Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Whew!!!
Were still here...exhausted but here! Hey Ladies, Lora, Mel, Melissa OR anyone. Ellie has adjusted well, and is a wonderful baby! However, she has her nights/days SO mixed up, and we cannot figure this one out for her to get her on a schedule. Also, she got a cold too. We are needing any advice to get through this... help! Other than that... we love being parents, it's a wonderful thing to hear her laugh or see that beautiful smile. We love her so much!
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9 comments:
Glad to see things are going well. On the sleep issues, they usually get better in about 2 weeks. In the meantime, limit naps during the day, and get her outdoors. I hope this improves soon. How is the Jet Lag?
Michelle C, AL
Home with Brooke 12/08
I'm so happy that you are doing well and everyone is adjusting. My advice for the cold is to go buy one of those little nose bulbs that you barely have to stick into one side of her nose at a time. Just squeeze the bulb and put it into the corner of her nostril, not too far and release. You can add a few drops of saline solution to loosen it up in there if needed and suck it all out of there. Poor baby girl, nothing worse than a runny or stuffy nose at that age. plus if its draining down her throat, she'll get a sore throat and really be unhappy. As for her days and nights: Keep her up as much as possible during the day the first couple of days. Keep her near a window during the day and when she starts getting drowsy, take her outside or give her a bath. It took Allie a couple of weeks to completely get it together. Hang in there!!! This isn't easy and can take it's toll emotionally and physically. This is a great time to call in the troops! As for help keeping her awake so you can take a shower, or get some rest yourself. Don't be shy about asking a close friend, sister or grandparent for help and don't worry that someone else taking care of Ellie for an hour here and there will interfere with your bonding relationship. It won't hurt a thing and it will give her a chance to bond with other family and close friends. Mommy will need a break soon if she doesn't already... I'm over here cheering you on, you can do it!!! ((Hugs))!
Sorry the sleep isn't going so smoothly...here's what we did: Put her down at 9 am and 1 pm for naps. Put her to bed at 7 pm for the night. Try to keep her up all other times. Good luck!
I completely agree with everyone else. It will take time (1-2 weeks) to get her adjusted. One thing that you should try to avoid is running in to pick her up everytime she makes a noise. This will only encourage a very hard habit to break in the future. As she adjusts to the time change more and more, try to let her 'self-soothe' for a minute or two before going in to pick her up. Gradually increase the time over a couple of weeks and hopefully she will learn to drift off to sleep on her own if she wakes in the middle of a nap or at night. As far as colds, get used to them. Myah had a green runny noise practically every other week for the first six months. Their little immune systems need to adjust to US germs. Try to avoid antibiotics and over-medicating as most little colds go away on their own. If it's serious see a doctor, but little colds do help them be able to fend off bigger things in the future. Welcome to the joys of parenthood! lol
It is not easy at first but does get better! I posted some tips on your facebook page :)
It's good to be home, right? :) It took Sydney only a few days to adjust to the time change. We found that a very routine (calm, no visitors) day helps Sydney sleep through the night. We try to limit how often we go out during the day so we can give her a morning and afternoon nap and get her to bed by 7:30. A routine of bath, bottle, bed works for us. We try to let her self soothe for only a minute or two before we go in to her, but do not let her cry longer than that as it is important she knows we are there for her. As for her cold, ditch any meds. Give her lots of fluids, asporator her nose and use saline, like Lora said. Also, she may be waking up hungry.
Certainly not to go against anything that anyone else has mentioned, but from what I've read in the bonding and attachment with adoption reads, It is important not to let her cry it out in the beginning for too long. Just a couple of minutes and then I suggest going back in. She is learning to trust you and right now for at least the next 3 months or so, I wouldn't intentionally let her go on for more than a couple of minutes. There will come a time when you will feel comfortable doing this, but it will probably be much later down the road. Allie went through a phase where she had to learn to tough it out and learn how to self soothe after she had been home with us for about 5-6 months. It is hard to go through, but because we felt comfortable with our bonding and attachment relationship at that time, it didn't take very long and it didn't tear at my heart strings hearing her cry it out nearly as much at that point. LOL~
Aren't you glad you went and asked for advice?! Thinkin 'bout ya!
Lora
Just my two cents worth:
I know what Mel is saying about developing hard habits to break, but i don't think that applies to much with our adopted kiddos this early on.
Lora & everyone,
I thank God that I have someone to help me through this that has been through it, and can answer my questions. It's been tough, and no one ever had discussion about the jag lag that one would experience on the yahoo board that I can remember. Wow! This is a good topic to discussion on the board. Thank you for all your advice & caring thoughts. I truly appreciate it! Keep it coming:)
Love you Ladies,
Debbie
Hey Debbie,
I have a 10 month old that would love to play together with Ellie, being that they are so close in age. I have Tripp on a great schedule that works for him and can offer lots of help if you need. Feel free to call me. Us mommies with little ones need to talk about baby stuff and getting through the day to day. I am so happy and exhausted for you. As for the cold, I would recommend a humidifier as well. Lets plan a play date when she is feeling better.
Love ya,
Tracy
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