We made it home in one piece. It was a grueling 30 hour trip, but we made it through unscathed. Nina did very well on the planes, with minimal screaming and annoying only one Japanese businessman. The 12 hour flight from Tokyo to Detroit was the biggest challenge, but we were lucky to have three seats to ourselves and could move around as much as we needed - which was a lot! We showed up at home (our new 900 square foot apt in Brunswick) at midnight to be greeted by 3 very sleepy yet very excited little girls. It was so wonderful to hold them and kiss them and squeeze them tight again. 3 weeks without them was so hard for Hannah and I - maybe harder than it was for the 3 of them. Aunt Lori and Grammy Sue were so loving and attentive and kept them so active while were gone. We thank you both so much for all that you did and for everyone else who helped out as well - epecially Lesbo & Donny, the rest of SLAMM, Lizzy & Joel, Sue L, the girls' teachers at Williams-Cone and Little Acorns, and everyone at Providence for covering for me in my absence. The trip would have been an impossibility without you and your support.
We have been home for 3 weeks now - the time has flown! These weeks have been a time of transition and adjustment for us all, but we are all doing very well and are adjusting well. The first week or so, Hannah, Nina and I struggled with sleep - thinking day was night and night was day - especially Nina. Nina has been sleeping in our bed with Hannah and I alternating nights with her and nights with the older three in their beds. This way, every other night one of us gets some solid sleep. Nina is sleeping fairly well most nights. She likes to to use the bottle as a pacifier and wakes up fairly often in the night looking for it - so do we. She either gags on or refuses the 5 different types of pacifiers we have tried, so we keep on with the bottle. She is eating well and has been healthy thus far. We have determined that the formula she was on in China must have been soy-based as the transition to milk-based formula resulted in blow-out diarreah. Needless to say, she's back to soy-based! She gets giddy when we feed her rice or fish (evidence of her early days on the South China Sea!) and has been a good sport about trying lots of other things. Emotionally, she is doing very well. She is forming a healthy attachment with Hannah and I and her sisters. She's developing some stranger anxiety and has decided she no longer needs to smile at everyone, because she knows she'll get whatever attention she needs from us. This is all very good stuff for attachment. She can still be quite demanding and is sure to get our attention when she wants it.
Her sisters are adjusting wonderfully as well. They are the most amazing little people! Each has had their much deserved break-downs and are excited about being big sisters (again for Emelia and Chloe and for the first time in Ella's case). All 3 of them have wanted Nina to star in show-and-tells at school, but we've compromised with brief guest appearances. They have been big helpers with Nina which as allowed Hannah and I to keep up regular hygene and trips to the bathroom and the occasional moment of having our hands child-free. Hannah and I look at each other every now and again and comment on how much we have forgotten the amount of work having a baby is. We are quickly remembering and relearning and can now get out of the house in about 15 minutes with only 2 trips back inside to grab diapers or a bottle or sometimes a forgotten child! But despite all the work, lack of sleep, no time for ourselves, and sharing a bed with our children instead of each other, we are all incredibly happy and feeling complete.
From here, it's back to work for me, the end of April vacation for the girls, and back to home alone mom duty for Hannah. And then there is the small matter of building a new house . . .
Ella, meet Nina. Nina, Meet Ella.
You'll notice that Ella likes to be where Nina is.
What is this big hairy thing and why does its breath smell like cat litter?
If I wasn't so excited about having a new little sister, I'd be a bit peeved that I'm riding my scooter in the snow in April!
Me too!
Snow?! Nobody said anything to me about snow!
Our new house plan!
