Small Victories...Part II

We have just passed the 2 week mark being home with Desi. And every day we are still seeing the progress as she continues to bond with our family and become more comfortable in her new world. Here are a few more "small victories" to celebrate:

• Desi's blood work results came back and everything was negative! Well, except that she's got a little stomach bug called Giardia...which translate to "the-nastiest-poopy-diapers-you could-ever-imagine!" A few days on a prescription should get that cleared up.

• As you know from previous posts, nighttime hasn't been going very well. Desi's sleeping more like a newborn than a 20 month old. And for now, it's all on me to deal with the night because she still isn't letting daddy rock her to sleep. I've resumed sleeping in her room with her in hopes that my presence will help her to feel less anxious and scared and allow her to sleep better. This actually means less sleep for me since every time she moves I wake up and start "shh, shh, shh-ing" from across the room. But, last night, well actually this morning, around 5:30am when she woke I did the normal thing of picking her up and rocking, shh-ing, rocking, shh-ing, etc. When I laid her back down she woke up....aarrgh. HOWEVER she didn't cry, just whined and fussed a bit. Hmm....maybe she was drowsy enough that she would go back to sleep so I patted her back and she did go back to sleep! This was the first time that she was awake in her bed without wailing! I was encouraged as I tiptoed back over to my bed (aka Emily's fru-fru big-girl bed). But the good news doesn't stop there! A couple of hours later when she woke again, she didn't scream and cry as usual. She just peeked up over the crib rail at me. I shh-ed her a bit, expecting her to start the wailing. but she didn't. She just kind of hung out in her bed for a while, rolling around and playing with her blankie. Again, I was so encouraged that she was in her bed, awake, and not screaming. Hopefully these are signs that she's becoming more comfortable with her new surroundings and that there could be a glimmer of hope that I can return to my bed (which is one of my most favorite places to be) and to getting a full night of sleep (one of my most favorite things to do!)

• Finally....yesterday I cleaned the bathroom! It is the most normal thing that I feel like I've done since returning home from Ethiopia 2 weeks ago. Normally I wouldn't consider cleaning a dirty toilet a "victory" but this time it feels that way. So, I'll chalk it up as a victory this once.

This morning we had a little fun with a wagon...