Adventures in Hair-land

It's obvious by the photos here that Isa B isn't lacking in hair. She has TONS. The longest pieces are probably 4-5 inches when stretched out. The front is fairly soft, fat curls. The back is frizzier because she rubs her head around when she sleeps or during all her crazy rolling. It's drier than my hair but not as dry as some African hair. She definitely needs product of some sort everyday or it looks unkempt. Here is our (current) routine:

I only shampoo it maybe once a week or once every two weeks. On bath days (about every other day), I wet her hair and slather on a good conditioner. Right now I'm using a Dove conditioner for dry hair but when that runs out I think I'm going to look for something more specific to African hair. I comb through her hair with the conditioner in and leave it like that while she plays. Near the end of the bath, I rinse out the conditioner and put in a leave-in conditioner like Infusium.

On non-bath days I still wet her hair down a little to reset the curls and make it easier to comb through. I then add Carol's Daughter Hair Milk, focusing mainly on the back portion. I went to Sephora to check out the Carol's Daughter products since I'd heard rave reviews but also lots of mention of the scents of various products. It's true- the products are all heavily scented and oddly, the scents aren't unified. I highly recommend you go test them out before buying. The Hair Butter was WAY too intense for me (and I really don't have a sensitive nose). Another product smelled okay but was much greasier than Isa needs. The Hair Milk does a great job of defining the curls, even in the back, and making her whole head look nice and glossy.

Her usual style is simply two barrettes in the front. As a straight-haired Mama, I LOVE her curls so I like her to be fairly natural. But, her hair is getting super long now and I guess I need to start experimenting with other styles. It will go up into to little poofs now without any trouble (see below). I know she won't sit still long enough for braids. Plus, I'm much too inept with hair to make that work. I think I need to buy a few headbands and see if she'll leave those in. Any other style suggestions????

Fav Foto Friday

How come it's so cute on her and so not cute on me????

Oh what a beautiful morning!

Glorious, glorious, glorious happenings in Casa B.

Last night Isa refused to fall asleep as I was bouncing/rocking her post-bottle. She wasn't fussy at all, just laid in my arms looking at me sweetly. So, I put her in the crib to chill. Usually she'll play for about 10 minutes then yell for me to come try the bouncing/rocking again. After a round or maybe two of this, she'll usually fall asleep for good. Well, last night she played for about 1/2 an hour. And then it got very quiet.... I looked in and she'd played herself to sleep! She was completely perpendicular with blankets strewn over her in odd ways, but she was asleep. Without my help.

And it just gets better. Last night was also the first time that she slept through the night!!!!!!! For the last couple weeks she has switched to only one bottle during night, which I thought was fabulous enough. Well, let me tell you that getting a full 7 hours of sleep is just brilliant. I'm practically giddy. I realize that this was probably a fluke, but it proves to me that she CAN go that long without eating and gives me the hope that it won't be too much longer before it's the norm.

Isa also had a very, very full diaper this morning after several days without any action. Which means that I don't have to go the route of a glycerin suppository (which I think would be traumatizing for everyone) and she was much happier as well.

Fabulous all around. Fingers crossed for tonight.

Strange tales from the dinner table

Unlike other folks whose Ethiopian darlings take in football-player size portions, Isa B is a fairly dainty eater. (Not really evident in the size of her thighs, though!) Now with the difficulty in getting out the poo, I think she's starting to translate eating into pain. So, she's is in a bit of a "no solids" phase. Last night for dinner she'd swallow maybe two bites and start wailing. Thus, we just skipped dinner.

Breakfast is typically a dozen Cheerios, 1/3 a container fruit and maybe 1/3 a container baby yogurt. Solids for lunch isn't consistently happening but when it does is quantities around the same size as breakfast. If I can get her to eat a full 3.5oz container of veggies for dinner, it is a triumph. Along with a few Cheerios (good distraction technique for when I'm heating the food) and maybe a little bit more fruit for "dessert"... that's it. And now that she's on solids, she's gone from a 6oz bottle to 4oz.

It took her quite a while to decide that she liked bananas, an instant favorite for many children. She barely touches applesauce. Won't go near oatmeal. However, she loves both peas and prunes (not together, of course). She doesn't follow the typical eating likes/dislikes of most little ones.

And tonight, it was even odder. We went out to a great little pizza place with a friend who's visiting. Like most little ones, she's definitely a social eater and actually eats best at restaurants. I brought a container of apples & prunes, but for variety I thought I'd let her try something from my plate. The only acceptable thing on the pizza was eggplant. Isa B LOVED it! Snarfed it up. It seems my girl has a strange palate......

Fav Foto Friday

(A brilliant idea stolen from other blogs that I read.....)

Looking coy :)

It takes a village... or at least a Grandma

I knew that our luck would run out eventually. Isa B was lucky to come home without any health issues whatsoever. She didn't have the upper respiratory infection that most of the Toukoul babies were coming home with, no abnormalities on her blood work, not even any trouble with jet lag! We've had some trouble with her bowels now that she's on solid food but that's been fixable with diet changes. (FYI- yogurt is constipating.. who knew??) I also came home from Ethiopia without a single bug.

Well, Friday afternoon I started to feel a bit sniffly. By that night it was definitely worse. Saturday I just got worse. Bad enough for Nyquil before bedtime. My mom had been planning to come up on Monday to help with some outdoor chores but when I spoke with her Sunday morning, she just dropped everything and came up a day early.

I was functional most of the weekend- mowed the lawn, helped with weeding and laundry, etc. But, gosh was it nice to have the extra set of hands around to help with Isa B!! It meant that when I felt really crummy this afternoon, I could take a nap during Isa's nap rather than do dishes (or the million other little tasks that always keep me awake). I needed to go to the one contract job that requires me to go into the office, so I left Isa B with Mom for those few hours- the first time I've left her during daylight hours. I felt so gicky that I knew I couldn't have juggled work, Isa B and my sinuses all at once. It was such a blessing to have Mom around. Admittedly, part of it was also that I LET her help out with things I hadn't before. She's always been willing to help out but I was doing the single gal independent thing. I think I'm finally starting to relax a little into this crazy mommy-hood role. :)

Another thing Grandma will help with is teaching Isa to play the piano. Or, rather, channelling her incredible natural abilities. It's true, Isa B is a virtuosa. She favors Phillip Glass style renditions of classic children's songs. Here is a sample of her work... Carnegie Hall here we come!
(sorry that it's sideways... can't figure out how to rotate it....)

Happy Mother's Day

I found this poem when I was beginning the adoption process and it is particularly poignant to me today:

Legacy of an Adopted Child...

Once there were two women who never knew each other.
One you do not remember, the other you call Mother.

Two different lives shaped to make you one.
One became your guiding star, the other became your sun.

The first one gave you life, and the second taught you to live it.
The first gave you a need for love, the second was there to give it.

One gave you a nationality, the other gave you a name.
One gave you a talent, the other gave you aim.

One gave you emotions, the other calmed your fears.
One saw your first sweet smile, the other dried your tears.

One sought for you a home that she could not provide,
the other prayed for a child and her hope was not denied.

And now you ask me, through your tears,
the age-old question unanswered through the years.

Heredity or environment, which are you a product of?
Neither, my darling. Neither.
Just two different kinds of love.


Happy Mother's Day to Isa's first mother. I hope that somehow, in her heart, she knows that our baby girl is healthy, happy, and surrounded by love.