Ryan the Wonder Dad!

Oh wow, so the first week was easy with Bela compared to the last night!! Not only are we severly jet-lagged, but I came down with the stomach flu and Ryan started to show symptoms last night. How we made it through India for 2 weeks without getting sick is amazing!  On top of all of that, Bela started to really fuss during dinner and sleep time. It got to the point where she would only sleep if she was sleeping on top of Ryan's chest, face down, thumb in mouth!  Gone are the days it seems of Bela just passing out, sleeping on our stomach with her butt stuck way up high, feet crossed with belly button just a finger away.

Now it's sleeping on daddy or no sleeping at all. So last night was really rough on Ryan as there was nothing I could do as she just wanted daddy. We are now "that" couple who sleeps in seperate rooms because of the baby!  Today however was not all that bad. I managed to distract Bela long enough so Ryan could take a nap - albeit he had to be next to her the whole time so she wouldn't throw a fit. She also let me feed her for lunch, but she had to sit on Ryan's lap to do it.  But that little smirk is so apparent - right before she throws her food, she gets that evil little look on her face. It's still so cute though and am just glad she is smirking. And while it seems so natural for us to want to correct her behavior, we have to remember that correction won't happen without connection. So for now, we need to appease her and comfort her until she is attached to us fully, at which point we can then start to correct her.

Ryan taught her a few words today. She is a Chatty Cathy with him but it mostly sounds like gibberish to us. She can point to what she wants so that helps with the communications. She did repeat the words: bubble and ducky and used the remote control to say Hello (as if it were a phone). We also discovered that while morning showers are very hard for her (she totally hates them), evening baths are not so bad. So we might just flip to that instead of bathing in the morning. She also discovered all of our pots and pans today while so grandpa is coming over tomorrow to batten down the hatches on our kitchen cabinets.  We're trying to introduce her to new foods and the good news is she likes pasta. Bad news is that we have to eat everything she doesn't like. Such as any soup with "floaties" - she pretty much just likes broth. She also loves bread but is not a fan of apple sauce! The trial and error process is not fun but hopefully we can figure out some key staple foods and stick with that.

I was also so thankful to talk to another local mom who adopted from India - she wrote a blog about her experience (which inspired me to start blogging). She reassured us that everything we are going through and all of Bela's reactions are so perfectly normal. There are so many things to be thankful for with Bela. For instance, I am just so thankful that she is eating and pooping - amazing how my happiness for her has been defined to life's simplicities. Let's hope Ryan and Bela sleep well tonight!