Post Adoption~ Month 3

We are working our way through our 3rd month home with our Margaret Li Ya. She is a spicy, sweet little thing that makes her {strong} opinions known. I found this little onesie after we got home and thought it was perfect for her. Though She Be But Little, She Is Fierce. Shakespeare must have known.

The same day we wore this little shirt, we also attempted to get her blood drawn. This little lady is, hands down, the strongest baby I have. She fought the tourniquet, the nurse, the older more experienced nurse, me, everything. She fought us so hard to NOT get that blood drawn. 6 unsuccessful sticks later, they had to squeeze from the big toe. So hard and so sad, but she is such a strong, fierce little lady. I know that skill will serve her well later in life. (Just hopefully not for our next blood draw)

Attachment: This month we tested our attachment, as both Ryan and I had work trips and were away from Maggie. I left for my bi-annual work trip to VA and was away from Maggie for 4 nights and almost 5 days. Ryan had a two different 3 day trips. One of us was always with her, so these trips tested us all.

Maggie seemed to do well while I was gone. We tried to FaceTime the first night, but she seemed distressed to see me on screen but not in person, so we did not continue those. She is really attached to Ryan and gets very excited when he is home, so I knew she would be good with him. I am her main caregiver, but that also means that I do the hard stuff, like feedings and diaper changes and making her nap. Ryan is the funny guy who plays with her. 

It took a good day for her to open back up to me when I returned, but she is doing great now and will choose to come to me over Ryan at times, and that didn't happen before. While it was not the most ideal timing for the trip, it was necessary and everyone seemed to roll with it.

Growth: Maggie has put on another 10 oz and is growing nicely. The pediatrician is very pleased with  her growth moving up the curve. We are testing some low hemoglobins, but should be finding out the results soon.
She has also popped out 4 back molars, bringing our teeth count up to 10!

Food: She is getting pickier with her food now and definitely has things she likes and dislikes. If she does not like, she will spit it out or completely turn around in her high chair. Knowing her opinion on any thing is never an issue. She clearly makes her wants known! 

We are still working on her drinking from any sort of cup. She is not a fan or anything and has not figured out a straw yet, so that is our next big goal.

Physical Development: Maggie is cruising like a champ, but seems to have put the brakes on any sort of walking or standing. She is getting stronger and steadier, but when we try to practice standing with her, she refuses and pulls her legs up. She will NOT let us try to help her stand alone. She will walk with us, but if we try to do only 1 hand or take our hands away, she instantly sits down. She may just need more time. We are waiting to have an early-on head start therapist come for an evaluation and some next steps to help with her development. She is moving along great, but is obviously still very behind kids her own age.

Verbal: We have progressed to saying Mamma, Dadda, Hi, Ja (Jack) and most recently, shoes! She is pointing and communicating a lot, but not a lot of clear defined words. Her receptive language understanding is really improving. She understands a lot of what I say or ask. Today I was sitting down and she was standing, holding onto my knees. I told her that I needed her to sit down, so that I could stand up. She slowly sat down. So, she is really starting to understand English.

Goals: We are really looking forward to her evaluation and to see what we can do next to help her keeping making progress.

Overall, we are doing well. We are heading into the seasons of first for her. First Thanksgiving, first Christmas, first New Year..and her first Chinese New Year in America! :)

We are all still finding our rhythm, but we are working together as family. And that is exactly what Maggie needs. It is what we need.

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