Pete's Back to Work

We're still trying to come up with a schedule that works. Nap or no nap? Sophie definitely needs an afternoon nap. Momma needs Liam to have an afternoon nap too! Babies sleep = my free time! If you know me, you know I like my sleep. This morning, however, I got up at 6:30 A.M so that I could get some things done. I'll be waking the kids up soon.



So, I have gotten various advice on whether to wake the kids up in the A.M. and in the afternoon. Today, I plan to wake them up this A.M. and let them nap as long as they want.

A Smallish Update

Things are definitely busy here, but much better. The flight home went amazingly well with the kids! They slept and behaved themselves tremendously!

The sleeping has gotten better, as has the eating. They now will eat most things we put in front of them, though they're still kids. One day something might be OK to eat, the next not so OK. Regardless, we aren't doing pureed food! Saturday night Pete and I got Chinese food. Sunday, we were wondering what to feed them for lunch quickly and tried chicken fried rice. They devoured it- about 3/4 of a carton between them! They also like pizza, and Sophie discovered BBQ potato chips by snatching the one Grandpa was about to eat out of his hand! We are feeding them healthy food too though...

Liam now usually only has tantrums when he is tired. They're still the kicking, throwing things, pulling mama's hair tantrums, but if I rub his back it usually ends after 10-15 minutes. We're getting better at knowing what works to settle them down. Cartoon movies are wonderful- we now put one on about an hour before bedtime to calm them down. Sometimes they fall asleep on their own, sometimes they don't. We can usually get them to fall asleep within 20 minutes or so, which seems pretty good.

I have rethought the cosleeping thing. Their beds will be here Saturday, and they will go in their own room at that time. It seems as long as we are there until they fall asleep to comfort them, that's what really matters. I spent a good week or so with them co-sleeping and I don't need to any more.

The doctor visit wasn't terribly fruitful. We need to have someone to explain what's going on in Russian to Liam or things will get ugly. He wouldn't let me undress him, and he wouldn't let the PA take his temp. He does have congestion, but its so much better now. The surprise of the visit was that we learned Liam has pink eye. Today we will try to give him eye drops, and I'm not really looking forward to that. He has pleasantly surprised me many times over the last few days though.

Babushka and Grandpa came up on Sunday, and both kids took an instant liking to Baba. Liam seems to think that Grandpa's Lincoln Town Car is cooler than our Mazda as he is saying that Grandpa's car is HIS car, and that our car is not his car.

Time to wake them up from their nap....will update again when we have time. Enjoy the pic.

Sankta Valya, Moscow Dance Party and Meltdowns

Last night we found a good panacea, or so we thought, for the kids. They love music. We played the radio and danced, and I got them head banging. It was really funny, and we all enjoyed it I think. Once bedtime rolled around, it was really difficult with Liam. He's just so scared, and both Pete and I think he's probably had some significant early trauma. More on that later...I thought I had gotten him to sleep, after SIGNIFICANT fighting on his part, he was really calm but not necessarily asleep. I was wrong, and I think we basically wore him out to get him to sleep. It was hellacious. Then, his breathing was so congested, I was worried that he would stop breathing, so I didn't want to fall asleep. Eventually we were all asleep...We didn't get up until 10am.

Today Valya came over. She has come over the last three days and has been a godsend. Its so nice to have someone who is both really good with kids and can communicate well with them. The language barrier, even with me knowing some Russian, has been a real issue. She came to the American Embassy with us today, and she was with us for 6 hours today. She occupied the kids so we could pack, got them to eat when we couldn't, got Liam and Sophie to get dressed when they wanted to run around in diapers and was all around a HUGE help to us. Thus, I have named her Sankta (Saint) Valya! I think everyone adopting two children at once should have a Sankta Valya. We asked if she wanted a vacation to the US, but she seems to have to work here...hmmmm...

So, today the kids didn't get naps because we went to the Embassy during their naptime. We decided that since we have to get up at 3am (yes you read that right), this was a good thing. They both started getting tired around 4pm. We fed them early (with Valya's help) at 5pm, then gave them baths. When bathtime was over, Liam had a major meltdown. I think he was really tired, but he's also very scared. He fights you tooth and nail! He fights for his life- pulling hair, scratching at your face. I try to contain him physically, but its difficult. He cried for a half hour, and eventually let me rub his back and t alk to him (albeit naked, lying on the floor in a corner of the room). I talked to him Russian and English and he fell asleep after 15 minutes or so. I left him sleeping for a bit, then tried t o move him and he w oke up. He let me put a diaper on him, but not his pajamas. I put him under the covers, left the r oom to change into clothes from bathing suit and he started crying. I came back, rubbed his back and talked soothingly to him and he fell asleep.

