We are learning some fun and peculiar things about Ethiopians.
We have a family tradition of crowding onto the couch and watching America's Funniest Home Videos. We love it and typically Motte and I are laughing in tears over grandma on a pogo stick or something of that nature. However, we sat down with Tigist and Mebratu last night to introduce them to the show and it was interesting that they did not laugh much. In fact, when they did laugh I got the feeling it was only to join in with us. We had thought that humor might be universal (since our language barrier keeps us from watching anything else as a family) but it seems that in their culture, it just isn't funny to see various people 'eat it'.
In other news, the twins continue to drain the life out of us. Wow, I am really old I guess because I thought I could handle the exhaustion and raw physical work of taking care of twins better than this. Motte won't say it but I just know he is counting the days until he gets to return to his job (or 'day spa' as I like to call it). It has a lot to do with not having a schedule or really any inkling of an idea of what to do with them at any given moment. At 3:00 this afternoon, they were both crying, I couldn't remember when either of them had had a bottle or been changed and we both just said, 'now what?'. Good times. I know in my gut, though, that babies always do eventually get easier. This stage for us is really like having a newborn. You're just clueless and the cluelessness is the main cause for anxiety. Once we figure them out (it's just a double mystery at the moment), I think we will relax a little bit.
Anyway, please do pray for sleep for us and for wisdom. I apologize for the boring content here but this is the state of affairs at the moment. I'll try to report more interesting thoughts as they come up : )
11 comments:
Wow Beth! I am so glad you made it there and back safely :) I will be praying that you make all the needed adjustments to a new family of 8.
Please e-mail if you need anything. We are still surviving triplets but I can at least be somewhat of a multiples mom encouragement :)
Praying for your family during this time of transition! I'm hoping that your church and/or friends are providing some kind of support for all of you??? Meals? Sending you blessings & prayers from Oregon. :-)
I think Amy Jo's suggestion is brilliant and all those church friends who are praying for you should step up to the plate and start helping you out a bit. ESPECIALLy when your hubby goes back to work... You are going to need some adult help in the house. This is similar to when a mother has quadruplets, and the TV shows come in and organizations throw money and diapers at them ,etc... except it's having 4 new kids without all the help and hoopla. I hope your church gets behind you with some SCHEDULED, CONSISTENT help!
How is the little girl, is she feeling beter yet?
Is she able to hold her head up by herself more if she's feeling better?
This isn't boring at all. I love to hear updates on how you guys are doing. Thanks for your honesty. We are praying for you and thinking of you often! Love you!
Our sons didn't think AFV was funny at first -- they were too worried about all the people getting hurt. Now, at 6 and 8, they think it's hilarious. :o)
You sound like you're doing wonderfully -- not trying to exert too much schedule control -- while you get to know the twins. Maybe jotting down feeding times each day would help? (In your abundant spare time!) Just a thought from another (formerly sleep-deprived) adoptive mama.
-- Nancy
I know it must so tiring and hard right now. Like you have time to do this, but Twinstuff website helped me so much when I first was trying to set up schedule for my little ones. You can ask a question and the people there will answer you, so you don't have to read through the whole website. Anyway. Praying for you guys. Hang in there!! It does get better.
I am new to your site, but totally know the sleep deprevity that occurs. I, in fact got POD (post adoption depression) because I was just so overwhelmed with adjusting to a new baby (1 year) after raising boys to the ages of 14 and 11. Life had gotten quite easy for us with older boys and then we were thrown back into bottles, diapers, etc... My love for her was overwhelming and I just couldn't get past the anxiety of trying to get all of the household things accomplished and cater to her too. I was able to immediately get on some medication for a very short period of time and it definately took the edge off and settled me down. 2 weeks of that and we were then fine! She is the light of our life and we are so blessed. I really feel routines are important, and the sooner you can establish some semblance of a routine, things will be easier. Nap tme especially. One thing that I DO know is that you HAVE to get sleep. That is the most important thing. It has to be uninterrupted sleep for up to 6-8 hours. If that takes sleeping on another floor of the house and having someone else in charge (even though you feel you NEED to be with them 24/7 at this time in your life)you NEED to do this. I was only getting 1 hour of sleep at a time throughout the night and was not rested with the constant awakenings. Try it....you will feel refreshed and in a much better place when dealing with new personalities and situations that arise. Hope this is helpful!
Beth,
We stopped by your garage sale last fall~I believe it was~ and our children picked out four stuffed animals and named them the name of your children so that they could remember to pray for them, and for the journey of your family. It is wonderful to see that you are together, though I realize that the adjustment can be exhausting. [Two of ours are also adopted internationally] Take courage that you are doing a great job,that this time of adjustment does get better and that God will give you the strength that you need. Prayers for peace and sleep (!) and wisdom coming your way. Our kids will be delighted to see the pictures!
With love and thanksgiving,
Tami, Matt, Talia, Silas, Eden and Téo
Your kids are so cute! I am praying that they get on a schedule soon and that everything gradually get's easier and easier. I am impressed you did update so soon. Most people slack after returning and you adopted 4, so very impresive! :)
After finding your story on another blog, I was so happy to hear that you had all made it back home safely! A quick suggestion I've found since my little one was born- the itzbeen baby timer. We've given it to a couple of new parents and heard it's made keeping up with everything much easier. Itzbeen has their own website, but you can also find it on Target's site or Amazon. Hope it helps if you try it!
Hello! I rcvd your blog from someone on the Ethiopia yahoo group. We are adopting 4 as well and would love to chat with you via email / phone -- whatever. We need your experience on the do's and don'ts. Would you mind sharing with us? The plane ride home scared us a bit. Praise the Lord he got you thru.
Post a Comment