First week home

Ryan and Anna




Anna and Jimmie Grant on her first shopping trip.

We have been back from Taiwan for a week now. Anna has continued to adapt well. For the first few days, she was quieter than in Taiwan. She did not eat as much for a few days, and while she napped, she would try to wake up every hour at night. By 2 in the morning, she usually came to bed with me so I could sleep. Ralph is afraid of hurting her since she is so small and has gone to sleep in Ryan's room. Usually, by 6 am, it's Anna, me, Ryan and the two cats in my bed and Ralph alone in Ryan's full-sized bed. Not sure how fair that is!

In the last few days, we have seen Anna's personality emerge. She laughs and smiles easily again. She is one of the happiest babies I have ever seen. She is interested in everything, and nothing within arms' reach is safe. Or, for that matter, within 5 feet of her. She is rolling, pushing back, and pushing herself forward to get to whatever she wants. Today, for the first time, she got both her hands and knees under her and pushed herself forward. For the last 2 nights, she has slept through the night in her room for 11-12 hours; thank God! She still takes 2 naps an hour in the morning and 2 in the afternoon. She is eating like crazy and wants solid food not even old-fashioned donuts! The Dr. laughed today when I told him about her diet in Taiwan. She is not eating rice, cereal, oatmeal, fruit, or sweet potatoes. She still likes her bottles in the morning and at bedtime.

Anna still believes she should be held or with us all the time but she has gotten used to playing in her exasaucer or play mat for short periods. We bought a door jumper for the office as we only have a few tall door jambs at home, and she loves it. She gets to spin around, look at everything, and jump up and down. I thought I could work with her at the office, but it's now evident that she is too active for that. It's too distracting. The staff wants to play with her; patients would rather see her than Ralph.

Our first outings with Anna have been a learning process. The first day, Ralph and I took her to Costco and Target. At Costco I turned to Ralph and said, "Do you realize we brought nothing for Anna, no bottle, food, diapers or clothes?" The next day, I took everything but forgot the bottle. The day after that, I had everything but the formula. Guess it's a learning curve. We remembered everything the last two days. Anna, Ryan and I had a shopping day with my friends Belinda and her daughter Adrianna, who is 2 months older than Ryan and her son Jimmie who is two weeks younger than Anna. Four stops and lunch took from 11:30 until 6:30. It was fun but exhausting. I had thought of leaving our application in China just in case we decided on another baby, but after that, two kids are good for us. Funny aside, while at the Asian food market, an Asian cashier told Belinda, "Looks like she might have some Asian blood in her."

We had our first visit with the pediatrician today. I felt bad filling out the forms as I could not answer most of the questions. He said she looked very healthy. For her rash, we are going to try some over-the-counter lotion. He thinks her flat head in the back may have been her looking at something or someone interesting while in the crib. We will try to change what side she lays on every other night. They did accept the vaccinations she received in Taiwan but she got two more today and was not too impressed with the process. At one year, we will do basic labs on her and recheck HIV and Hepatitis, although these were normal at referral. Had she been from China, the doctor said he would have repeated the lab tests and shots, but he was not worried about the quality of medical care in Taiwan. We thought Anna was so petite, but on the growth chart, she is 15% in weight and 75% in height. Tall and skinny, just like Ryan. The Dr. said that being so skinny makes her look more petite than she really is. Oh yeah, and she has wide feet, I never would have noticed that.

Ryan has continued to surprise us. He grew up so much while we were gone. He has been helping Mom and Dad and playing with Anna. We had his annual education plan update today, and the therapists were impressed by his progress. In many areas, he is age-appropriate or even a head. We have only heard one, "I don't want a sister," which we think is pretty good. Last night, he helped feed Anna for the first time. In the morning, he insists on saying goodbye and kissing her. Yesterday, while lying in bed together, Anna crawled over to Ryan and gave him a big baby kiss.

Next week, Anna will start at daycare at Gloria's house for 4 hours three days a week. This will allow me to exercise and be at the office for a few hours. I feel bad having her go to daycare, but not working is not an option for us. Gloria watched Ryan for several years and has become a part of our family. Most of the babies there now are within a month of Anna's age. We visited yesterday and Anna loved watching all the kids play. If you remember, there was another baby she loved in her foster home. I think this will work well for everyone.