teaching a 10 month old to eat is much harder than a younger baby b/c she knows how to fight back jerking her head and spitting and swinging her arms. She is drinking half soy formula given to us by our pediatrician and half of the Nestle Chinese formula in a bottle still mixed with rice cereal. I hope she starts eating food soon. I'm ready to get rid of all the bottles in the house. Three sets of bottles everyday definitely fills up a dishwasher plus a sink.

Logan bragged about his sister at preschool today. He gave each of his classmates a red lucky money envelope with some Chinese money we brought back home. He also gave his teacher a silk change purse purchased in China.

I'm hoping all three continue to sleep through the night and can stay on the same nap schedule once Tony goes back to work. He is off until the 22nd. I'm dreading that first day alone with all four but if I can get back to EST time and get over being sick it might not be so bad. I'm so thankful for ge ge (big brother). Logan can be annoying sometimes but he's also very good at entertaining the babies. They think he's the funniest thing ever. He's also a good fetcher. (He came in handy last night when I was gagging over Madelyn's diaper and got his daddy to come help.)

I'll post more photos later.

Madelyn at 3am in the morning

 

How Germs Are Passed Around so Quickly at our house

Check out bottle switching at our house. I'm keeping Madelyn's bottles different since she drinks a different formula.

All Dressed Up for her Brother's Birthday Party

 

Photos from Nate and Andrew's Belated Birthday Party

Madelyn's First Doctor's Appt in America

Today, I mean, yesterday (days all confused right now since we're up at almost 3am), Madelyn had her first visit to our pediatrician.

Her ears are still infected and her chest sounds horrible and the nose still runs down like a waterfall. The doctor prescribed another antibiotic and albuterol. Next week she is going to have a chest x-ray to double check her chest congestion and make sure it's not anything else serious. Also, she'll be having LOTS of blood work done plus tests on her stool (gross, changing diapers is bad enough but now I have to get it into three containers).

She is 20.8 lbs and I forgot the length but she's at the top of the growth chart for height for both Asian girls and American girls.

The doctor told us about a program that is free paid for by the state that will send someone to our house to work with her to catch her up to the age she's at. They'll help her with her speech and work with her on motor skills. She's already changed so much in two weeks and is getting stronger everyday. The doctor was not worried about her flat head and said she had seen worse with adopted children.

Today we'll be having a small belated birthday party for the twins and Madelyn will be meeting some friends and family for the first time.

First Family Photo

 

Our Beautiful Kids All Together

 

We're HOME

Quick update....

1. Airplane ride from Guangzhou to LA - not so bad. Logan slept most of the way. Madelyn took turns sleeping on me and Tony but she had diarrhea on the plane. Luckily the seat beside us was empty and we used it as a changing station.

2. Airplane from LA to Atlanta - HORRIBLE. Madelyn wouldn't sleep. She squeeled many times. Nobody slept.

3. Airplane from Atlanta to Charlotte - no layover which was great b/c we just had enough time to get off one plane and onto another. Logan's mouth ran non-stop driving us all insane. Madelyn was not happy either.

4. Car ride home - Madelyn does NOT like carseats.

5. She was immediately introduced to Nate and Andrew. Andrew has already knocked her in the head with a toy and Nate tried to pry open her eyes with his fingers. She's a bit weary of what's going on here but she's resting and hopefully tomorrow will be better.

6. Madelyn didn't care so much for a bath. Very clingy after taking one here. Went right to sleep on my shoulder afterwards. Sleeping in her own crib and her own room in brand new pj's.

7. Nate and Andrew gained about 20 lbs total it feels like. Each popped out another tooth.

8. Logan has been sleeping most of the afternoon. Tony and I took naps. We're both still weak from being sick. Tony is going to the dr tomorrow just to make sure he's okay. I might later if I don't get better.

9. Madelyn has her first dr visit tomorrow.

10. It's going to take forever to unpack and settle back into routine.

Journey is Finally Over

Hard to believe after these past few years of paperwork, waiting, more paperwork, waiting on referral, waiting on TA, waiting to travel and finally receiving Madelyn, more paperwork in China, the journey TO her is over.

Now the journey WITH our daughter begins. Madelyn will be a US Citizen when we land in LA on American soil. We leave out late this evening from Guangzhou and start the long flight home. I'm ready to have our daughter home, in a real home where she has toys, her own bed, her own clothes, and most important LOVE. On one of the papers I filled out for the US Consulate, it had us list Madelyn's current home and the address we were to put was our hotel room. That really bothered me. A hotel room is definitely not a home.

I can't wait for everyone to meet her. Her smile, the way her mouth opens wide with her toungue hanging out, will melt you away. She's a sweetie for sure.

We have more packing to do, eat breakfast, return the borrowed stroller, and we're done until the ceremony this afternoon. I will miss China. It's definitely been a great experience but there's no place like home.

Last night before I got sick, we made it out to the river to watch the Laser Light show. It was very pretty. They played music all over with lasers coming from both sides of the river. The photos I took didn't take with my digital camera but here's Logan and Madelyn enjoying the show last night.

Site of Diaper Blowout

We have discovered there are no diaper changing areas in bathrooms around here. Madelyn had a blowout while we were walking around last night. We had to pull over here for a complete change and scrub down.

We thought these signs were hilarious

Ready to Come Home

After spending the night hovering over the toilet and sink, I am now officially ready to get on that plane and come home. I love China and I am so glad I came to meet our daughter and be able to bring this beautiful little girl home but being sick away from home is horrible. I miss my boys and my own bed and home. This bed here is like laying on a hardwood floor and trying to sleep on it while sick doesn't make anything better, maybe worse.

Poor Tony got over his bug and then he got stuck cleaning up after me. Then this morning Logan vomits twice. We're not sure if Logan is really sick or not b/c he's still his bouncy self. Logan never acts sick when he really is sick.

I'm missing out on the Kids Amusement Park this morning. I told Tony to take Logan and see if he can make it without vomiting again. I'm too drained to even take one step out the door so Madelyn and I are hanging out in the hotel room. This afternoon we'll try to make it over to the White Swan hotel for the famous red couch photo with all the babies in our group dressed in their tradtional Chinese dresses. We took a tour of this hotel yesterday and it is really pretty inside. I'm disappointed I'm not getting the Barbie with the Asian baby but Madelyn will have plenty of Barbies later on. It wasn't worth the extra money to stay at that hotel just to get the Barbie.

Off to try to get some more rest. Madelyn is trying to fall back asleep on the bed behind me. Hardness doesn't seem to affect her. Her crib is soft. I've been tempted to jump in it and sleep or at least pull the mattress out of it and lay it in the floor.

One more night here, a full day tomorrow and we'll load the plane sometime around 8pm China time. If no delays, we'll be back in NC around 8am EST Thursday.

Stomach Bug part 2

Well, it looks like Melissa has the same food poisioning/stomach bug/etc. that I had a few days ago. Don't expect many blog posts from her for the next 24 hours. Actually, don't expect her to get more than 10 steps from the bathroom for the next 24 hours, if it hits her like it did me.

Photos from Medical Exam

Photos from Pearl River Dinner Cruise

Photos from Guangzhou

Sleeping Baby

Photos from Dinner Friday Night - Sichuan style food