The Sleep Situation - Part 2

As I mentioned in previous posts, we were able to get Maya to go from 3-4 wakings per night to 1 on average by using a sleep machine. Then we needed to transition her out of our bed into the adjacent crib. For the last month the only way we could do this was either to let her fall asleep in our bed or for me to jump in the crib with her until she fell asleep (this was actually my preferred method as I could escape from the crib sooner).

Recently we've had a breakthrough. I've been able to get her to fall asleep twice in the crib (without me jumping in) by moving her bedtime 30 minutes later ( a tip i picked up in a book called "Sleep Solutions for your Baby, Toddler and Preschooler", by Ann Douglas. This book has a number of "sleep tools" to train babies and toddlers to sleep on their own. My sister Pam gave it to me. She was actually interviewed for the book, having had significant sleep challenges with both of her boys). Mike and I have also started sleeping in the guest room, leaving Maya alone in our room. For three nights in a row, she apparently sleep through the night!!!

Let's hope it's a trend that continues. If so, we'll feel better about moving Maya to her own room.

The Pointer Sister

Maya still only knows how to say a few words but she is understanding so much. She is also very good at getting what she wants through pointing and nodding. Most of her desires revolve around food. For the last couple of weeks, every time she eats something she likes (which is almost everything) she says "Mmmm!". I'll try to post a video soon.

Looking for Photos from September to November 2009

I am missing photos of Maya from the September to November 2009 timeframe. If you think you may have photos of her from this timeframe, please leave me your contact info in the comment section below. Thanks!

Photos from Early March 2010

In early March I received more photos from our agency representative in Vietnam (Loan). Catherine was already in Vung Tau and also took a number of photos during early March. The first four photos are from Catherine (thanks so much!!!) and the following are from Loan. All of the photos are taken in the baby room at the Vung Tau 3 orphanage. You can see the many moods of Maya, her teeth and that she is crawling. We estimate she is about 1 year old in these photos.

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Photos from December 2009 and January 2010

Here are some photos of Maya in mid December 2009 in the baby room at the Vung Tau 3 orphanage at the approximate age of 9.5 months. She is with one of her nounous in two of the photos and playing with an older child in another. We were especially happy to receive these photos as we had had no photos of her since August 2009 and it was a relief to see that she still looked happy and healthy.

Here's Maya in her crib in January 2010 at the estimated age of 10 months. In the first photo you can see her eczema. The second is a good shot of what her crib was like - no mattress - only a body pillow, small pillow under her head, a folded sheet, and a reed mat. I'm told the folded sheet was generally intended to be under her bottom to soak up any urine as she didn't wear a diaper. The crib is a rocking crib. I have been told the nounous attach ropes to the cribs and then rock several at once. The rocking is no doubt part of Maya's sleeping troubles as she has a hard time falling asleep without some kind of crutch (me, bottle, stroller, car etc.). These photos were taken by our agency director or representative.

Referral Photos

Here are some of the photos we received with Maya's referral in August of 2009 (estimated age 5.5 months). The first one was taken at the orphanage, while the others were taken at the doctor's in HCMC during her medical. One thing we noted early on was that Maya was always looking at the camera and was very alert. Can someone tell me who the woman is that Maya is with in the doctor's office?

Early Days

I'm starting to sort through all the photos I currently have of Maya for her Life Book.

Here is her abandonment photo, where she apparently weighed 3.1 kg and was estimated to be 5 days old. We think she is more like 6 weeks old here. She was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia upon arrival at the orphanage.

Here she is in June 2009 at about 3.5 months - Maya is on the right. The baby on the left is Molly, who was adopted by Catherine on May 20. Photos were taken by another adoptive family visiting Vung Tau 3 last spring.

Referral photos to follow!

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Ready, Set, Go

Is the name of the Early Year's class I have started taking Maya to. It's a class for 12-24 month old toddlers, which includes singing, story time, and a craft (or sand table for the younger ones). At first, Maya just sat there and clung to me and wasn't too interested. After three sessions she is warming up and getting to know the songs and bobbing her little head. She especially likes the sand table.

Maya definitely is musical. She likes to nod her head to just about any music and dance and often hums a bit. She's not picky about the music either - commercial jingles, the Wiggles, or any top 10 tune suits her just fine!

Walk This Way

Maya started walking a few weeks ago (I'd say officially the weekend of April 24/25). Check out the video below.

A Special Mother's Day

Sunday was a special mother's day for me and my mom. It was our first mother's day with Maya. She continues to be such a delight! Maya's gift to me was sleeping all night long again!

