Thursday, October 21, 2010

Caden's Turn!!

I don't even know where to start with this little maniac. Caden just turned 2 this past week, but he is more like a 9 month old baby. He can sit by himself, but cannot walk, crawl (can do some kind of scoot thing), hold a cup, or really can't do much of anything, but boy is he CUTE!!!! He was sick when I first got him from the orphanage, so I held him A LOT and had lots of cuddle time with him on the plane rides home (don't recommend this). He is very sweet and loving, but I can't believe these two boys came from the same orphanage. They were literally across the hall from each other, but their caregivers must have been on opposite ends of the world. While Cole was MADE to be independent (feed, dress, sooth himself), this little man can do nothing and will make no attempt to do anything. If you put a cup or bottle in his hand, he just lets it go and sits and looks at you like you are the dumbest person in the world. It is quite funny. He also must have never heard the word "no" before (or "nyet") in his life. When you tell him no, he puts his hand over one of his eyes and it usually takes about 2-3 minutes and then you will hear the most pitiful sounding cry that has ever been made. (What he don't know is that I love it and think it is so cute-ssshhh-don't tell him that, though).

Eating-oh my, oh my! He wants to eat really well, but has no idea what to do with the food or how to chew it. He swallows whatever you put in his mouth down whole, like a pill. Believe it or not, we have not had any major choking incidents, but I don't know how we have not. His favorite foods are mac'n cheese and yogurt. He continues to have the gut issues and MAJOR issues with constipation, so only one yogurt a day and he savors every bite of it and then cries for about 10 minutes when it is gone. I have been giving him a 1/2 dose of miralax everyday and that is seeming to help quite a bit. I have taken him to the pediatrician and cardiologist, also. Our ped was not convinced the immunizations were correct, so we are just starting over and poor babies got three shots a piece on our first visit. Heartwise-he has what is called an aberrant subclavian artery, which is just a variation of the artery being in a different place than it should, and he is bradycardic (slow heart rate). The aberrant subclavian could be the source of his swallowing difficulties, but we have not had that checked yet. The cardio doc thinks that all of his minor problems (sluggishness, low heart rate, constipation, fatigue, etc.) are from a low thyroid. We had the blood drawn for that, but haven't heard back yet. Speaking of fatigue, this little guy requires many rest periods throughout the day, even though he sleeps about 10-12 hours a night. He just tuckers out so easily and will just fall over and go to sleep. (Still pretty cute)

Caden has his early intervention evaluation this coming Tuesday and I am anxious to get that started. He needs a lot of therapy and assistance on just catching up. I hope this will help him with his strength and endurance.

Overall, Caden is just like having a new baby. He is content, laughs a lot, likes to be held, draws attention everywhere we go, and is pretty healthy, all things considered. He has 6 teeth and will definitely bite you given the chance. He says "ma ma" and "bye-bye" and it is so stinking CUTE when he does. He waves bye bye, too. He cracks up when I try to get him to sign or show me where his nose or ears are. He thinks that I was put on this Earth for his entertainment.....and he may be right!

My husband asked me the other day if I loved these boys...and I sat for a minute and thought. I do love them, but not the same way I love my bio kids, yet. I still feel like we are babysitting someone else's children and that they are not quite mine. I don't know exactly how to explain it. My true momma love has not come into full bloom yet, but it is there and growing. I know that sounds awful, but some days I just want to bury myself under the covers and HOPE that these kids parents come and get them....and then I remember that I am their parent and well, I get out of the bed! I have read other blogs where people meet their children and instantly connect and have that mother/child bond and that amazes me. I know our day will come, but it isn't here just yet.

Stephanie

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Update!

Ok, some updated information on Caden and Cole. Sorry for the lack of posting, but I can honestly say that I have never been more exhausted in my life!

