Paradigm Shift!

Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take,

But by the moments that take your breath away.



... there have been many such moments in the past 24 hours for us! Perhaps 86,400 of them?
It is amazing how much things can change in such a short period of time!! The universe seems to have shifted a bit, and we have become slaves to a 14-lb Princess. She can't even snap her fingers yet, but she somehow has found a way to command our performance!

We are, thru occasional trial & error, figuring out how to be parents. We have bonded a bit in this past 24 hours, and we are all getting along quite well. I hope that I am not jinxing myself by writing this!

After Maya arrived, she slept for a long period of time. She napped for a couple hours almost immediately.. then woke and ate {pretty well, which was great}.. was traumatized by a diaper change.. and then passed out again for the next 11 hours! During her short time awake with us last night, and then this morning - she was very limp/lethargic and not very smiley. Of course I don't blame her for that at all, it was completely expected. Her Ayah's were SO obviously attached and in love with her, and she with them, that I am amazed she was doing as well as she was. I'm sure she was very traumatized by leaving her home.

This morning we gave her a sponge-bath. She loved it until she began to get a little chilly. And I think her tummy was starting to hurt. She had a tummy ache soon after, which corrected itself rather quickly {and somewhat traumatized Aj...heehee}. After that episode, she started to feel better and everything about her has improved. She ate very well - formula and almost an entire bowl of cereal w/banana.
She took a walk in the Baby Bjorn - and charmed everyone she saw at the hotel!
She LOVED the Bjorn! She laughed and laughed at everyone and everything she saw! She also began moving her legs {which she had not done until then} and kicking her feet out.
When she returned to the hotel room, she was almost crawling! She can move backwards, but hasn't yet mastered frontwards. Yipes!! She is almost mobile!
She has also begun babbling and dancing!
It is just amazing to watch the transformation. I cannot even imagine how she will be a month from now! Btw, she has a tooth! Aj thought she had 2, but looks to be just one on the bottom. I am pretty confident of this, as she bit my arm earlier today and I only had one tooth-mark. :)

A Day of Learnings:
{mainly for those of you who will be picking up your babies soon!}
* Do NOT use chilly wipes on a baby who has probably never felt the sensation of 'cold' on her skin (oops! Hand-warming didn't work well). We do now know that her lungs are functioning properly!!
* Do not pay any attention to the feeding schedule from the orphanage. Or at least, take it as a 'suggestion' and be prepared to toss it aside and just feed your baby what makes her happy when she asks for it.
* DO have a supply of those 'biscuits' we all heard about for months before picking up our babies! They LOVE them!
* Do not expect to run the AC at anything higher than 'barely tolerable heat'. I did not have too much of a prob with this, but Aj can't take heat and it has been very, very difficult for him to function. I'm sure that any of you who know him well will understand! .. of course, maybe you won't be here in June. ugh!
Any time we make it any cooler, Maya gets stuffed-up. We don't need a sick baby!!
* Babies are very durable. Don't be scared. :)
* Something tiny can stink up an entire hotel room quickly.
* It takes more than one bath to wash that smell out of baby hair.
* Your hotel butler service will bring you a never-ending supply of bottled water - go crazy.
* And most important: No matter what - your baby is the most amazing creation that you have ever encountered!!!