We're Back to Something Like Normal...Almost

We've been back for a week now and finally getting back to "normal". Whew, it's been rough. We've all been sick which has involved a trip to the doctor and the ER.

Miyah wound up in the ER because she had a high fever and was screaming that her chest and stomach hurt at 5 AM. I'm not sure what the problem has been for the last month with her stomach, but it does seem milk may be a problem. That day she'd had a large cup of milk and an ice cream cone.

Anyway, after four hours in the ER, we found out she has Reactive Airway Disorder, which is something like asthma for little people. She was given breathing treatments and sent home with an inhaler and spacer. She'd been up for two nights coughing like crazy, as she does frequently, so this was a breakthrough. She was feeling much better after the albuterol and continues to feel better.

We took the girls to the doctor on Tuesday because Miyah had white spots on her sore throat and Mei Lin has had hives on her legs pretty much since we've had her. Miyah just has a virus, but we're not certain what's causing Mei Lin's hives. We'll just be giving her Benadryl until we can solve that mystery. They were weighed at the doctor and Miyah weighs 26 lbs at 3.5 and Mei Lin weighs 21 lbs at 15 months.

Mei Lin is doing wonderfully! She's slept through the night two nights in a row now. I think we have the sleeping thing down. This morning was the first morning Pat and I woke up in our own bed and there weren't any children in it!! A WHOLE night without being woken up! Priceless!

As we're learning more and more about Mei Lin, we're realizing that she and Miyah are polar opposites in many instances. I guess it would be nice to say that they compliment each other well. They're our little Yin and Yang.

Mei Lin is a "rough and tumble" kind of girl, undaunted by obstacles or pain. She falls down a hundred times a day, but rarely cries about it...she's just up and on her way again. She likes to splash all over the bathtub and doesn't mind water in her face. She doesn't, however, like the swing very much, but loves the slide. She's definitely not fragile or petite. She's a daddy's girl and loves to be tickled and scratched. These are just a few examples of how she's completely opposite of Miyah.

Even though she's a Daddy's Girl, she's done MUCH better with the other members of the family. She's content with me now and is so loving and happy. I know bonding and attachment is a long process, but we're well on our way. She does have some control issues with her bottle. A couple of nights she's refused to drink from her bottle if I held it. From everything we've learned about bonding and attachment, it's important that she learn to rely on us for her needs (like food), so we're to hold her bottle when we feed her. She did better tonight and let me hold it without protest. I'm sure she thought I'd give in and let her hold it.

She's walking ALL over the place now. She discovered the little "bike" and climbed on it and after a few seconds of figuring it out...took off without anyone showing her how it works. She's also climbing the stairs and everything else in sight. As I mentioned, she loves the little slide and has already learned how to climb up it. She takes her big, heavy toys (toys not meant to be moved) and pushes them all over. Today someone left the bathroom door open and she discovered the toilet and thought it'd be fun to throw her magnets in (see picture above). She's a handful! But she's so much fun!