We went to the Orthopedist yesterday and received great news. Marianas hips are fine. He smushed her around some, checked her xray and said that everything is fine and dandy. I was starting to get nervous in the waiting room when Helena told us that her daughter had to wear braces that spread apart her legs for 6 months. Yikes, not the worst thing that can happen but I'm glad Mariana won't have to deal with that.
Most of our days are spent going from meal to meal, watching Mariana be Mariana. I'm sure we're going to get cabin fever at some point but I'm kind of enjoying the simple life right now. Yesterday we walked over to Parque 93 which is a few blocks from our hotel. The Park is beautiful, surrounded by nice restaurants and people lounging and kids playing on the grass. We went to a place called "Crepes and Waffles" and had a Nutella and vanilla ice cream waffle and a Colombian espresso. Tasty. Then back we went to the hotel where I crashed at 9:30, probably the earliest I've fallen asleep in 25yrs and I slept soundly all night. Ahhh, like I said, I'm enjoying the simple life right now.
The picture with Mariana passed out in the baby bjorn is from a store called Carrefour. We last went to a Carrefour in Shanghai to find any kind of food that wasn't Chinese. They had such exotica as Barilla pasta and good European chocolate. I think that that particular Carrefour catered to a more international crowd because this just seemed like a gigantic Colombian version of Walmart. However we went there to find some organic baby food and it didn't disappoint. We found her a few new flavors and stocked up on a few other things- even stopped in for a drink at the Juan Valdez Cafe.
The bedtime routine is ever evolving. The first few nights she didn't know which way was up and neither did we. It was a mess. Then it settled down some. We learned how to get her sleep in our arms before laying her down. That was always a funny process. It was almost like she would be beset by demons: thrashing and twisting and crying and moaning. It was as if a spirit entered her and as she got sleepier he fought more and more not to leave. Finally the heaviness of her head catches up to her and PLUMFF, the head crashes down onto your shoulder. A soft sigh and the breathing slows down. Hmm has the demon left? No! You can't get rid of me yet! - another round of thrashing and twisting and eyes rubbing but a little less intense this time. The demon is losing his grip on her. Finally one last gasp and the head plops and she's out. The arms go limp. A few slurps and a gurgle or two and she can be down for the night.
Last night it was a little different. We gave her a bath, dressed her, gave her a little more bottle and then into the crib awake and on the edge of thrash mode. It's a risky move, I know but we're gamblers. She just rolled around tried to sucker is into picking her up with a few killer smiles but mostly she just did her own thing. She checked out the bars, did some shrieking, and rolled back and forth a lot. Within 5 minutes she was face up with arms spread out like she passed out in the middle of making a snow angel. Maybe this is also baby manipulation because she looks so damn cute like that you want to wake her up and do it again. We didn't- we're gamblers not nut jobs.
I do wonder if she has learned how to entertain herself and put herself to sleep because she wasn't getting enough attention before. That part makes me sad. She's started sucking her thumb of late which is awfully cute but there are mixed opinions on whether or not it's a good thing. We're going to love her as much as humanly possible but there might always be some part of her that misses her birth Mom and Dad. Am I projecting that thought onto her? Perhaps...
2 comments:
Another wonderful post. I am s glad you are sharing all this with us. I could imagine how long the momments felt as you waited to see if she would just fall asleep or not, trying not to look but dying to look and she what she was doing. A very precious momment.
As for the thumb sucking. My own take is that for now it's better than a pacifier. You wont find yourself running into her room at all hours because she can't find the pacifier. She'll alwasy know where her thumb is! You have plenty of time to struggle with her to give itup if she doesn't just do it herself.
Love you guys
Yes, I agree with Diana, for what it's worth. Thumb sucking is actually good in some people's minds. She now has learned a self-soothing technique that she has control over on her own. Most kids give up thumb sucking on their own when they are ready to anyway. It's only the few hold-outs that get all the press and give thumb sucking a bad name.
Also if are interested in doing a little reading on infant/child sleep, we found Kim West, the Sleep Lady invaluable. Her website is www.sleeplady.com. You can even buy a downloadable copy of her book, "Good Night, Sleep Tight". She helped us loads with both Declan's and Severine's sleep. They are both now champion sleepers!
Thanks for the posts. As you can see I'm a little behind but will try to catch up on all the latest asap.
xo - Margo
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