A Better Day

Today went alot better than yesterday and ended in a giggling fit with the 3 kids. And we even spent 2 hours at the pediatrician today. Nicholas and I waited for an hour for his appointment, it was just a bad time for an appointment right before their lunch. It took a while for our pediatrician to decide what kind of tests to order as Nicholas' vaccinations are incomplete. He also ordered an ultrasound for his kidneys as there was an indication he had a problem last year. In a week and a half we will be visiting an international adoption specialist down south where he will get a more comprehensive exam.

I do have to say that Nicholas behaved so well at the doctor's office considering how long we had to wait, even the doctor commented about how compliant he was during the exam. We made it home late for lunch but fortunately I brought a snack for the doctor visit. I've been feeding Nicholas alot, at least 5 times a day. It was recommended food be offered about every 2 hours in one of the books I read and it seems to work pretty well for us. We have a big breakfast, 2 snacks, hot lunch, 2 snacks, big dinner. So far, we have not had any issues with hoarding.

I finally discovered that he will actually sit and watch some of the Baby Einsten dvds, usually the ones with animals. We've tried Thomas the Train, Bob the Builder and some others but I think since he doesn't understand the English, he is just not interested. The nice thing about Baby Einstein is there isn't much talking, but just enough so he will start to learn English. We also watched Leap Frog Let's Go to School and he actually sat and watched the whole dvd! I was so surprised. We have some other Leap Frog dvds we will get around to watching, too.

This evening after dinner, Claire and Nicholas had a tiff over some books but we worked it out and it was a learning experience for both of them. Claire was in a bad mood today, I think she had a bad day at school...maybe it started with the bad dream she had last night. I was able to get her laugh when I started tickling her, then Nicholas got jealous, so I started tickling him, then I included Olivia. It was such a joy to have all the kids laughing together and having such fun together. Olivia even said it was a nice family moment. Bedtime was tough trying to meet all the kids needs as Claire wanted a book read to her, Nicholas wanted to show me books and Olivia wanted me to read to her, too. Nicholas wanted to sleep in Olivia's bed, I think he is just so used to sleeping in another room with other kids. Anyway, I sang to Nicholas and rocked him and it was the sweetest thing to have him fall asleep in my arms and he looks so sweet when he is asleep. I can really see a change in his face, he seems more rested and even the rash he had around his face from putting his fingers/hands in his mouth went away. I think he was nervous when we first got him and he really hasn't been putting his fingers in his mouth as much. His face seems to have more color, too.

Hoping for another good day tomorrow!