Hard to believe that we've been home with our Morgan for one week already! The days are just all running together as we work on attachment and bonding with one another. Although there have been our fair share of struggles with this process, we feel very fortunate that we've gained as much ground as we have.
Sleeping. We got that part down! Morgan sleeps practically through the night, in her own crib in her own room - in fact, we've lucked out in that both of our girls took to their cribs right away even after having been used to sleeping on the floor with their foster mothers in Korea. Naptime is also coming along nicely too. There's only been one day that Morgan didn't take her nap when Sophie took hers. Gives this mama a nice break during the day to regroup!
Eating. That's fine too. Morgan wasn't eating much when she came home, she was mostly drinking her formula. We've been slowly introducing baby foods, she loves her bananas and cheerios and are almost switched over from formula to whole milk already. She is very easy-going when it comes to eating and her preference of foods...the girl just likes to eat! Oh, and she had already learned to drink out of a straw in Korea - so we're taking advantage of that too - she gulps down apple juice like no baby I've ever seen! (While I've been reluctant to give my kids too much juice, Morgan has been having constipation issues, so I've been encouraging that apple juice to help her little system along).
Bonding. The first day home, she slept to try to block us out. The second day home, we'd look at her and she'd just melt into extreme sobbing fits - clearly grieving the fact that I was not her foster mother. The next few days were okay. Some crying here or there, but she would get down on the floor and play. Plus, she began to walk around here exploring the place. Saturday night and Easter Sunday, she finally let the grins and giggles reveal themselves! It was so rewarding to see her happy and having a bit of fun with us - she loves to play little peek-a-boo games with us and gives us high-fives - her smile is just the best!
However, now I feel as though we took two steps forward and one step back in that she has grown dependent on me holding her 100% of the time. I put her in her carrier and wear her when I need to get things done, like make dinner or try to clean the mess that my house has become...but, if I dare set her down on the floor to play, she loses it and just keeps reaching for me to hold her again. Don't get me wrong, I love holding her and loving on her, but it does take all of me. We tried to let her play with Steve last night while I was downstairs with Sophie - that went fine until she heard my voice, then it was all over. It's going to take some more work to get her to feel safe with playing with someone other than mama. Guess that will be the focus of our week #2.
Sophie is trying to be the best big sister she can be - she's been a sweetheart trying to love on Morgan - but, Morgan isn't having it. She doesn't like Sophie touching her and trying to engage her - she really wants nothing to do with her. That's heartbreaking to see the look on Sophie's dear little face when she has just been rejected by her little sis. We are trying to find a balance in spending time with Sophie and explaining what Morgan is going through while keeping Morgan feeling safe and comfortable. I'd say that the sibling-stuff has been the most challenging part of this for us in fostering the new relationships for both Sophie and Morgan.
In time, we see that this will all get better. We've already seen the strides we can make in one week, so we're excited to move forward some more in this second week.
Hope everyone had a nice Easter - it was such a blessing for us to have both of our girls with us on this first family holiday spent together!
Easter Egg Hunt...our first day out since returning home...
Dyeing eggs...
This is the typical sibling exchange right now...sigh...
Easter morning smiles...
Easter at Great-Grandmas...
