Nine Months in Our Arms

Tomorrow, it will be nine months since Maggie was placed in our arms. In some ways, it seems like just yesterday, and in other ways, it seems a long, long time ago. When I read my old posts and look at our China pictures, it is hard to believe the Maggie in my arms today is the same child from China. Lately, especially, she seems a completely different child.

Update: Maggie has really turned a corner in the past 6 weeks. Her sleeping pattern is predictable and while she sleeps less than La Nina, she sleeps at the same time as her sister. Thank God for small miracles.

As her sleep stablized, so did her emotions. Her crying is still loud, but rarely the screaming of the past. She no longer just screams inconsolably. She can calm herself or will allow me to calm her down. She doesn't seem to need as much reassurance from me as she did in the past and she takes minor upsets much more lightly these days. (That is not to say she doesn't fly into the occasional temper tantrum. She is almost 2.)

Food wise, she will eat some fruit, a few veggies and anything and everything with sugar. Her wheat allergy also seems to have subsided. I was told to watch the grass pollens, and sure enough, once grass pollens dropped, her wheat sensitivities eased. Whodathunk?

Perhaps the biggest change is that she just seems to trust both her dad and I completely now. She seems to be holding nothing back from us. It took Maggie nine months to get to this point, Much longer than La Nina, but she is a totally different kid. And the good news is, she made the transition. In her own time, but she did it.

To the parents of the tougher kids -you know who you are, you have emailed me with your stories - hang in there! To the families who are waiting, when you meet your babies, be patient. Every baby adjusts in their own way, in their own time.

A final note: Quitting my job helped Maggie tremendously. La Nina didn't really need it, but Maggie needed the extra time with me. I have no qualms starting her now in a day care type setting. I think she will love the interaction with the other kids, and I don't think she will be terribly stressed without me. Had I done it in May, I wonder if she would have made the progress she did this Summer.