Things are going really, really well for the most part. The whole family is adjusting to a WHOLE new schedule. We went from two teenagers that are rarely home, finally having a date night once a week, with lots of alone time to not one extra second in the world to do anything. I am just now finding out how to shower/bath daily and there have been many pajama days that regular clothes just never made it to our bodies. BUT that is ok. Cole is such a good kid. He is very nervous and you can tell that he has been *disciplined* many times with many different methods. I swear he knows exactly what you are saying. He truly tries to do everything that you ask him to do. He is signing "more", "thank you", "thirsty", "hungry", and "potty". Granted he has never ASKED to go to the potty, but he will use the potty if you take him frequently. He wasn't a fan of the bathtub at first, but is now coming around. He has been to the pediatrician and cardiologist and has a clean bill of health, thus far. He has an opthamologist and urologist appointment next week and we should be almost done with doctor's appointments. His gut is much better, only pooping a couple times a day, but this boy can EAT. He weighs 30 lbs. and eats like a grown man! I have never seen anything like it. I am torn between letting him have all that he wants and what I deem a "safe" amount and we haven't quite got that down yet and we have had a couple of "eat til you puke" moments, which scared the little guy to death. He doesn't play well with others:( He kind of growls at them and he HATED Caden at first, but now he will just randomly come up and kiss him and pat on him. He also had an incident with our little dog. Let me preface this with my dog, Troy, is very sick (lung cancer) and is on high dose steroids right now. Cole has been really rough with the poor little guy several times, then put him in a choke hold and picked him up by the neck. Well, Troy had had enough and almost bit Cole's lip off. It was awful, but Cole learned to leave him alone. Both of them were quite pitiful after the incident. Cole sleeps so good. I let them both hang out with me in my bed for about 30 minutes before they go off to their rooms and when they are "soothing" themselves to sleep, it breaks my heart. You can really see how independent they are and how they have had to count on themselves for any and everything. They both will let us rock them and love on them, but sometimes Cole just "checks out". When he had to have blood drawn, he fought and screamed for about 15 seconds and then he just went limp and literally just checked out. His eyes were blank and he was sucking on his tongue and he was gone. It was so pitiful. It took the rest of the afternoon to fully get him back and it was just heart breaking. I know he thinks we were being mean to him and I guess that was his coping mechanism. I hope we can work it out were he feels free to express himself without fear of punishment. His little body (including his buttocks) are scarred and you can tell that he has been punished quite a bit. It is hard to correct him when he just checks out like that. I would love any advice that you veterans have out there for this.

I will update on Caden (aka "Bucket") soon....

Stephanie

Sunday, October 3, 2010

We are HOME!!!!

Yes, we finally made it home. This week has been something like I have never experienced before. We literally got off of the plane in UA and hit the ground running, went straight to the train, hit the ground running again and literally....never....stopped. We were in UA for 6 days to finish the process and get the boys home. We ate 5 meals the entire time we were there, the rest was bananas, granola, etc. We did "paperwork" for 12 hours a day and I think all of us was sick at one time or another. There was no time for a party at the orphanage or anything, we again, literally just ran in and picked them up. The boys have done great. I actually can't believe how well they have done. After we picked them up, I had physical custody of them for about 10 minutes and got car sick and had to have the driver pull over 3 times and hurl my guts out (actually mostly dry heaves because there was absolutely nothing in my stomach to throw up). You would think that my puking on the side of the road would make my driver drive a little slower or better or something. Not so. So we were rushed to the train two hours away to make our way back to the capital to finish up. So, I had the kids for 2 hours and then got on a train for 15 hours with them....Not so smart and not so fun. I was so sick, Caden was sick, the train was hot (because God forbid we have some air movement going on in the dead of winter---it was 65 degrees and people were dressed like Eskimos) and we had two bananas, 6 McDonalds chicken nuggests and 2 fig newtons (remember that Caden doesn't eat/chew very well). I am not a crier, but by the end of the train ride, I was in tears. Anyway, we made it back and after a 12 hour paper chase, we got to go to our apartment, where I was so thankful and thought that we would get to rest and such. Well, the bed (the ONLY bed) had bugs in it and they bit Cody and Cole all over while Caden and I were on a food run, so all 4 of us slept on the couch and floor. Caden was too sick to sleep and had a fever, runny nose, diarrhea, shaking all over, banging his head, screaming at the top of his lungs. I swear I think he was withdrawing from some meds. I have been a nurse for a long time and I think that is what was happening. The only thing I had to give him was benedryl and Tylenol. It did nothing for him at all, but after day 2, he was much better. He still isn't eating very well, but he is drinking good with the Honey Bear cup. Cole is doing really well, except that he doesn't like Caden very much. He growls at him if he gets near him and lets him know who is in charge. We have had a couple of trips in time out over that.

