Two Week Update

Well, we have been home for 2 weeks now and Brigita is doing great! She is a wonderful little girl and coming alive wonderfully. I was worried about her transition since she found the apartment in country "home" and was very comfortable there. But she has entered our home like she's always been here. She loves to ride in the car, doesn't mind the car seat at all, and is learning to play some on her own. She likes baby dolls and will push her baby in her stroller, play the piano with her, and try to put her in the bathtub (anything that may lead to Brigita getting a bath, which she especially loves!). Brigita likes to play with piano with me and will place her hand on mine when I play. She is learning to sign "more" and "all done" and is doing pretty good at this. I was also excited to hear her make a noise when she signs "all done" that sounds similar to me saying it. I'm still not sure if she will learn to speak or not, but it doesn't matter to me. She loves the water and I cannot wait to be able to go swimming with her. She likes to splash her face under the water and for me to pour water over her head and body. When we were in country we were able to go to a beach but it was too cold to get in the water. She loved it though and would laugh just at the sight of it. I can't wait to take her to the beach. I love to swim and am very glad she loves the water so much.

We have started doctor's appointments. She is very healthy. Her poor colon was completely backed up and full of stool. So, I had to give her 3 enemas in a 24 hour period to clean her out and she is now on a stool softner. Its not completely fixed but we will follow up with her pediatrician and a gastro doc to monitor and help her find a better normal. She was such a champ going through the enemas! Of course, she has been going through those for years. Apparently, she does not have Celiac disease. Her blood work shows no issues or response to gluten at all and it turns out I was unknowningly giving her gluten (barley, thankfully she wasn't sensitive) so hopefully the blood work is accurate. I have started introducing wheat products and she has not shown any issues with these so far. She had her first Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich yesterday. We will do another test next time she has blood drawn to monitor this further. Her thyroid levels are good. Her iron is okay for now and will likely increase with proper nutrition. She did have the antibodies for the vaccines that have already been given. We are now working on getting the appointments set up for hearing, vision, gastro, and assessments.

Brigita has been spending some time with family and loves spending time with her cousins. We still have a lot of work to do in regards to hitting, biting, hair pulling, and pinching but its getting better. We are teaching her the correct way to play. She doesn't hit herself much at all and rarely when she is going to sleep. She does still sleep with me and I am able to help her go to sleep without her having to do anything aside from sucking her thumb. She mostly goes to sleep well and will sleep for 10-11 hours. She doesn't really nap though she does still need to nap. We try every day (except if we're out and about) but she fights nap time like a champ. This past weekend we got a "new to us" swingset that is wonderful! It was a great price. She loves to swing. We have had a cold front come in and take away the 88-90 degree weather. I love fall and love that the gnats are going away! Perfect weather for swinging. Yesterday Aunt Liz and I took Brigita to Burger King where she had chicken nuggets for the first time and played in the playplace with Aunt Liz. She did really well and loved the slide. Then we went to the park to play some more and swing.

Here's some pictures from our adventures. I have some videos I will try to get posted soon as well.

 

Helping with the dishes...right??

 

But I don't want to go in yet!

 

She likes to close her eyes when she swings

 

Going to church, she thought she was cute! She kept putting her hands on her hips and playing with the skirt.

 

More swinging time!

 

Stealing mama's coffee

 

With Aunt Liz at Burger King

 

No eating the bark, Brigita (she's biting Liz's finger here)

 

She intentionally makes the swing twist and pulls her body up to make it jerk her.

 

Eating her PB&J and frustrated with mom b/c she keeps making me sign "more"

 

Don't let her fool you. This was only a 2-3 min nap as we pulled into the driveway coming back from Burger King, the park, and grocery shopping.

Long day!