Our last day in Russia consisted of traveling to the airport, waiting for our flight and then spending a long time in the air. We were on the plane from Moscow to Washington, DC for 12 hours and Andrew only slept for 2 1/2 hours! Overall he did really well though. There were moments of fussing and when it reached bed time (Russia time) he was clearly exhausted but there was too much going on for him to settle down and fall asleep. When we landed in DC, we had to go through immigrations and customs as well as security again. Our gate was on the other side of the airport and we only had 20 minutes until our next flight was taking off so we ran - only to find out that there a mechanical problem and the flight was delayed. We finally boarded (only 15 minutes late) and were on our way back to Pittsburgh. When we arrived in Pittsburgh airport and came down the escalators, we were greeted by about 27 of our family and friends. Since it was Laurie's brother Dave's birthday, he was given a birthday card with Baby O's name in it and the honor of announcing it to the crowd :) Andrew William's name in Russia was Andrey.Andrew fell asleep at the airport (in Grandma Morrow's arms) and slept the whole way home. He pretty much remained sleeping while we got him into his pajamas and into his very own bed for the first time. The next day was Mother's Day (which was a very special first Mother's Day for Laurie) so when Andrew awoke at 4:30am, Daddy got up with him and let mommy sleep a little longer. The day was spent getting unpacked, doing laundry and letting Andrew explore his home and play with his new toys - it was like Christmas morning all day :)
Monday began with another early wake up but this time it was a little later - 5:30am. We quickly learned that baby jet lag is rough, especially when mommy and daddy are getting used to the time difference as well after 27 days in Russia. Sleep has actually turned out to be one of our only challenges. John returned to work on this day. Laurie & Andrew spent this day and the following day at home just hanging out. We worked with Andrew on Tuesday a little bit with walking from one to the other without holding onto anything (he had always needed at least a finger to hold onto) - he did great and got so excited each time!
On Wednesday Laurie took Andrew on his first trip to Butler so that they could spend the day with her brother Dave. Andrew got to meet his Aunt Maggie (she couldn't make it to the airport) and their dog Harpua. He and Harpua bonded because Harpua has a red ball he loves to chase and Andrew loves to throw things - it was a match made in heaven :) Andrew had his first trip to the mall on this day - he actually did great in the stroller. He began walking more and more on his own this day also.Thursday was a long day because Andrew didn't sleep very well the night before and only took a 30 minute nap. Mommy was very happy for Daddy to get home from work so she could get out for a little bit (a trip to Target was needed anyways). This was the day he started drinking out of a sippy cup! Even though he won't hold it himself while drinking, it's much easier than what we were doing before. (oh, we found out that what he was drinking out of in the orphanage was a small tea cup!)
Friday we took Andrew to the pediatric ophthalmologist to get his eyes checked out. After a short exam where he had to follow things with his eyes and his pupils being dilated with drops (which he did NOT like and screamed the entire time the doctor tried to look in his eyes), it was determined that his left eye has weak muscles and tends to turn in. He is also slightly far sighted in that eye. So, we were given some patches to wear over his right eye for 2 hours a day and a prescription for glasses (to only wear at periodically at home to strengthen the left eye). The doctor told us to anticipate the patch wearing to not go well and to start out a couple of minutes a day building up to the 2 hours a day. Well, the second day he wore it for over an hour and is now up to 2 hours a day and it's only been a week and 1/2! We have noticed a difference already.Saturday we were visited by Grandma and Grandpa Morrow for a couple of hours. They loved playing with their first grandchild and he loved playing with them. Sunday was a day of relaxing at home and we were visited by Laurie's Aunt Deb, Uncle Tom and cousin Tommy. Uncle Tom and Tommy were at the Penguin game when we arrived back in Pittsburgh so this was their first time meeting Andrew - Uncle Tom enjoyed playing Tonka trucks again after so many years :) Sunday night we had dinner with the neighbors and Andrew got to play with his new friends.
