A Much Better Day, Well Kinda!

Whew, were do I begin?  Well, I had my first mommy breakdown last night, crying and all.  Karlye had a very, very rough day yesterday, and it only got worse as the day progressed.  She screamed and pitched a fit over everything, all day long.  It was one of those days, were you feel like your child is the only one screaming and having meltdowns in a group of about 20 children, even though you know others are having their moments as well.  We had a meltdown break when we took her swimming; however I am sure you can guess what happened when we had to get her out of the pool.  Yes, another screaming fit!  We know this is all a part of parenting, her getting to know us, and us getting to know her, but boy is it hard to do in another country.  Bedtime only got worse.  She was arching, pushing away from me, and screaming at the top of her lungs.  This is when I lost it.  I had know idea what to do.  I felt like the worst mommy ever!  Nathan walks into the room and there we both are, crying our eyes out.  She eventually gave up and went to sleep.  She slept 12 hours last night!

We think that she may be going through a grieving stage, possibly cutting some teeth, and having a really bad tummy ache.  I guess I might act that way if I had all of those things against me as well.  She has decided that she no longer likes her formula, so her diet has completely changed.  No wonder her tummy hurts, but I can't blame her for not wanting that yucky formula at 18 months.  We had hoped to keep her on her orphanage diet to reduce tummy aches, but that obviously has not worked as well as we thought.

Today is a new day, and she is having a much better day.  She has tolerated the carrier, unlike yesterday, most of the day while we went to have lunch and shop at a local market.  We bought Karlye a couple of Chinese dresses, some pearls for her 16th birthday, and a Chinese lullaby CD for when we get home.  She drank a bottle of her formula this morning and we have fed her more bland foods today, in hopes that her tummy feels better.  Overall, she has just been a happy girl today, and for that we are SO thankful!

We went to dinner with our Lifeline group at a local restaurant.  Everything was going well, when all of a sudden, poop, yes that's right, poop starting running out of her diaper, into the highchair, and down to the floor.  You cannot even imagine the mess.  It took about a whole container of wipes to clean it up.  Thank the Lord that I am an over organized parent and had extra clothes, extra diapers, wipes, and a baggie to put the nasty clothes and diaper in.  We had to put her on the floor of the restaurant to change her.  Nathan and I wanted to crawl in a hole.  This did not add well to my already tired and sensitive state.  Our sweet guide had to help me wash my feet in the bathroom sink.  Of course, Karlye did not like it when she had to hold her while I cleaned myself up.  I also want to say a big thank you to one of the sweet mother's in our group who was actually on her hands and knees helping us clean this up.  She just kept saying over and over again-you are doing wonderful, you are a great mother and so prepared.  Well, at this point, I began to tear up because that is definitely not what I was thinking at that moment.  Thank you so very much K for your kind words, encouragement, and help.  I really appreciate it.  Needless to say, I definitely need some sleep in my own bed before I flood this hotel room with tears.

Karlye is warming up well to Nathan.  She let him hold her and walk around the hotel for a while today.  She also let him "walk" her to sleep tonight, but Daddy still needs a little practice dressing her (per Nathan).  He layed her down in her crib after getting her to sleep and all of her buttons on her pj's were unbuttoned.  He said he just could not get that part done while she was crying.  She seems to be alright whenever I leave the room now, so that is wonderful!  Hopefully in the next day or two she will let him carry her around while I am nearby.  My back sure could use a break!

Sorry for the rambling...that is all for now.  We love you all and can't wait to get home!  We are having a great time here in Guangzhou, despite some of the above information, but we have been gone for what seems like forever and are ready to be back.  We miss you all so much!           



Trying on my Chinese dress.  We have a group picture wearing this dress tomorrow!





Doing what I do best!




The ladies making Karlye's pearls.





Playing with my Daddy!




Don't you know how this game works?  I point and you get what I need.



Playing in the play room at the hotel.