Now the fun stuff, the trip home.....Cole had massive, massive, can't explain it in words diarrhea. He pooped so much that we ran out of diapers and the flight attendants had to give us some diapers. It was absolutely unbelievable and disgusting. Remember, I am a nurse and am extremely hard to gross out, but he did it without a doubt. Caden on the other hand was so severely constipated that he was straining constantly and grunting until I thought he was going to pass out. I had to take him to the bathroom on the plane and "help" him use the bathroom, and when he did, Lord have mercy!!!! This child has some serious GI issues. He has a dilated rectum from straining so much and poops like a grown man, a really, really, really, big grown man. He became a different child after our pooping incident. He was laughing and playing and so happy. They both took a 2 hour nap on the long flight and stayed awake the rest of the time. By the time they arrived at their welcome home party, they were both passed out. Cole woke up and entertained the crowd, but Caden slept through the party, through the night, until 9 am this morning. They are both just happy as can be and just walking around like this has been their house forever. (FYI>>>My mother fed Cole an entire hot dog with chili, a whole banana, and a piece of cake when we arrived and I will just let your imagination tell you what happened after that). I will try to update again soon.

Stephanie

Friday, October 1, 2010

Codys view

First off, I met the first driver. They drive reallllllllllly good but really fast lol. Somehow no one ever wrecks. The first train ride was good and we slept for a whole 17 hours. Sevestapol was fun but I like Kiev more! I sat in the car for 3 days playing tetris in sevestapol which made me a master at it lol. Then I met Anton and David!! Anton loves me and he's very very playful and eats soooooooo much. Well after we got them we went on the train again and then it was awful because we had two babies. When we fell asleep Anton woke up and ate a banana peel trying to get to the banana. It was gross. We didn't get to throw a party at the baby house because we were in such a hurry. My mom had 5 minutes to dress and wash them. After we left the orphanage my mom puked two times in the car. It was funny because yesterday she said, "If I do puke, what would I puke up"? Then when she puked she puked nothing lol! Then when we arrived at Kiev we went to a doctor. This is where Anton decided he loves me :). We played in the room while David (caden) fell asleep. Anton laughs at everything and then when he fell he cried and he hugged and kissed me and then fell asleep. I was like awwwww. The Lewis's daughters there adopting and the mom took care of Caden they're really good with kids and put him to sleep for me. Btw my mom was at the U.S embacy with The dad of the girls so We were alone. Anton pooped and luckily Olga was there to change him :). Olga is really awesome. David (caden) is more of a blob. He just watchs everyone and waits for yogurt lol. My mom is so funny. She can't get any sleep or rest because one of thems always awake. Last night me and Anton took a nap and there was a bed bugs in it so we got bites which is gross. So we all share a couch in this little apartment. Anton growls when he is mad too and it's so funny cause he laughs so much u can't take him serious. Also, he hates david!! lol. My mom already taught David how to drink and swallow but he is so sick. He has the snottiest nose ever and my mom wipes it constantly lol. Right now he is beign fed yogurt (his fave). They are the cutest babies ever and Anton never is bored until he sleeps. David gets mad if u can't feed him yogurt fast enough and says "ba ba ba ba". Anton also says "ba ba ba" but usually growls when he is mad lol. My dad didn't pack Davids clothes so he wears antons which are to big. Anton goes cross-eyed alot so my mom calls him cross-eyed cricket. My mom has gotten 4 hours of sleep. We are about to go to the U.S embacy and get Visas and we leave saturday (tomorrow morning at 5 am). Well David is crying now cause he ate all his yogurt and my mom is taking a picture of his cute crying snot face. They are very happy with us and I think they'll like it better with papa and danielle mamaw cousin elisha and briana and lollie and dale (uncle and aunt).