One Month together as a family of 6…(well if we include the 3 kitties – which we do)!

As of Monday, we have now been a family for 4 weeks!

Wow last week was a busy week! We are really getting into a sleep and daily routine. This makes Mama feel better and as such – everyone is happier. What is the old adage… “If Mama’s not happy, nobody’s happy” ;) Being able to sleep at night has been the best thing for everyone, I think we are all finally over the jet lag!

This weekend was full of company. Grandpa Cliff and Grandma Dianne came up for a visit on Friday afternoon and spent the night and morning with us. If was a wonderful visit and Sylvie did wonderful playing with her grandparents. We also put a swing on the deck, and grandpa spent a lot of time pushing her in it. Her love affair with the swing continues…

As it was Father’s Day weekend we had two families over for a Father’s Day BBQ on Saturday. It was great for Sylvie to have the other small kids around. One of the kids is only 6 weeks younger than her so I was able to ask the mom a lot of questions about feeding, language development and sleep routines.

We are amazed at all the things Sylvie is learning. She is now signing “more”, when we are eating, but she is doing it a lot, so not really sure if she “gets it” yet, but she is happy doing it and looks as us, so we are happy. We are now also working on ”all done”.
With her toys, I am still astonished at how quickly she can remember which toys make noise, and what to press to create the sound. She might not be able to do the first day I try to teach – instead she sits back and watches seriously. Then the next day or day after I look over and she is doing it independently.

Today I watched her as she discovered how to walk backwards. We were in the bathroom getting ready to go out to the doctor’s appointment, and she walked forward to the end of the bathroom, then walked backwards, then forward and backwards again. It was interesting watching her face during this, so serious, concentrating on the task – then a big smile when she made it all the way to the tub backwards.

Sylvie is continuing to be an excellent eater. She is still willing to try any food we are eating. I am trying my best to make sure that she is eating different fruits and vegetables, but her favorite foods remain cheese and toast (if we don’t count the bottle). She is slowly learning to use a sippy cup, she doesn’t ask for it, I’ve tried water, milk, juice – but no real luck. I worry, living in the Okanagan with our beautiful summer weather about her dehydrating when we are out and about during the day – so we will continue to work on the sippy cup. Any suggestions?

Today we went to our family Doctor for our first appointment. Sylvie was weighted measured and had an overall check up. She did great at the doctors, hopefully this continues. Our doctor was unable to hear a heart murmur at all, but is getting us an appointment to have an echocardiogram completed. Luckily KGH has the equipment and trained personnel so we do not have to travel for this upcoming appointment. I also took my list of typed questions in and was able to get them all answered, so I feel better now too!

When I think of the last four weeks, one of the most significant developments has been Sylvie’s bonding to us as her people/family. Remembering back to our time in China, when Sylvie would wake up from her nighttime sleep or nap time, she would look at us so solemnly and study us seriously. We could just imagine what she was thinking “Oh…these people again”. Now when we go into her room to wake her up or get her up, she is all smiles and giggles when seeing us while bouncing to get picked up. When we played with toys in China, she would mostly play independently, she would occasionally look to us and giggle, but play was mostly side-by-side or parallel play. Now, although there is still parallel play (as is developmentally appropriate for her age) she is constantly bringing me toys when we are playing on the floor together, or simply coming over for a quick pick up, hug and kiss. While I love this interaction, I am grateful for all the frozen dinners that have been lovingly prepared for us by family and friends – I’m still not sure how we will ever get dinner made again!

I also have to say a big thank you to all our family and friends who are accepting our need to bond together as a family and are respecting our decision to have only Mama and Baba pick Sylvie up and carry her right now. It is understandable that everyone would want to hold and hug this perfect cutie – how could you not!? We are pleased that we are bonding as a family and hope this develops into a strong, secure attachment for Sylvie.

I have included a little movie taken of Sylvie on the swing – one of the sure things to make her smile.