Party Girl

Today was Melanie's brunch with all of our neighborhood friends.  They were so sweet to do this for us .. Melanie now has a whole wardrobe of cool winter clothes, plus some excellent toys and books!  She was so cute opening the clothes; she would hold them up to her cheek and say, "Awww..."  She stood there the whole time helping me open the presents, and played fairly well with the other kids.

Melanie's bloodwork came back all negative!  Today we went in to have her TB test done; we'll go back and have it read on Monday.  Also I spoke on the phone to a new surgeon here in Huntersville who also specializes in cleft l&p, and I have an appointment to meet him on Monday.  It'll be nice to have a second opinion.

The night after her shots, Melanie was up most of the night with a fever.  She didn't know what had hit her, I think.  Some tylenol helped to ease her a little ... but man were we all dragging yesterday.  Last night she slept for 12 hours straight, and I had to wake her up at 9 to go to the party!  Feast or famine, I guess. 

Not much else to report ... we're looking forward to a nice easy weekend.  Wanna bet she won't sleep until 9 Saturday???

Medical Rounds ...

Yesterday we met with Dr. Matthews, the first & foremost cleft lip & palate surgeon in Charlotte.  He got a good look at Melanie's palate and declared, "I've seen much worse!"  Guess that's good news.  Since Melanie had her lip repaired in Kaz, though, the gap in her upper jaw has narrowed considerably, and Dr. M. said he couldn't get any instruments in there to close it.  Therefore, we are to see an orthodontist next week who will take a mold of Melanie's mouth, and put in a palate expander to widen the gap.  Seems like an exercise in futility ... close the gap, widen the gap, stand up, sit down ... not to mention that it sounds like baby torture: turning a key on a device in her mouth every night.  Somehow I can't imagine that it tickles.  Hope she has a high pain threshold.  Hope I have one too ...  This process takes about a month, and then she will have her palate surgery, probably around the first of the year.  Then, it's off to speech therapy.

She seems to be catching up on her sleep ... she slept 12 hours Tuesday night and I had to wake her up at 8:30 to get her ready for the doctor.  Then she slept 2 hours in the afternoon.  Another full nights' sleep last night (and a very happy Mom)   Today we visit the pediatrician to do a full workup of the rest of her, including bloodwork and other fun stuff.  I'm curious to see what she says about her hip ...

Colin has a dental appointment at 4:00 ... why isn't my laundry washing & folding itself?  Where is that "laundry salon" across the street when you need it?  Scratch that: I would still have to hang it all out to dry and fold it too.  I'll just go get reacquainted with my trusty Duet washer & dryer ....

Need to go roll some carcasses out of bed and get them to school ... Colin is up at 5:15 and out the door at 6.  Shouldn't there be a law against sending a child off to school before the sun comes up??? 

POST SCRIPT:  The pediatrician agrees that there is something fishy going on with Melanie's hip; we have a referral to a pediatric orthopedic guy the first week in December.  She was amazed that it wasn't caught when Melanie was born; I suppose they were so concerned with her mouth that they didn't check her hip.  It's something that is routinely checked in newborns in the U.S.  The ped. even mentioned the "s" word to fix it ... this poor child is going to have a lifelong aversion to doctors and hospitals!! 

I Could Have Slept All Night ...

... and still have begged for more!  We got the REAL crib down from the attic last night (as opposed to the pack-n-play) and Melanie slept from 8:00 to 6:30.  Can you say aaaaahhhhh!?  The poor thing was plain uncomfortable in that skimpy portable crib!  Or maybe she was just plumb sleep-deprived and it finally caught up with her.  At any rate, I don't care why, just am happy that she did. 

Yesterday our social worker had a little gathering for all of the families that she worked with.  It was at an indoor water park; Melanie loved the water! 

Overall, our first week has gone well.  I even got industrious and took Melanie to church yesterday and she went to Sunday school for the first time.  Not a whimper.  She acts as though she has lived here her whole life. 

This will be a busy week .. we have an appointment with the cleft surgeon on Tuesday, and the regular pediatrician on Wednesday.  I hope there's not too much poking and prodding!   At first Melanie was a little wary around Colin & Quentin, but yesterday she held her arms up to Colin and he was so happy to pick her up.  This morning she wanted Quentin to get her out of her high chair.  We all said, "Awwww!" 

