We're Home!

It is so good to be home!  Our journey home was less than smooth, but we made it.  Leah was a trooper getting up early and flying to Shanghai and being at the airport for about 5 hours.  She loved riding on the luggage cart and wearing the luggage tags on her wrist.  By the time we boarded our long flight at 5:30 pm and it sat on the runway until 7 pm it had been about 13 hours since we left the hotel--with no nap!  As you can imagine the long flight was a little rocky.  Leah was extremely exhausted and constipated which are a bad baby combo.  We had screaming for a good 4-5 hours of the flight.  She could not be comforted, although she did like the strange guy sitting behind us.  He had a ponytail, earrings, etc...not exactly the type you would picture a child liking, but Leah was fascinated with him.  We started calling him the baby whisperer.   Sadly even the baby whisperer could not make things okay, and I felt bad for Leah, us, and everyone within 10 rows of us!  We survived a long, miserable night of flying with Leah eventually sleeping very fitfully in our arms and then this bassinet thing we tried since we were in the bulkhead seats.  I'm not going to lie...that's not a flight I'd like to repeat.  We got to Chicago, went through customs and immigration making Leah an official US citizen, and got to our hotel about 28 hours after we started.  After a few hours sleep we were all feeling better and Leah was a champ on the flight home the next morning.

It was so exciting to see the boys.  I cannot explain how much I missed them.  They each looked like they'd grown about a foot and Ian was suddenly not the baby anymore.  That's always kind of bittersweet.  They were also extremely excited to see us and their new baby sister.  My parents took some good photos and video so when I get them loaded I'll post them.  At first Ian kept asking about Leah's "broken arm" but now he seems totally used to it.  We went to lunch with all the grandparents and headed home as a family of six!  (We owe huge thanks to our parents for dividing and conquering the babysitting for two weeks!  They did a great job, the kids were loved, and we appreciate it so much.)

The rest of Thursday and a lot of Friday are sort of a blur.  The jet lag has been killer on the return trip!  I could barely string together a coherent thought on Friday morning.  Luckily Jer was home from work one more day, between us we had nearly a full brain, and we enjoyed being home with the kids.  The boys are so excited about their sister, and she is quickly warming up to them.  She is warming up in order of age:   Luke, Seth, then Ian.  Luke is so amazing with her.  He was teary about going back to school today because he didn't want to leave her.  He makes her laugh, and she likes to sit on his lap.  He said her little arm is so cute and has mentioned to me several times since that he doesn't even notice it anymore.  Seth is also being cute and sweet.  I could not ask for better big brother behavior from them. Ian had a rough few days, but I think it was mostly because we were gone so long.  He really missed us.  He has been nice to Leah though and we've had very few problems.  He likes to help and check on "baby yeah."  He's also been kind of rude to some of our neighbors and told them to leave his "baby stister" alone--we're working on that.  Leah is not really ready for other people to hold her yet which is actually a good sign and what is recommended in terms of attachment.  She seems to feel more comfortable and love us more each day, and the same is true for us.

Jet lag aside we had a great weekend with the family and spent lots of time just enjoying each other and the beautiful weather.  Lots of friends, family, and neighbors have stopped by to see Leah.  We have been so blessed with meals, gifts, and help...thank you!  We have such a great support system of family and friends that have been there throughout this entire process--I can't thank you enough.  As expected there have been lots of comments and questions from the little kids about Leah's arm.  That's something that she and we will face forever, but it hasn't been that big of deal to just tell them that's how she was born and Heavenly Father made her that way.  In case you're wondering the technical term is something called Amniotic Banding Syndrome.  It occurs in the womb and isn't genetic or connected with any other problems.  If you will soon be seeing us around with Leah do us a favor and explain ahead of time to your kids about Leah's little arm.  It seems to help a lot if kids are prepared because it can be quite surprising.  I honestly don't give it much thought until I see people looking.  We're just going to have to raise this cute girl to have courage and confidence.  We so appreciate all the love and kindness she has already received--it doesn't take long to focus on her cute smile and forget all about her limb difference.

We took Leah to her first check up today.  As expected she is tiny--only 16 lbs. 3 oz., but the good news is that her weight gain the last 6 months has been pretty normal.  The doctor thought she looked great and didn't seem concerned at all.  He thinks she will grow and develop like crazy now that she's home.  Everyone at the office thought she was so cute and couldn't get enough of her.  The doctor was even a bit skeptical if her age is correct based on her open fontanel and teething.  The only way that could be true is if her finding date was incorrect, but I guess we'll never know.  It doesn't really matter anyway. We will just treat her like the developmental age she is, and she is making tons of progress already.

A few funnies:
**Luke's surprise that Leah had a belly button.  He asked me with surprise if "even Chinese people have one?"  You can see we really educate our children about the birds and the bees around here.
**Seth's utter shock when seeing Leah without her diaper the first time.  He was seriously looking for the man parts and was floored but quickly recovered by stating that what he was seeing was her bum.  Again, we're really into education in this household.
**Ian stating multiple times today while patting Leah's head that he's going to "pet" his baby sister on the head.  I'm trying to emphasize that she's a person not a kitten.  She really has looked like a mauled baby kitten a few times this weekend when all of her brothers are within an inch of her face jockeying for her attention.  Sensory overload!

Overall though the adjustment is going great.  Leah is starting to get her nights and days straightened out again and hopefully we will too!  In my jet lagged fog I have neglected to take any cute pictures this weekend.  I made the boys pose with Leah right before bed tonight and the result wasn't great, but I'll post a few anyway.  I hope to update this blog with maybe one more wrap up post and then I'll just be back to the family blog because Leah's home now!  It is incredible to remember that just over a week ago this was a little girl without a home or a family, but we're here now and ready to make up for lost time.  She is so beautiful and sweet, and we couldn't love her more.  I also officially survived my first day as the solo mom (during the day) of four kids all within 6.5 years of age and now I'm tired.