Monday,
February 4, 2008
We have been home for a little over a week and are
settling in with help from family and friends.
The flight from Hong Kong to Newark was not as bad as Rob
anticipated. The twins slept about 4 or 5 hours each on
the plane and the grown ups dozed a little from time to
time. The service and meals on this flight were not as
nice as the way over - we were a little spoiled on the
first flight. We purchased a seat for each of the twins
and it was money well spent. They slept in the seats and
it gave us room to spread our legs and stow our bags of
baby gear. Overall, our travel group seemed to do well,
not too many problems on the flight.
We cleared immigration and customs after landing in Newark
and this meant that Wren and Robin are now officially U.S.
citizens. We have to wait a few weeks to get the paperwork
to prove it and then we can apply for a passport and start
our immigration process with Canada. We ate some snacks
and cleaned up in the Newark airport. Unfortunately, our
flight was slightly delayed in Newark but we made it home
eventually.
We were excited at the airport to see Grandpa G., Grandma
and Grandpa K., and Beth, one of Dee's childhood friends.
We were also met by a very large group of our friends from
the local FCC waiting families group. It was very touching
that so many people cared enough to come to the airport on
a cold, snowy evening.
The first few days home were very, very hard. We have been
fortunate to receive a lot of good advice and information
from families that have previously been to China to adopt
and have spent time reading the internet, medical
literature, and other resources to prepare for the
challenges of adoption. Somehow, in all this learning, we
missed the info about recovering from jet lag. After the
long flight and then several sleepless nights, we were
just absolutely exhausted. We turned the babies over the
Grandma and Grandpa K. for a few hours on the Sunday
morning after we returned and got some sleep in their
hotel room.
Rob had to travel to Canada on Sunday evening and was out
of town most of the week. So, we called in Grandma and
Grandpa G. who helped throughout the week while we got the
babies back on a schedule. With their help, Dee became the
drill sergeant in Twin Baby Jet Lag Boot Camp: sunlight
every morning, limited naps, no daytime sleeping after 2
p.m., consistent meal times, and sometimes a little tough
love when the babies were worn out and we would keep them
up. A few days later it seems to be paying off as they are
sleeping through the night again, with some minor hiccups.
We have been taking them out and about everyday to help
keep them awake and active during the day, including a
trip to the mall for photo portraits.
The twins met Harper the dog and they are all well on
their way to being friends. If Harper is lying still, they
like to pet the dog bstarting out liking only the "rear"
end of the dog but eventually learning to love his face
and ears too. There have been a couple of moments of baby
distress as they struggle with wanting to go near him
while at the same time being afraid to go near him.
Harper, on the other hand, is barely interested in the
babies other than as a source of dropped food.
The twins seem to develop and learn something new each
day. They are learning the names of some body parts and
love to listen to music and sing songs. Wren in particular
will watch Sesame Street or Teletubbies for a few minutes,
particularly if there is singing. They are both trying
more and more to self feed, including Wren wanting to use
a spoon and they both are refusing baby food in favor of
solids. Both babies can drink out of a sippy cup but,
still need help holding the cup -- it seems that in a week
or so they will get the hang of it. They both know their
name and are responding to a few words ("come" "stop"
"easy"). They have an appointment with a pediatrician who
specializes in international adoption medical issues next
week so she will do a full evaluation of their medical
condition and developmental status. |
Our family arrives in Pittsburgh airport. Rob and Dee are rather
dazed to find themselves back in the U.S. with two babies.
We were met by our friends from the local FCC Waiting Families
group. Many thanks to all who supported us on our wait and came
out to the airport to welcome us home.
Wren and Robin play in their first (?) snow.
Robin's has her teeth brushed for the first time.
Wren and Robin love the linoleum in the kitchen. For some
reason, they seem to prefer it to the carpet.
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