Day 6 with the kids, day 2 of non-stop vomiting and fever for me. Less than ideal timing. I got 2 bags of IV fluid and a couple prescriptions yesterday, when I couldn't even keep ice down. Super-dad Cody took yesterday off work, and luckily had the next 3 days off to take care of the four kids and me. Being sick sucks, and one parent having to handle two babies and two kids (and me) is tough. But the kicker was having their first home visit on the same day that we were already exhausted and overwhelmed.
We knew from our foster care classes that kids tend to act out after home visits, when they get to see their parent(s) for a brief supervised visit, but holy crap. It seems like all the progress we had made during their first 5 days went out the window. Everything became an issue. Mealtimes, bedtime, waking up the next morning, doing homework, playing outside... everything that had been pretty straight-forward before the home visit became meltdown-worthy afterwards.
It's hard to know exactly what they're thinking and feeling, but you can make a pretty good guess. The baby got even more clingy, and the big kids got angry and talked back and threw fits about everything--even to go play on the trampoline, which they usually love. Cody got the brunt of it, since I've been cooped up in bed for the past two days.
But there is some good news in the midst! The baby has started transitioning from mostly solids back to formula, with some solids. Instead of PB&J sandwiches and big kid food and water, she's drinking a bottle and eating banana slices and a handful of cheerios. She's still drawn to solid foods, but as we've pushed the bottle with her, she's started to show signs of better hydration. Additionally, her near-constant whine has turned into some quiet time, some actual cries (which is progress!), and some cooing. The babies are really good for each other, as they push each other's development. One baby sees the other baby flailing her arms and legs, and watches intently. The other baby watches her sitting up and learning to scoot, mesmerized. Sometimes they just stare at each other and it's SO cute!
The older sister watches the baby learning to push herself on the floor and to roll over, and she says excitedly, "she doesn't know how to do that!" The baby's physical development seems to be improving so fast. When she got here, she couldn't even stay sitting up; she would just flop over (maybe from nerves though?). By the second day, she could sit up--which is why I think it was something she already knew how to do and she just had a momentary lapse. On the other hand, she hated tummy time from day one; I don't think she had ever tried it. She screamed bloody murder whenever we put her on her tummy for the first couple days, and each session lasted about 30 seconds, twice per day. By day three, she could stand tummy time for about 60 seconds, and now we're up to a couple minutes. On top of that, she learned how to roll over! Her look of surprise and pride the first time (today) was priceless. It just took a few days of tummy time before she mastered it, as she's already quite big. In general, her entire demeanor has changed. Instead of a defeated look of sadness in her eyes, she attentively watches things around her now. It's rewarding to see her bounce back so quickly. Our biggest obstacles are her waking up every 30-60 minutes at night and being generally glued to us during the day. She did not tolerate Cody for the first couple days, and she now reaches for him and lets him rock her to sleep at night (adorable!).
No comments:
Post a Comment