Its still yesterday for you in the US. Thursday. But its tomorrow for me in Serbia. Friday. This post is about my yesterday and your today.
What a great day!
Today I was given custody of Audrey. The foster family said their goodbyes and we brought her back to the hotel. Audrey alternated between wanting my attention and playing by herself. She is very much like an 18 month old in her development, frequently "checking in" then off to do her own thing again. She makes lots of different noises, and her tone of voice fluctuates. She tries to play little games with me (peek-a-boo) which she can initiate, and really enjoys things like Pat-a-cake. She tries to imitate some things, and is starting to sign "more" and has something that sounds like "no". See? 18 months!
Aside from the potential spinal cord problems (and I've been in contact with Axel's spine surgeon who agrees this needs to be investigated as soon as we get home) my next biggest concern is her feeding. Actually, its not as much of a concern as it is "Oh my word we need to get this child eating like a human being and not a wild animal!"
Audrey is able to chew, and actually chews quite well! (Thank you GOD!) She has great lateral tongue movement and is able to move the food around to where she wants it. She is NOT able to manage pureed foods. It took me a bit to figure out the problem, but I *think* its that she can't feel where they are in her mouth. Her tongue thrust is very strong and all purees just get pushed right back out. She is able to suck food off a spoon if you place it near her palate, similar to the way Asher did when we first got him. When she self feed she stuffs the food into her cheek. I caan't wait until she's using a fork!
Oh man, the tongue!! I've tried correcting her about her tongue a few times, but this girl can hold a grudge! I've decided to wait and tackle that when we get home.
The social workers paid us a visit late in the afternoon. That's always interesting since they don't speak English and I don't understand Serbian. Only very tiny bits and pieces. I whipped out google translate and they were able to let me know they'll be back at 9:00 tomorrow morning. Yipee!
I wasn't sure how to handle meals with Audrey while at the hotel. I have lots of those pouches of baby food with me, but she is not a fan! There is *no way* I'm feeding her in the restaurants. She is a HOT MESS when she eats and these restaurants are covered in white linen. LOL I did manage to get her to eat one meal of baby food in the room, then we went down to the restaurant with a chewy in hand. I really had no idea if she would actually like the chewy, but she took right to it and it kept her busy enough while we waited for our food. (notice her hands all all wet with saliva?)
I didn't know what I ordered for dinner. Wednesday I tried to order chicken something, but was told no by the waiter. I ended up ordering "beef soup" which had about 4 tiny shreds of beeb in kind of a creamy soup. It was very tasty, especially with the awesome bread! Tonight I tried to order goulash but was told no again. This waiter didn't speak or understand English so in my most pleasant tone I asked, "So tell me, is there anything on this menu I'm actually allowed to order?" I handed the menu to him and kind of made a general gesture for him to pick something we CAN have. I pointed to one item that was beef something or other. "Very good" he was able to say. Great, we'll have that.
I ordered beef hearts for dinner.
Probably not my favorite cut of meat.
Axel loved it.
The beef hearts came with some kind of rice dish, boiled carrots, boiled potatoes and peas. It was a HUGE plate! While the rice dish didn't work out so well for Audrey, the boiled veggies were just right for her and she ate a ton. They were very tasty for me too. Some of you will be happy to know I DID try the beef heart. I'm pretty sure I have psychological damage now.
Here's one more video. We're in the entry of the hotel room, which is the only open space for her to play. And its dark. I can't wait to be out of this room!!! Praying for sunshine Friday so we can get outside!!!
Did you notice in the video we have a diaper digger? Yay us! The foster family had lots of stories for me from when they first got her back in June. I'll need to be buying some of those union suits!
Its now 2:00 a.m here. Audrey went to sleep easily at 8:00. She was up for a bit around midnight when she heard me in the bathroom talking to Dean and the kids on Skype. I opened the door to find a cute little girl in her pink jambes, patiently waiting for me. ;-)
And now, its time for me to try sleeping again!
