Grace loves the pool! We have finally figured out the floatation system. She wears a lifejacket and water wings. As you can see, she just floats around on her belly with her feet up in the air. When we say to "swim", she kicks her legs and moves her arms around. She doesn't go anywhere, but it is adorable :)
We could use a little advice. It seems that Grace is taking 2 steps backwards with feeling secure. She is glued to me more than ever and spends a large part of her day sitting on my lap just sucking her thumb. She was more active when we first got her home. I did leave her for about 50 minutes one day last week to go see Aidan's play. There was no way I could miss it since he has been feeling a little neglected lately. I left Grace with a good neighbor who she sees and interacts with everyday. She especially loves her daughter and 2 pugs :) She had already been very clingy before I left her, but it has been ongoing for about 6 days now. When she wants to play with a toy, she will carry it to me (I constantly sit on the floor to be near her) and sit on my lap to play with it. She also brings books over CONSTANTLY. The teacher in me loves that part and I love to reading to her, but she also needs to play. The weird part is when we are outside she could care less where I am. She walks all around visiting the pugs, yelling at the kids, etc. We walk in the house and she won't let me put her down or leave her side. I can't even reach for a tissue 2 feet away without her panicking. We were making such progress a couple weeks ago then she got sick. Then this started. Before she was clingy and wanted me near, but she would play on the floor near me or even leave the room. (She is allowed to leave the room, but not me :) Now she seems to play less and suck her thumb so much more. When the rest of the family is around, it is less severe. The mornings are easy now. She plays with the boys and wanders all around. But as soon as the bus leaves and we walk back inside, it all starts up again. I'm hoping with the boys finishing up school on tuesday that maybe things will ease a bit. Does any of this sound familiar to anyone???? Is regression common??? I hate the idea of Grace being scared and insecure. I know I've rambled, but hopefully you get the idea.
My three little darlings!
6 comments:
Grace gets cuter with every photo you post! I especially like the last of of all 3 kids. You are getting pretty good with your camera! I don't know what to say about the attachment issue. Don't kick yourself about going to Aidan's show - it sounds like it might be more from Grace being sick. Hang in there!
i wonder if it has something to do w/ everyone leaving each day to go to work/school and she doesn't want you to leave, too. hopefully with the boys home things will get better.
at least she likes you! :-)
I would give anything for Marina to listen to one reading of any book!! Hang in there, she's just going through a phase. But I can totally relate. The days when Marina decides to be my shadow are exhausting. But then I think back to the uncertainty and false alarms about adoptions being halted and realize that I'll take that exhaustion any day since my baby girl is in my arms.
Well it probably is the fact that she is soooo used to the commotion of the orphanage, and then with the 2 boys there is commotion, so when she is "alone" she probably dosen't know what to do, or how to handle it. I would just keep reassuring her that you are here and that you love her and just keep encouraging her to "get that toy" or "or get a book", and be happy to have her come back with it to you. It could also just be a phase where she feels totally secure with you and you are her protector and that is a GREAT thing for her to feel! Good luck, I know it can get tiring tho. Sally
ya this sounds familiar. Hope is very clingy some days more than others...I am her security blanket, esepcially, when she is not well (cutting teeth etc.) Its just time...when she realizes that when you leave the house, its not forever, its just a lil while and you will return...she needs to mature and adjust..everytime I tell Hope I love her, she kisses me and hugs me tight..;( Our lil girls have been through a lot.
Well, for me it's been this way pretty much since we picked our son up 9 months ago. It has gotten a little better. He's now into Barney videos, so he might sit and watch a little by himself with me in the same room or the room adjacent to the TV, but after about 10 minutes, he comes looking for me and wants me to sit and watch with him. He rarely plays by himself. When we have family over, even if his cousins are around (they're about his age), he won't play with them for more than 5 minutes unless I'm in the room. It is exhausting, but it's actually better than it was (I too couldn’t' even get up to get a tissue without him crying and following me). I think that they've always had someone in the room with them all their life. They have a hard time being alone.
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