Re-Entry has been a bit rougher than I was hoping for. Don’t get me wrong, there has been some major high points, but it hasn’t quite been the rainbows and sunshine I was hoping for.
The flight was ROUGH. Our first leg Naomi basically cried the whole way. Thankfully she hasn’t quite found her lungs yet, so it’s a quiet cry, but one that kept me from getting any sleep until about 6am. Chris had been fighting a bug for several days, and I had thankfully kept it at bay, but I think the lack of sleep and stress of getting on the plane and transferred, and dealing with two kids put me over the edge and we both landed in ATL feeling like death fighting off the Asian plague.
Thankfully though, she seemed unscathed by the process and wore her new citizenship quite well.
She didn’t freak out in the car seat, which was a huge win!
The boys didn’t get in until really late that night, which was tough because everyone was tired and ready for sleep. Not the magical family reunion I’d envisioned.
She’s been freaking out any time our dog gets near her right now, too.
Saturday morning I woke up feeling awful, so took myself straight to Urgent Care. I got a steroid shot and some other meds to help a sinus infection, but was basically told it’s a nasty viral infection that will have to run its course. Thankfully the meds at least helped me get off the couch a little bit, but I slept a lot of the day.
Which didn’t help my jet lag, and had me wide awake at 3:30am. Naomi has been waking up throughout the night a couple of times too.
We were able to get out of the house for just a bit yesterday to hit the park and grab some lunch. Naomi enjoyed her first trip to the park, especially the slide. She started crying right away on the swings. She loved kicking the soccer ball with her big brother.
Josh is incredible with her. Totally enamored. Jack really likes her too, but won’t be as assertive as Josh is, so doesn’t get quite as much time with her. I think EK is struggling a bit, since she missed her brothers and now this new girl is getting all the attention from everyone. We are trying to balance it out, but it’s HARD. And I hate it because EK has been SO incredible. She is fighting the bug too, which isn’t helping her emotional stability about it all.
We enjoyed what felt like a very normal lunch, and it was the bright spot of the day.
We’ve been having some eating issues, so I’m considering things like sneaking veggies into smoothies, and finding a breakfast food she’ll eat a huge win.
All in all, we really have had a great transition, all things considered…it’s just really hard with my being sick.
We start our rounds of appointments today, this one probably being one of the more intense. I’m dreading it, simply because I know how physically and emotionally demanding it will be of me, and I feel like I don’t have a ton to give right now.
As soon as the boys are up I’m running to Walgreens to get all the meds, and hoping that can tide me through the afternoon. (Yes, I use oils, and love natural remedies..but none of them are working now, so bring on the drugs) Thankfully our incredible sitter is coming to hang with my other three, and hopefully they will have a fun time playing and being normal while I deal with the tough stuff.
Chris is back at work and has a ton of stuff waiting on him (poor guy spent several late nights in China putting out fires abroad). We have lots of paperwork to get caught up on, insurance calls and battles to fight (don’t even get me started on the hoops required for non-bio kids vs bio!), and getting ready for school.
Our saving grace in the midst of the crazy has been our people. We came home to sweet notes, a full fridge and a mowed yard. Our kids and dog were well cared for while we were gone, and delivered to our door step upon our arrival. I haven’t had to cook a thing because we have already had meals and breakfasts ready made for us. We’ve had people texting and checking in, sending gift cards for restaurants, offering to help any way they can and praying for us. Our sweet Chinese neighbors brought us food, which has been incredible as it was the biggest meal little one has eaten.
We have felt so loved, and literally carried through this period.
I’d love to say it’s all instantly magical, but I don’t want to give off a false impression. We are doing surprisingly well…she’s incredible. But there is still tough stuff. Like her waking up at night and my having no understanding of why, what could be bothering her, or how best to comfort her back to sleep.
There are are marks on her body that I don’t know how they got there. And I have a feeling, I probably don’t want to know. There are quirks and uniquities she has that I just don’t understand and am trying to figure out. We are learning each other.
Adoption is beautiful, but it’s also hard, and right now we are working through some of the hard.