What a great day!
Today I was given custody of Audrey. The foster family said their goodbyes and we brought her back to the hotel. Audrey alternated between wanting my attention and playing by herself. She is very much like an 18 month old in her development, frequently "checking in" then off to do her own thing again. She makes lots of different noises, and her tone of voice fluctuates. She tries to play little games with me (peek-a-boo) which she can initiate, and really enjoys things like Pat-a-cake. She tries to imitate some things, and is starting to sign "more" and has something that sounds like "no". See? 18 months!
Aside from the potential spinal cord problems (and I've been in contact with Axel's spine surgeon who agrees this needs to be investigated as soon as we get home) my next biggest concern is her feeding. Actually, its not as much of a concern as it is "Oh my word we need to get this child eating like a human being and not a wild animal!"
Audrey is able to chew, and actually chews quite well! (Thank you GOD!) She has great lateral tongue movement and is able to move the food around to where she wants it. She is NOT able to manage pureed foods. It took me a bit to figure out the problem, but I *think* its that she can't feel where they are in her mouth. Her tongue thrust is very strong and all purees just get pushed right back out. She is able to suck food off a spoon if you place it near her palate, similar to the way Asher did when we first got him. When she self feed she stuffs the food into her cheek. I caan't wait until she's using a fork!
Oh man, the tongue!! I've tried correcting her about her tongue a few times, but this girl can hold a grudge! I've decided to wait and tackle that when we get home.
The social workers paid us a visit late in the afternoon. That's always interesting since they don't speak English and I don't understand Serbian. Only very tiny bits and pieces. I whipped out google translate and they were able to let me know they'll be back at 9:00 tomorrow morning. Yipee!
I wasn't sure how to handle meals with Audrey while at the hotel. I have lots of those pouches of baby food with me, but she is not a fan! There is *no way* I'm feeding her in the restaurants. She is a HOT MESS when she eats and these restaurants are covered in white linen. LOL I did manage to get her to eat one meal of baby food in the room, then we went down to the restaurant with a chewy in hand. I really had no idea if she would actually like the chewy, but she took right to it and it kept her busy enough while we waited for our food. (notice her hands all all wet with saliva?)
I didn't know what I ordered for dinner. Wednesday I tried to order chicken something, but was told no by the waiter. I ended up ordering "beef soup" which had about 4 tiny shreds of beeb in kind of a creamy soup. It was very tasty, especially with the awesome bread! Tonight I tried to order goulash but was told no again. This waiter didn't speak or understand English so in my most pleasant tone I asked, "So tell me, is there anything on this menu I'm actually allowed to order?" I handed the menu to him and kind of made a general gesture for him to pick something we CAN have. I pointed to one item that was beef something or other. "Very good" he was able to say. Great, we'll have that.
I ordered beef hearts for dinner.
Probably not my favorite cut of meat.
Axel loved it.
The beef hearts came with some kind of rice dish, boiled carrots, boiled potatoes and peas. It was a HUGE plate! While the rice dish didn't work out so well for Audrey, the boiled veggies were just right for her and she ate a ton. They were very tasty for me too. Some of you will be happy to know I DID try the beef heart. I'm pretty sure I have psychological damage now.
Here's one more video. We're in the entry of the hotel room, which is the only open space for her to play. And its dark. I can't wait to be out of this room!!! Praying for sunshine Friday so we can get outside!!!
Did you notice in the video we have a diaper digger? Yay us! The foster family had lots of stories for me from when they first got her back in June. I'll need to be buying some of those union suits!
Its now 2:00 a.m here. Audrey went to sleep easily at 8:00. She was up for a bit around midnight when she heard me in the bathroom talking to Dean and the kids on Skype. I opened the door to find a cute little girl in her pink jambes, patiently waiting for me. ;-)
And now, its time for me to try sleeping again!
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