I also received the most heart-warming gift from Aidan, which I will cherish forever. It was a shadow box that he had decorated. Inside was a poem that he had written all by himself. The poem went like this...

Mom

You are the color of a summer garden.

You taste like the sweetest apple.

You smell like flowers.

You feel like a soft chinchilla.

You sound like a beautiful song.

Mom is a beautiful sunset.

Love Aidan

Motherhood... tough but worth it!

A Day in the Life

I was over at Catherine's blog again this afternoon and I am so grateful that she has described life in the baby's room at the Vung Tau 3 orphanage where Maya came from. It provides some insight into Maya's early life. It also explains why she loves water and showers so much. Check out Catherine's last post here. I wish we had spent more time at the orphanage.

All Night Long!

Yes, Maya slept in the crib all night long, without waking me - hooray!!!

This required some rather unconventional maneuvers that I hope I don't have to repeat every night.

Normally I wait for her to fall asleep in my bed before transferring her to the crib. However, I was feeling lucky last night because I had actually gotten her to nap in her crib yesterday afternoon (she usually has to be walked to sleep in the stroller and I am getting tired of two hour power walks every day - although I haven't been this slim for a decade :)).

So I waited until she had had her bottle and was good and drowsy and then I put her in the crib with all of her favourite things. Well... she protested... VEHEMENTLY. I tried to comfort her while standing outside the crib but she wouldn't stand for it. This is when I jumped in the crib too!! Yes - desperate times demand desperate measures.

She then calmed down and fell asleep. I wasn't sure if i was going to make it back OUT of the crib without waking her (or hurting myself!). But I did it. And she slept through the night!

YAHOO!

Hooray for Catherine and Molly!

I was just over on Catherine's blog and learned that her investigation is FINALLY complete and that she should have her adoption date soon. I am so happy to hear this news! Catherine received her referral at the same time as we did (August 2009!). She has been over in Vung Tau waiting, waiting, and waiting some more!

I hope there are no more delays for her. We will be thinking of her and Molly!

Clean Bill of Health

Today, we had a second doc appointment for Maya to receive the results of all her bloodwork and stool tests and to start her immunizations. The great news was that her bloodwork results were all normal- no anemia, no HepB or HIV, no elevated iron and no parasites of any kind in the poop. (Although she was very healthy at her referral medical, we wanted to be sure she hadn't contracted anything in the ensuing 8 months). We also seemed to have conquered any scabies.


Even though she has an immunization card from Vietnam, our pediatrician doesn't trust it. Turns out there is good reason for this as Maya had no antibodies to Hep B even though her immunization card said she was immunized. We are starting the immunization schedule from scratch.

I also brought Maya's abandonment photo and referral photos to have the doctor give her assessment again regarding age. This time we are in agreement - we think Maya is 6-8 weeks older than the birth certificate indicates (i.e., about 14-14.5 months). Even so, she is still above average height (on North American charts) and not delayed in any way. This is remarkable given the caregiver:baby ratio of 10:1 at the orphanage. I suspect the older children may have been providing a lot of additional stimulation.

In the Crib

for the whole night - what a coup!

Procedure was as follows - let Maya fall asleep in my bed. Wait 25 minutes for her to be in a deep sleep and then transfer to adjacent crib. Make sure sleep machine is on and one of my (dirty) T-shirts is in the bed. Then when she wakes in the middle of the night - let her cry for as long as I can stand it - that turned out to be only about 7 minutes (which seemed like an eternity). Rub her back and feet but do not remove from crib. Wait for her to fall back asleep.

I had to repeat the last step 2x but she stayed there until morning!

Let's see if we get a repeat performance tonight.

Addendum: Now 2 for 2!

Belated Birthday Photos

I am now only getting around to posting a few photos of Maya's first birthday "party" - it was just dinner with our family and my mother. But since there was cake, balloons, and presents, I guess it qualifies as a party. Here are a few snaps from the day (April 16).

Maya turns the big 1! Aidan's wheat-free (egg, dairy and nut free) cake recipe comes in handy.

Maya thinks it tastes pretty good!

Here she is in the cute dress that Julia gave her

Here's the cross-stitch my mom made for her. Each grandchild has received one on their first birthday. It takes close to a year for her to complete it.
Thanks Mom! It will look awesome in her room!

I can't forget Aidan's Mad Science Party that was delayed due to our trip. Here is the mad scientist himself - getting a dry ice and soap shower...

With his friends and cousins

With the cupcake tree - space themed (Jupiter and spaceships)- yellow cupcakes wheat, egg, dairy and nut-free, blue "regular"

One of his gifts was a paleontology kit to dig for dinosaurs. Here he is in our garage getting ready for the big dig!