Emilia - Eleven Weeks Home

As of today, Emilia has been home with us for eleven weeks. I can hardly believe it. Time is flying by and it seems like she’s always been here.

I am happy to report that Emilia is growing. She has a cute belly and some of the pants that used to fit her (size 6-9 months) can no longer be buttoned. On others, the legs are getting too short. She just looks sturdier overall. Our next weigh-in for her is on Wednesday, so I will share the new data with you then. She’s been easily meeting her daily caloric goals with purees and her supplement and she is now drinking juices, too. We are experimenting with fork mashed table foods at lunch. Some of it is a go and some not so much. We stopped giving Emilia the Prevacid, but are continuing with her iron prescription.

The most wonderful thing in the last two weeks has been the bonding. Emilia came to us with a lot of anxieties, traumas, and trust issues from the orphanage. When we approached her crib in the morning, her whole body would shake in fear and her face looked incredibly scared. She wanted physical affection, but could not quite handle it when she received it. Now, she smiles when she sees me approach her and sometimes even says, “Hi-ya.” She climbs up on us to cuddle and when I sit down on the floor, she usually runs to give me a hug. Yes, she has learned to put her arms around our necks for real hugs. At other times, she simply sits down next to me and leans her head against my body which is pure sweetness. We are just now starting to give kisses on the mouth which is still weird for her. It will all come in time. And when she feels truly safe and loved, she will just blossom beyond belief.

More parallel play?

Emilia still does some rocking, especially in the evening in the living room. Another favorite rocking place is in front of the dishwasher when it is running. I don’t know if it’s to keep herself awake or to calm down. I think she has been rocking herself for a long time because she literally has abs of steel. This tiny treasure is a brick of muscle. And she still sucks her thumb which is her trusted and readily available comfort. I have tried to give her a pacifier, but she will not have it. It must be her left thumb or nothing.

Emilia pushed her big cousin around the house with no problem.

She's not a bit intimidated by her brother's size and strength.

We did move Emilia into the kids’ room to sleep. She is such a restless sleeper, kicking her legs, making noises, shifting all over the place… none of this ever woke her, but it did the rest of us. So, Emilia is now sleeping in a pack’n play all by herself. She has done very well with this set-up. She goes down easily in the evening and wakes up happy in the morning. She no longer wakes in the middle of the night to play for a few hours either. Whew, we’re all well rested again.

These overalls used to be too long two months ago.

Emilia is a feisty little girl, a bit of a drama queen, who can climb like a monkey and will some day probably swim like a fish. She is sweet and cuddly and, don’t be fooled, she knows what she wants. Go Emilia!