Tuesday, May 22, 2012

UW Medical Clinic

We had a much better night (or shall I say "morning") of sleep last night.  After getting TongJie to sleep around 2:00 am and ourselves to sleep shortly after that, we all slept soundly until after 10:30 this morning and that was very nice!  We checked out of our hotel, drove to the UW Medical Clinic and got checked in, and then walked around on some of the nearby streets since we had some time to kill.  We found a fun donut shop and had a donut and some coffee and tea and TongJie had some of his baby mum-mums.  Jeff said that the maple bar was better than the ones at church, no offense to the breakfast people at church, ha ha! 

Our appointment was at 1:30 with Dr. Davies, and we really like him!  He was so easygoing but also very knowledgeable.  He had a lot of good recommendations for us, but also a lot of encouragement that everything is on the right track and going just the way it should for life with a newly adopted toddler.  There's some concern about TongJie's low weight and small stature so Dr. Davies (as well as Children's Hospital) wants to keep a close eye on his growth, but he seems pretty optimistic that with proper nutrition he'll keep growing proportionately like he should.  The hardest part was that at the end of the appointment, TongJie had to get a TB test (the one that he didn't have to get in China), four other shots in his legs, and a lot of blood drawn.  Jeff and I were mostly nervous about the blood drawing because we were worried they wouldn't be able to get it on the first or second try and that would be pretty traumatic, but they got the blood they needed on the first try.  They had to put it in like 8 or 9 different vials, but the nurse was quick to point out that there really wasn't a lot of blood in each vial.  It still looked like a lot to me.  TongJie was pretty upset, but he recovered quickly and actually did better in the car seat on the way home than he did yesterday.  He slept for about an hour, then woke up right before Snoqualmie pass and cried intermittently the rest of the way home, but his crying was not as loud or as constant as it had been yesterday.

We went for a little walk this evening and then ate a late dinner and started the bedtime routine, which consists of putting on jammies, having a bottle of formula, brushing teeth, and then winding down and getting in the crib with me and Jeff saying poems and singing songs.  We're sleeping in TongJie's room on the floor and that seems to help him be okay with falling asleep in his crib.  That's another big improvement since even a few days ago, because it didn't used to matter to him if we were there or not and now it's seeming to help to have us there, so we're encouraged that it's another little sign of attachment we're seeing.  He fell asleep around 10:30, so we're wondering if he'll stay asleep for the whole night, or if his body still thinks this is an afternoon nap and he'll be up at midnight again.  We'll find out soon enough I guess.

I was going to post a couple of photos but I can't get them to upload to Blogger tonight for some reason, so I'll have to do it tomorrow or some other time.

2 comments:

  1. Been thinking about you guys a lot today, and I'm so glad that today was a bit better than yesterday. :) It is SO sad to have to have your baby's blood drawn or hold them down for shots... :( I had a terrible experience with a blood draw when Drake was about 12 months where I ended up having to bring him back a different day - VERY stressful and sad. So I'm really sorry you guys had to go through that today. But I'm glad they got the blood on the first try.

    You probably know this already, but sometimes babies are extra tired after shots (and that could be a good thing for you guys tonight!) and sometimes they're cranky and sore for even a few days. Levi got a bad rash one time from an MMR shot that lasted awhile. So don't be surprised if TongJie seems extra cranky and clingy, even tomorrow. I think shots are really hard on their little bodies. (I'm sure they told you what to expect after the shots and all that, so you don't probably need my commentary!)

    I'm praying that TongJie will sleep well and that you guys will get some really good sleep too. Miss you!

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  2. I will try to remember to grab a couple of maple bars for you guys from the Blue Rooster Bakery in Waterville. I always hated maple bars until I had one there. AMAZING! They use real maple. Totally different. I'm so glad you got some sleep!

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