Well, we have officially been home from China for just over 2 weeks. As I know everyone reading this is aware, it it amazing how much having a little one can absolutely change your life. It is like all of a sudden all of your priorities just fall into to place. The small incidental things that I use to worry about no longer seem to matter. The most important thing is meeting Kaylee's needs and making sure she knows how much she is loved and adored.
I must say it was difficult getting adjusted the first week home for Kaylee as well as us. I never put much weight into jet lag, but I guess it is a real thing. I felt like I was living in a fog unable to make even the simplest of decisions. Of course, being sleep deprived did not help the situation. However, I know as out of sorts as I felt-- it still did not touch the overwhelming feeling that Kaylee must have been experiencing. Every thing and everyone she had grown accustom to is now gone and everything and everyone she is now seeing looks so different to her. But, it amazes me how resilient children can be. If you think about it, it has not even been a month yet since Kaylee joined our family and already she has been able to adapt to a good sleep schedule, gotten use to American baby food, tolerates the car seat, is learning to like the feel of grass, loves bath time, becomes ecstatic during playtime with her daddy, and of course melts my heart every morning when she looks up at me and flashes the biggest smile you have ever seen.
All of that being said, I have always had the utmost respect for stay at home moms/ dads and single parents, but now that respect has been taken to a new level. Selling paint and working with contractors is a piece of cake compared to being at home all day with a little one. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to stay at home during this time and I am loving every minute I get to spend with Kaylee, but it has made me acutely aware of how difficult this role is. My mom stayed at home with me and I have many friends who stay at home with their children and I just want everyone to know how much I admire them for doing that. Being a stay at home mom / dad is truly the hardest job in the world.
Our next few weeks will be filled with getting all sorts of lab work done including the task of having blood drawn. Beyond that they will basically be analyzing everything that comes out of poor Kaylee's body and not only only do we have to provide one sample, but ultimately 4 samples of you know what. They will be doing so many tests on Kaylee's blood that they don't know if they can draw enough blood at one time meaning we may have to make multiple trips to have blood taken. And, if all that was not enough, she will start getting all of her immunization shots. I feel so terrible to make her go through all of this, but I know it has to be done. Please pray for little Kaylee. Also, pray for me and Kevin to be strong and not to cry more than the baby. Most importantly pray for good results from all of these tests.