Now, for those who have adopted, I have some questions. Pete and I think he's probably had major early trauma, but maybe he's just still scared from all the things going on. What do you think? We're concerned either he, us or Sophie will get hurt because he throws everything in sight when he does t his. What advice do you have when one of these meltdowns starts? I try to contain him, but this makes him more mad and scared, so I really don't want to do that any more. I just don't want to damage this tender little soul any more. If you have advice please either email me or post a comment. Thanks

Its Mono, not Tonsilitis

We've got Liam home now and he's still sick. The hospital said its mononucleosis, not tonsilitis. Poor Liam. I have about 6 different meds we have to give him. His pants are too big and are falling off him now! 3t is too big!!! I 'm not sure if I brought 2t, we'll have to check. I think Pete is overwhelmed with being controlled by 2 pre-schoolers instead of being in control. The language thing is difficult at this time for us, because I can only understand 20% of what they say, and Pete understands a lot less.

Now we're having dinner, and if Sophie doesn't like it, Liam won't eat it. This is loads of fun for everyone!!!

Found- 1 Large Pink Rabbit

...stuffed in a small box by a malishka named Sophie.

Peter Stacey has been cleared as a suspect.

MIA- Talking Rabbit

The yaeetsa (rabbit) below has gone missing...we can't find it anywhere!! How can one lose a big pink talking rabbit????

Made a 'play pen' - the window sill (3ft deep)

Sophie singing 'my little one' whilst holding onto her bear and sheep cuddly toys. She spends many minutes shouting at the dogs that pass by and putting smiles on the faces of their owners.

Pete.

Singing Pink Rabbit

Yes, this is the beautifull voice that I have ringing in my head at night :) . I don't know what's bigger, our 16lb Flemish Giant (rabbit) at home or this thing, ah that gives me an idea for a new playmate......

Pete.

First Bath

We had our first bath with Sophie last night. I got in my swimsuit and sat in the bath with her. Pete videotaped :) She loved it!!! She didn't love having her hair washed and getting water on her face though. My friend Natalia had suggested putting a visor on her, so I think I will try that when we get home.

Our friend Valya, who we met through my friend Marina in Detroit, brought Sophie a stuffed rabbit. It plays a song...and she plays it over and over and over and over....its driving Pete crazy but she loves it!

Sophie's First Jaffa Cake

Bedtime Stories and More

Straw cup attempt..she chewed on the straw a lot. We tried it and you could barely get anything when you suck!

Sophie tried to make herself a bed out of tissue paper today for her nap.

Getting all bundled up at the Detsky Dom.

The metro was no big deal yesterday. I thought it would much more of a pain that it was, so that was good.

We got sophie yesterday, and that went well. When we got there, first she cried because she thought we were going to leave again. Then the caregivers told her to get undressed so Mama could put on her pretty new clothes. She immediately started undressing with a big smile. All the other kids in her grouppa told her "paka" and one little boy came up and kissed her goodbye. Another little boy tried to, and she said no! He walked away and started crying, so she ended up giving him a hug.

Sophie was mesmerized in the car with everything she was seeing! Once at "home", we have discovered we have nothing really good for her to drink from- the straw cups I brought take a lot of sucking to get anything. Thus, we have a lot of spilled drink on clothes and the floor.

Bedtime was heartwrenching. It took us a while to get her calmed down and we had one failed attempt where it seemed like she was headed to la-la-land. Once we got her calmed down, she rocked herself (sleep thrashing) for a full half hour before falling asleep. It was very difficult to watch, and I'm hoping tonight isn't as bad. I had tried t o comfort her, but that seemed to prevent her from getting to sleep. I guess it will be trial and error. It took a while for her to go down today for her nap, but she didn't sleep thrash. She's sleeping now.

Pete's off with Vlad to work on the kids' passports, and I need to check on our little peanut, who is napping. Enjoy the pictures.

Sophie and the Beach Ball

We're Getting Our Sweet Sophie Today

Masha called the director of our orphanage today and we were told that they will let us take Sophie this afternoon. The only hiccup is that we have to take the Metro to a certain point and meet Vlad. No big deal, except that we have all the caregiver gifts to take, Sophie's clothes, a cake for the staff and candies for the kids at the Detsky Dom. I'm not very happy about this, but Vlad can't come pick us up. I think they're a bit overbooked this week.

We got news that Liam is doing better, and I think his fever is down. Masha explained to us that the orphanage has a policy that if a child has a fever of 38 degrees celsius or more for 4 hours, the child is taken by ambulance to the hospital. Its normal policy. That's why Liam was taken to the hospital. The orphanage director thinks that we will be able to bring "home" Liam on Thursday. We are not allowed to take Sophie outside, except to the Embassy, which is required.

It is pretty cold here right now- 40's fahrenheit- so Sophie is leaving the orphanage in pants instead of the cute skirt outfit I had planned.

Right now, we're not even sure if the metro will let us take a suitcase, so this will be another interesting part of our adoption adventure.

Rare Sighting- Russian Herd of Pugs

These fat pugs were part of the pug convention mentioned in an earlier post in July. They held up traffic being herded down the road like sheep do in England.