Off to start our day!! 

Ain't DSL Wonderful?

Found the camera!  It was hidden in some dark recess of one of the suitcases.  Thank goodness!  My apologies to Gulnara, who really went far beyond the call of duty looking for it.  Thanks to DSL, I was able to get some pictures to load here in about 10 seconds flat.  They are miscellaneous ones from the end of our trip, in Taldy and in Almaty ... there seems to be some kind of smudge on my lens for the last ones; someone with sticky fingers was handling the camera!  Hmm...wonder who?  We are settling in here at home ... although Melanie still isn't sleeping that well.  I can't complain though; we've been home less than a week.  Who wouldn't have a touch of jet-lag?  It's good to sleep in my bed and get caught up with the kids.  They all seem to love Melanie; especially Lisa, who loves being a big sister!  I have more help than I can use! 

My in-laws will fly home today.  I know they are anxious to be back in THEIR home, and in their own bed.  It's been a marathon for them, especially with my FIL in the hospital.  To say that it was stressful for them would be a huge understatement. 

More later when the fog lifts!!

The End of a Journey ... The Beginning of a Life

I'm beginning to feel more human today.  Our first night, Melanie was up for about an hour and a half around 2 a.m., but slept in until about 7.  I had gone to bed at 8 or so, and was out like the proverbial light the moment my head hit the pillow.  Monday morning I took Melanie to Lisa & Christian's school to take each of their classmates a little pen in the shape of a Kazakh matrioshka doll.  Both of the classes had prayed daily for our family, and we appreciated it so much.  Melanie was her charming self, waving bye-bye to the kids and smiling like a movie star!  Took Mom to the airport, and we came home for lunch and a nap ... we both slept hard!  This jet lag is brutal.  Last night we both slept all night (yay!)  We got the kids off to school, then Melanie and I went to vote.  There was a really long line; it took nearly an hour to get inside.  Quite the social hour too .. I saw lots of friends and was able to introduce them to Melanie.  Home for lunch and another nap!  David called and woke me up, and in my confusion I thought we were still in Almaty!  It's so funny what your brain does to you when you're that tired. 

One of the major casualties of the trip was our digital camera.  Somewhere in the confusion of the embassy appointment, and taking pictures at the Sisters' office, it was lost.  I'm pretty sure it was left on the main counter in the office, but Gulnara sent someone to look for it, and they couldn't find it.  Luckily I had donwloaded most of the pictures onto the laptop, but won't have the group shot after the embassy.  I'm still optimistic that it will turn up at the office, and a traveling family will bring it home with them.  St. Anthony, where are you??

Melanie and the dog seemed to have made friends .. I was a little worried when he started lunging at her, but she didn't seem too afraid.  Now he lets her pet him and squeeze his nose.  He's a good dog ... I know he'll come to learn love her like he does all the other kids ...

And so, we seem to have come to the end of our story.  I have really enjoyed keeping this journal; it's been a lot of fun exercising my creative side.  I will probably start a new journal about the ins and outs of being a mom of five children ... a new chapter in my life.   I appreciate all the support we have gotten from friends and family; there's no way to get through a journey like this without that.  For those of you poised to set out on an adoption journey of your own, I wish you luck, happiness and good fortune.  May the road always rise up to meet you (and may lots of other Irish proverbs come to your mind!)   There will be lots of road blocks, bumps and flat tires, but you just have to learn to "build a bridge and get over it!" 

Be It Ever So Humble ...

...there's no place like home!  I still can't believe it, but I'm sitting here at MY computer, in MY den, in MY house, and MY husband is out trick-or-treating with the kids.  All of them!  I'm beyond tired, and have picked up a stomach bug that made the trip home oh-so-much-fun.  Melanie did a lot better on the Frankfurt-Charlotte leg than the Almaty-Frankfurt one.  On A-F (which left at 4 a.m.) she kept waking up every ten minutes and crying.  Probably because we were squeezed into the middle row and the *expletive deleted* in the seat in front of us had it jacked all the way back.  We literaly had about four inches clearance.  A little boy behind my mom kept kicking her seat and talking very loudly in Russian.  It was miserable.  Luckily we had two bulkhead seats on the F-C route, and Melanie slept on a pallet on the floor.  She really slept hard for about three hours , then wanted to play!  Mom and I were of course semi-zombies by this time, so we took turns playing with her while the other napped for a while.  We finally gave her about 1/2 a teaspoon of benadryl, because I just couldn't keep my eyes open.  She slept the last 2 hours of the flight ...

