Night and Day

When we first got home we all (except the boys) had our days and nights mixed up. Our first real night home was really mixed up because we all fell asleep at 3:00 am. Then Joye slept HARD during the day and then was up at night. To be expected. So the first thing I tried to regulate was her eating schedule. Man, is this girl an eater. She can flat put down the food. She really loves her bottle too, and so I was giving it to her more than what FM was giving her in Korea.

After about two nights of being up, I tried not to let her sleep through the day. That way she was good and tired for bed that night. Sunday we kept her up all day. The night before, she was up quite a bit with what I thought was hard grieving. Turns out she had tummy troubles. Her BM's are hard and they were giving her trouble. So she was SUPER sleepy all day long. She was basically half-asleep when I gave her a bath that night. I got her jammies on and got her bottle with her blankie and she was O.U.T. I put her down at 8:30 and she slept until about 4:00 and stirred. I gave her another bottle (because that's what FM did in Korea) and then she slept hard until 8:30 a.m. She sleeps with Chad and I. I do put her in her crib for naps. AFTER she falls asleep on our bed, of course. FM didn't give her naps, which is amazing to me. Last night we did the same thing, except on our way to Kaleb's baseball practice, she fell asleep in the car. I couldn't wake her up for anything, either. She was out! Then about 45 min. later she woke. Then dinner and bath, bottle, blankie at about 8:30. She stirred and I gave her a bottle again and she slept until 6:30 this morning.

I put her down at 12:15 and we will see how long she sleeps for. :)

That night that she slept 12 hours was great! Like night and day - she was a HAPPY GIRL the next morning. She's usually always happy, but she was excessively so that morning and really all day. She is SUCH a joy to be around and I can't imagine my life without her. She is so happy and her little personality is infectious. She loves the boys and Chad, but really prefers me. (Can I get a silent 'wooohooo?!') She won't go to Chad for great lengths, but is content for a little while with him.

She gets really jealous when anyone hugs me or loves on me. She will squeal and put on this fake cry. It's hilarious! FM warned me about that. I just keep lovin' on everyone to get her used to it. We all think it's funny and there are no hurt feelings. :)

I just can't believe how amazing this whole experience has been. I literally praise God for the wonderful things HE has done. I am amazed how it all played out and how my heart's desire was fulfilled. My heart breaks for FM and for her birthmother. She is such an angel from heaven and I can't imagine how painful it must have been to let her go. I couldn't do it, and I have only been with her for a week! I have such admiration for FM and what she does. She gave Joye such an awesome foundation. Indescribable.

As for the hard BM's, we are working on those. She puts her head on the ground and then straightens her legs to get them out. Kind of like she's trying to do a somersault. She looks like a tripod. I know elevation has ALOT to do with it. She's drinking tons of water. She loves Soy Milk and FM gave her 2 bottles a day, so we'll try that. And some prune/apple juice. It's definitely getting better.

Otherwise, we're just settling in nicely. Keeping our outings down to just a little at a time.

I just want to say thank you again to all of you who prayed. It worked wonders! I really give the glory to whom it's due. HE did it. But prayers helped more than you'll ever know. THANK YOU.