Can't Sleep

Its the middle of the night here and I haven't been able to sleep. We think (hope) we will able to get Sophie tomorrow (rather today as its 4:22am right now). We should also get an update on Liam at that time.

On Tuesday, we will legally be Liam and Sophie's parents, and I will take the blog off private at that time.

I will post some new pictures later today...I'm going to try to go to sleep for a few hours now.

Liam in the Hospital

Its been an interesting 24 or so hours. Yesterday we attempted to go to the Detsky Dom. Max picked us up at 3:30. After sitting in horrendous traffic for about 1hour and 45 minutes, we decided we weren't going to make it to the Detsky Dom by 6pm (after that, they wouldn't let us visit due to the kids' schedule) so we decided to head back to central Moscow. It took 45 minutes for Max to get to a point where he could turn us around. We were in the car for 3 hours for nothing. Needless to say, we were quite upset. We had planned to get some firm information on Liam and Sophie's illnesses.

We had Vlad come get us at 8:30 am this morning, and he showed us how to get to the orphanage via the Metro and walking ( 1.5-2 miles). When we got there, we found out that Liam is in the hospital. He has Angine, known to us as Tonsilitis. He went to the hospital yesterday, and they expect him to be in for 6-10 days. We're not allowed to go see him, as he's in a hospital that is considered a sterile environment and no visitors are allowed. We're told that hospitals here are not necessarily the same as those in the US, i.e., its not always an emergency situation that puts a person in the hospital here. Regardless, we're very worried and not sure how to proceed. I'm a bit concerned they'll want to take his tonsils out, which would of course prolong his stay in the hospital. This scenario has not been mentioned by anyone though.

We did get to see Sophie twice today, which was great. She's a fast learner, and LOVES to mimic Pete. Its very cute. She says one, two and three now. She readily hugs me when I ask for a hug, but is reticent to hug Pete. I'm the one who rubs her back and head, and is waiting at the door to pick her up when she's brought to the room, so I think we just need to work on that. She's a little sick as well, and is sequestered still from the other kids. I'm still going to request that we can pick her up on Monday though. She's was running around this afternoon, and when I asked if she was good and not poorly, she replied in the affirmative. This morning she had told Vlad that she was poorly.

We went to the big "Macdonald's" on Tverskaya for dinner tonight. Its huge...the biggest I've ever seen!!!! Not only that, its absolutely packed. There are probably 15-20 registers, and all of them had long lines. It was crazy!

Well, I'm going to email our agency director and ask her to call us to discuss the Liam situation. Tomorrow we move to an apartment where we will have free calls to the US and free wi-fi. yay!

A Quick Post- Update

We don't get to use the internet much at the Marriott because its sooooooooo expensive...so, here's our update:

We went to see the kids today, and they are quarantined due to illness. Something was lost in translation today, so we're not sure what they have. Liam is much more sick than Sophie. He has very swollen lymph nodes, a sore throat, fever, very congested chesty cough and looks pale. Both children were much less active today and had gruff voices. We think it may be Glandular Fever, aka Mono to the Americans. We're being told they may not release the kids to us when originally planned now. We've been told that this won't effect when we leave, but I'm not convinced. I just want to get my kids out of the orphanage and get them home to our doctor. I'm going to see if I can get more info and email our doctor at home.

The weather SUCKS in Moscow. Its cold and wet. Court day was a beautiful day weatherwise. It flurried here last night (yes, I mean snow). It was 6 degrees celsius on our way to the hotel from the airport. Brrrrrrrrrrrrr....Pete had to buy a coat today at the Moscow equivalent of TJ Maxx because he forgot to buy one.

On the bright side, the king size bed at the Marriott is very comfy. I slept in until 11am!!!

Yasmin's 8th Birthday

We had a very good day today!  We made it safely to England and spent the night Thursday night in Rickmansworth at house of my good friend Yvie's parents.  After a leisurely lie in, we headed to Bath, where I got some clothes for the kids.  

Today was our niece's 8th birthday. She started the day with a treasure hunt for her presents, and then we went to Longleat Estate. They have a safari park, stately home, butterfly garden and many other attractions. We ended the day with a nice meal!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY YASMIN!!!!

We're Officially Parents!!!

We got in yesterday, and once again neither of us slept on the flight. The ride to the hotel took 2 hours, during which we both dozed off, especially me. Nothing exciting happened yesterday, although I do have a beef to share with you all. We went to dinner, and I ordered still water, and Pete ordered a large beer. His beer was 30 rubles less than my water (about $1.20). It was $8 for a very small bottle of water!!!

Today we went to court and we are now officially Liam and Sophie's parents! We celebrated with Eunice and Darren Glynn, our friends who are with Lighthouse's sister agency, Grace. We went to an Italian Pizzeria and got a round of beer to celebrate. We're now at their apartment while we wait to head out to our flight to London. Pete's dozing in the chair.....I will post more later!