One of our bags didn't make it ... there's so much else to write, but chaos reigns in our house, so I need to go put out some fires (figuratively of course!)

 

 

My how time flies...

Sorry, but  I still can't send pictures.

Well, what do you say on the last full day of your stay in Kazakhstan? When we first arrived, the days stretched off into the future, into a dark abyss with no bottom. The thought of endless weeks in a tiny apartment in a strange country with hot water only a possibility, with my children mourning my absence at home, was daunting and depressing. However, I compartmentalized my fear and my sadness, and put it away for later. On the conscious level, I went through each early day as a robot, performing the mundane tasks to get ready for the day and driving to the Baby House. It was only when I saw Karina/Melanie that I would let my emotions out, to embrace her, to bond with her, and to allow her to bond with us. Then it was time to close emotional shop again, and back at the apartment, I would, in a sort of self-preservation, "check out", or sleep to while away the hours. Every morning I would find myself doing what I had done the day before, time after time. And before I knew it, I was beginning to enjoy myself! The sights I would see on the route to the Baby House became familiar: the "avtomoyka" or car wash, "magazin" or store (dyken in Kazakh) and the little kafe where you turned left towards the Baby House. Every day became something to look forward to! Our relationship with Aida became closer by the day, and we joked and laughed together like old friends. We recognized her trademark knock on the door ... usually followed by coughing, since she was so sick that one week. We made friends with Corey & Christie, and enjoyed sampling many of the restaurants in TaldyKorgan. We learned about the local culture and history and learned to love our home away from home.

Now it is the day before we fly home! The early days here may have been difficult, but now I feel sad to be leaving. I don't know when I'll be back.

Melanie decided to do the "newborn" routine last night .. she was up every two hours, starting at 1 a.m. So much for my plan to put her naptime back on track. We finally got up for the day at 7, and waited for Charlotte to call. Mom and I started packing our stuff ... and generally relaxed around the apartment all morning. I put Melanie down for a nap at 1 and she went right down. At 3:00 Vitallik arrived and we went to the Sisters' office. We had a final chat with Gulzhan, and then, with three other families, the Gaffneys, the Allens, and the Balmasedas, we walkedacross the street to where the consular section of the US Embassy is. It is in a tall office building, but we had to go through pretty significant security before we were allowed inside. They took out my USAirways headphones, my Ibuprofen, my Purell hand sanitizer, and my drivers' license. Hmmm. A security guard who looked like every Russian stereotypical "comrade" took us up in the elevator. We paid our fees, then were called up to a window to have a little chat with an American consular officer. Then, we were done! We were the only ones there, unlike three years ago when we were adopting Lisa. We had to go through Moscow back then, and there were about 30 people crammed into a small room that day. Overall, this has been a pretty smooth experience.

We took pictures with Gulzhan and Gulnara ... and with Gulbanu. We have known Gulbanu for over three years, and she is practically family. We had brought her some duct tape (I think it's a running gag now) and got a big laugh out of that!

Mom and I decided to celebrate by going to the Hyatt Regency Hotel to have a drink at the bar. Talk about luxury! We listened to an American (Canadian?) businessman negotiating (through an interpreter) with a table of Kazakh men behind us as we sipped on our martini (mom) and Tien Shan beer (me). We enjoyed the atmosphere, complete with brass fixtures and marble fountains. I guess it was worth paying 600 tenge for the International Herald Tribune, just to be there! The best part was when we stepped back outside to leave, and our limo driver, Vitallik, roared up in the van to meet us! We felt quite posh!

Now we are hunkering down having a dinner of roasted chicken and stir-fried potatoes. We're doing one more sweep of TSUM to see if we missed anything, then home to pack for our 12:15 pickup. <groan> Let the torture begin!