Keith only ate pureed food in the orphanage. Since he is four you'd think he would be eating solid foods - not so! In the beginning I fed him baby food, but now I am introducing more solid foods with some success, too! Tonight he ate egg noodles and broccoli (cut into tiny pieces). He ate macaroni & cheese and peas for lunch (neither were pureed). He's definitely making progress, which is exciting! Aside from crackers, Keith will eat anything I give him - which is nice. I'm hoping to help him learn to feed himself. He drinks from a bottle and will hold the bottle all by himself (hooray!) but he doesn't do anything to help with feeding. I'm sure that will come in time. On the sign language front - Keith did his first sign today: "more". He did it twice and very deliberately! I was thrilled - I wasn't sure when/if he'd ever do sign language, so seeing him sign was really encouraging!
Kristina is doing well with her food, but she eats v.e.r.y.s.l.o.w.l.y. It takes her a LONG time to finish her meals. She isn't picky. Tonight she said her broccoli was "kusna" = tasty! I have Kristina drink from a sippy cup. She actually knows how to drink from a cup - but her behavior changes from moment to moment and I don't want for my carpet to meet her cranberry juice because she felt like throwing her cup on the floor. My patience is very low at the end of the day with Kristina. Kristina likes to imitate her sister, Anna. After dinner, we had cookies for dessert. Anna likes to break up her cookies into pieces and then dip them into milk. Kristina decided to follow suit, except she had water in her cup. So she began dipping her cookie pieces into the water. It's amazing how quickly these kids learn! Don't worry - we gave her milk instead!
2 days ago I went through Anna's old clothes - looking for 4T which is Kristina's size - I was surprised to see that I only had one 4T outfit. I guess I gave away all of Anna's clothes. I hope to hit the thrift stores soon - as I MUST have more than one 4T outfit for this active girl!
Tonight we had dinner brought to us - thanks Valene! I feel so blessed to have such kind friends here. We've been given a car seat and some kids clothes! All in all, things are going well. I won't lie - it's not easy. We struggle sometimes, but it's worth it. All of it.
3 comments:
No, it is not easy. But it is worth it. And it will continue to be worth it - and it will be even more worth it as time goes on.
Food and meals can be a really frustrating thing. But, it can also be a great time and tool for working on attachment and bonding. If Keith is drinking from a bottle, keep it up until HE is done with it. I also HIGHLY recommend that you be the one to hold the bottle during feedings and feed it to him just as if he were an newborn infant (even though he can do it himself). Do the whole rocking chair, hair stroking, singing lullabys and the whole bit. When doing solids, play all the "airplane in the hanger" baby games.
I suggest doing the same thing with Kristina as well, even though she is fully capable of doing it herself. (Good instict on meal time sippy cups, though. It prevents a lot of frustration over spilled milk!) Quite honestly, I still occasionally feed my kids - ages 4 and 8 from baby bottles. It is abundantly clear that they missed this when they were babies. It is an important developmental step and the older they get, the harder it is to make up later on. If your kids are already willingly participating in it, take advantage and do it now! You will be so much futher ahead down the road!!
The first--well, honestly, few MONTHS seem to be a lot about survival. It's a big adjustment bringing two kids into the family, and even more so when they're already mobile! Just ask all of those parents of twins what they would have done if they'd brought them home already walking--and watch them turn pale! LOL But you can survive, and you will. Just take it one day at a time, and don't feel bad if some days you're just glad the day is over. :) :)
It DOES get better!! :) :)
Would you feel comfortable sharing your address privately or a work address so that we could send a Christmas package of clothes for both little ones? We actually have quite a few 4T outfits that we aren't using any longer and even some 5T clothes lying around.
We also have a neighbor who has a son who may have some clothes he has outgrown that will fit Keith - if you want them. :)
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