The big question...How are we adjusting?

Today we have been home with Ava for one week. People have asked how we are adjusting and I didn't really want to answer until we had about a week's worth of adoption experience under our belt. So now I will tell....

Considering the fact that we plucked this little girl a week and a half ago from the crib in the far corner of the tiny little special-needs room of Orphanage #13, Artemovsk Ukraine, went straight to riding a taxi to Donetsk, a train to Kiev, then an airplane to Munich, Denver and Tulsa, then a Suburban to our house, then sleeping in a new home, associating with complete strangers who speak very loudly in a foreign language while making funny faces, eating strange-smelling foods, and being picked up and carried far more than she has ever been accustomed to in her short little lifetime, I would say Ava Alina Grace is adjusting remarkably well. She really is a delightful little girl. If you haven't met her yet you are missing out.

She loves her bath, I would guess she has never had a full immersion bath before (I could be wrong, but it's a guess), but she is very content to even get her hair washed and feel the warm water pouring over her. She is getting better about letting me brush her teeth, and my sister pointed out this morning how much better they look already! Changing her clothes is one of the highlights of my day, because I rub her down with lotion and she is so ticklish we both end up giggling the whole way through. Sometimes we just stare at each other and we both break into big grins.

Hope is convinced that Ava said her first word: "island". She has been telling everyone that her baby sister is learning to talk and that she can say "island". HA I don't have the heart to tell her otherwise.

If there has been difficulty it is in the area of feeding/digestion. I have learned since we came home that this is very common in newly adopted children, especially international adoptions. Makes sense, considering how differently she was probably fed there. Even the dairy products are completely different here and may be more difficult to digest. I got some great online advice to start with bland foods, (B.R.A.T. diet), and gradually add new foods a little at a time, starting with baby food and Pediasure. We started this morning and she already seems to be happier.

I have heard that it is common for siblings to quickly decide they don't want their newly adopted sibling, and want to "send them back" (also common with biological siblings, I know). I was prepared for this response, especially from Hope who has been the baby for 3 1/2 years. Well, thankfully we have heard nothing like that. What we have heard, however is a lot of helpers wanting to be the primary caretaker."Can I please, PLEASE rock her to sleep?" "Please can I feed her the bottle"? Can we take her to the park, pretty please? She would love to go down the slide, and "It's not THAT cold outside, mom!" Can I feed her a cookie? She would love a cookie, And quite a bit of arguing over who will sit by Ava in the car and at the table. Jude reminded me this morning that if we would have brought home two orphans like he asked us to, everyone would get a chance to sit by one and they wouldn't have to take turns! HA. The boy can do math.

Every now and then Ava's little lip will start quivering for no apparent reason, and a tear will start rolling down her cheek. She doesn't make a sound. I can't help but wonder if she is missing the smell of boiling potatoes from the kitchen right next to her room, or the sounds of the ladies speaking loudly in russian, or the sounds of the babies next to her rocking or crying to be fed or held......or....