Bad Blogger

So I have entered the world of post adoption blogging. I have neglected to keep my blog updated with our exciting new lives and post pictures daily. I swore I would not be one of those bloggers that fell off the planet, after returning home, and I promise I won't. We have just been trying to figure out some kind of routine around our house. Adoptive parenting is very different than biological parenting, for us. We chose not to let Marley "cry it out," etc.. So, needless to say, I'm at her beckon call, and I absolutely LOVE it! After about six weeks of just being her Mommy and meeting every need that she had, I realized that I do need some kind of schedule or organized parenting. So we are reading Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. I do have to say that my previous approach to sleeping, with Marley and Miles, has to be revisited.
It's amazing the things we have learned, and we aren't Baby Wising our baby...lol. Baby Wise may work for some families, but not ours...lol! So, basically, we put her to sleep around 6:30. We wake her up, YES I SAID WAKE HER UP (haha), around 10:00 p.m. for a bottle, and then back to sleep she goes until about 6:30 a.m.. She then naps around 10, 1 and 4. We totally modify it when needed, but we knew she took about three naps a day, and we knew she was tired about 6:30. We were trying to keep her awake longer, thinking that the longer she was awake the longer she'd sleep. Funny, the way we think. So, I've learned that she needs sleep, and so do I. I was also out trying to serve at church late on Wednesdays and had to stop doing that. The entire time I was there, she was tired and I was trying to keep her happy for two hours, when all she wanted to do was sleep. I am very happy to learn new things and am glad that a friend brought me to this new thinking!
We had our first Post Adoption visit from our Social Worker, whom we LOVE! She is so thorough and kind. We have had a few, not so sincere Social Workers, and she makes up for them and more. We will have two more visits with her over the next six months and then we are on our own. The purpose for these visits are to make sure the transition is going well and to report to our agency, who reports back to Ethiopia, as to Marley's transition and American life. In the Ethiopian adoption world, updates are required after 3 months, 6 months and 1 year home. And then every year until Marley is 18. The Ethiopian's would just like to follow the progress of their children to assure that international adoption is going well. After two post adoption visits by our Social Worker, we get to file for readoption. This is required for to apply for citizenship. Good times...lol!