Saturday, October 9
What an interesting day! I'm writing this post for me, for therapy ;) This morning was wonderful, concerning Lilyanna anyway. My husband, who we thought was going to be able to avoid the worst of the "plague" that is going around the house, woke up sick this morning. What that means is that we spent another day just relaxing, camped out at the house. Lilyanna went down for her nap very well and woke up a happy baby. I'm so happy because she finally made the switch from two small naps a day to one longer nap. That means that I get more accomplished throughout the day, YAY! After she woke up from her nap we ate dinner, like normal. And that's when it all started! Today was a warmer day, the sun was out and the house was not nearly as chilly. So, I started working on "belly time" which obviously ruined the entire evening. I have never seen a child that hates being on her stomach as much as our daughter. She screams to the best of her ability the entire time. I am SO thankful that her "scream" really is nothing more then a loud whine. I hope that doesn't change!!!
I found myself telling her that I knew she hated it and that it was uncomfortable but that it was in her best interest to help her. If she doesn't learn to lay on her belly she will never crawl, which means she will have problems with walking and coordination. And then, the conviction set in. I'm learning already that God is going to use this child to reach my heart in more then one way. I was reminded that I often act like my dauther, kicking, crying, and resisting the very One that has my best interest in mind. Valuable lessons in baby training! So, Lilyanna continued to cry and resist but by the end of our belly time she did learn how to push up on her knees a bit and she was able to stay up on her arms a little longer then yesterday. I hugged her, comforted her, and praised her for a job well done.
After belly time I had to prepare things for her bath. I had to set her down in order to gather everything and that's what started another Lilyanna "melt down" session...as referred to by Melissa and Paul (you guys are so great!! I'm glad that we can atleast "suffer" together :) The orphanage treated Lilyanna like a real princess for sure. They loved her greatly and for that we are grateful. But, they spoiled her in a few areas that unfortunatly is making it harder for Henry and I and Lilyanna too. For instance, they used food to console her. Which means that whenever she screamed they gave her food to quiet her. Lilyanna thinks that whenever she whines we will treat her to whatever she wants. Mom and dad don't work like that. She is learning, slowly, but she's learning. The biggest challenge is that the orphanage held her ALL THE TIME! That's why she is almost 14 months old and cannot crawl. What that means is that as soon as I put her down to play then she cries. I pick her up and she stops. I put her down and she cries....and you get the point. If I held her all day then she would appear to be the happiest baby in the world. We are not going for that as well. So, we are working thru this, a little progress everyday but not without lots of tears and crying. The good thing is that she knows the difference with bedtime and and so she goes to sleep quickly on her own. I am so grateful for that!
And now to a different topic. I have to share a few things with you just so you can get the feel for a different culture, if you haven't experienced it already. The maid came in yesterday to clean the house and she approached my husband and I with a very "serious" concern that she had for our daughter. Of course, we listened intensly and she shared her concern. And it was this, that we are bathing her too frequently. My husband and I looked at each other and tried to hold straight faces. We explained to her that taking a daily warm bath was indeed healthy and that millions of people around the world take warm baths on a daily basis without danger of illness. She wasn't convinced but we smiled and thanked her for her concern.
A family member came to visit yesterday and was with us as we were feeding Lilyanna. Lilyanna began to choke up a little bit because she is still trying to get use to drinking from a sippy cup. The relative told us "quick, pull her hear so that she stops choking". We laughed because we thought she was just trying to be funny. A few minutes later Lilyanna was caughing a bit again from her water, when I turned around I found the relative yanking my daughter's ear up to the ceiling to keep her from choking. I'll be honest, I was annoyed but tried to act grateful for her ear pulling, "life saving" technique. She tried to convince us that the heimlich was not necessary, only ear pulling. Needless to say, we were not convinced as well but we put on our happy faces by principle.
And then there's the obession with clothes layering with the children. If the child is not sweating to death and wrapped up in atleast six layers of clothes then the child is not properly dressed. Another reason why our daughter cannot crawl yet. She could hardly move! On one occasion the wind began to blow and people started yelling "get a blanket for the baby". They then began running to find a blanket. It was almost 70 degrees outside.
Thru all of this we are reminded of 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 (for those that read the Bible) and how loving, serving and helpers others outside of our own cultures, customs, and ideas is really a work of the heart and is no easy task. We're also reminded that TRULY, there is no place like home :)
Love you all!