Laurie took Andrew to do some grocery shopping on Monday. Our family and friends were so wonderful with supplying us with groceries and prepared foods that we made it a week without having to do any food shopping! He did really well but since it was lunch time he kept grabbing whatever he could reach from the back of the cart and pulling it forward.
Tuesday was a bit of a traumatic day. We took Andrew for a medical exam with the physician we consulted during the adoption process (she was recommended by the adoption agency to review the video we received and we have been in touch with her several times since then). Dr. Springer has experience with adopted children and knows what special things to look for. Andrew was also evaluated by a developmental specialist who said he looks great. She told us the opposite of what the Moscow doctor told us - we need to feed him until he explodes. She said Andrew needs to learn how to tell us he's full and has had enough food. At this visit he was 20lbs 11oz and 31 1/4 inches long. He is in the 25th percentile for his height and the less than 3rd percentile for his weight - we need to encourage the eating even more apparently :) Dr. Springer said that according to the orphanage's records, he has gotten more vaccines than any other adopted child she has seen. He did have to get 3 shots and a TB test during this visit though and we got a script for blood work to be taken so that it could be verified that all of the vaccines were actually received (stool sample vials were also given to collect over 3 different days). After the doctor visit, we stopped by the adoption agency. We had to drop off some paperwork and they had called Laurie twice the week before asking if we could stop by so they could meet Andrew. Everyone was there (except the director) and they really enjoyed meeting him. He played with some toys, walked around and let them each hold him.
Wednesday was a day spent hanging out at home and trying to work on a schedule. Andrew is not a good napper so that is something that Laurie is trying to work on. While the car acts as a sedative and he almost always falls asleep at some point in his seat, it's not always the case with his crib. He is doing better at taking naps at the same time, but the length varies from 25 minutes to a little over an hour. He has been sleeping most nights for about 10 hours. There have been several nights where he has woken up in the middle of the night but falls right back to sleep - except for this night. He went to bed at 8:30pm and was up from 11:15pm to 3:00am and then woke up for the day at 7:00am!
Thursday was a long day for everyone due to Andrew's sleep pattern the night before. Laurie's grandmother "Nini" came over for an hour to spend some time with Andrew. He had just woken up from his short nap and was a bit crabby during most of her visit. Laurie gave him some cheerios and that seemed to make him a little happier and he played with Nini .Friday started out with Laurie taking Andrew back to Dr. Springer's office (which is in Squirrel Hill) to have his TB test checked. After a 2 minute visit, everything checked out fine and they were on their way back to Walmart to pick up a few things. They walked down to the neighbor's pool after nap time and he put his feet in. Hopefully he will enjoy the pool since (after coming home) he seems to love bath time! He gets in the water and loves splashing around and playing now - he especially LOVES getting his hair washed which was his most hated part in Russia.
Saturday we went to Laurie's parent's house for a picnic. It was Andrew's first trip to Grandma and Grandpa's and his first picnic. Everyone seemed to have a blast playing with him. He was in a great mood and was definitely the entertainment for the day. On Sunday Andrew spent some quality time with Daddy while Mommy went to the neighbor's house for a jewelry party. Laurie's cousin, Erin, then came over (with her mom Kim) to give Andrew his first haircut. We put him in the highchair out on the deck and he cried/screamed the entire time. The haircut was definitely needed and she did a great job! He is an even more handsome little boy (if that's possible)! |  |
Monday was a traumatic day for both Andrew and Mommy. They went to the lab for some bloodwork. It ended up that he had 7 tubes of blood taken! Laurie had to hold him in a bear hug and one phlebotomist held his arm while another one took the blood. She got him on the first try and he did really well but screamed and cried the whole time. Laurie took him home after and gave him some brownies - his favorite dessert :) He recovered very quickly and didn't seem bothered by it the rest of the day.
Today Laurie took Andrew into work to meet her friends and co-workers. He had a fun time and it seemed like they enjoyed meeting him. For Laurie it was really nice to see everybody after over 6 weeks off :) Tonight after dinner, mommy and daddy took Andrew swimming for the first time in the neighbor's pool. He did really well and there weren't any tears!
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