I cannot wait to get home! I thought I would enjoy being in China more but honestly have wanted to come home since the first day here. I think it's just all overwhelming for me. David is really really ready to come home as well. Can't wait to be home with the cat and of course our family. My parents will be visiting for Thanksgiving so we'll get to see them soon too.
Parenting a toddler is not for the faint of heart I am finding out. Phew! It's a ton of work and certainly not a breeze. If you're having a breeze raising your toddler than you must have a really easy child! Can someone tell me when this gets fun?
Today Jamie signed more a couple of times so we're trying really hard to work in the more sign for him so he will hopefully learn that he can have more without having to start squealing and crying and kicking his legs. I noticed that he seems slightly better today with feeding than he was yesterday and previous days so I'm hopeful things will get easier/more normal as we go forward. I dread the time change for poor Jamie. I think he is coming down with another cold (probably the one I'm finally getting over) and I feel so badly for him. Unfortunately China Southern airlines, the one we take from Guangzhou to Tokyo on Saturday morning doesn't allow liquids like you can do on most airlines (no 3 oz and under rule) so I don't think I'll have any baby medicine like tylenol with me to be able to give him for the flight home should he need it. I really wanted to give him some for ear pain w/ the pressure changes since we won't have anything for him to drink during take off. Also, I won't be able to bring my saline solution w/ me so I have no idea how I'm going to handle that on the trip home. I'm hoping maybe someone speaks English in the Tokyo airport that can show me where to buy some approved sized saline there. Pray for us for the flight home. We're both dreading it b/c Jamie hates to be confined on a lap. He prefers dada to carry him standing. We are so thankful that the flight from Tokyo to Chicago is overnight. But we really need some empty seats to be able to lay Jamie down on. He is solid and we don't look forward to having him on our legs for hours on end.
Tonight we got to do a neat thing: a river boat cruise w/ the other 3 families from our group on the Pearl river around Guangzhou. The buildings are brillianly lit up w/ tons of neon and colors. Jamie enjoyed being outside on the deck on dada in the ergo carrier. Poor dada's back was tired so we went to sit. Jamie let me hold him for 5 minutes but wanted dada again. That poor boy is going to miss dad something fierce when it's time for him to return to the office! He strongly prefers David.
Jamie said bye bye several times again today. He closed the door to the bathroom once he stepped inside there with me in the hall and said bye bye. He says bye bye to the room whenever we leave it. Every time he is excited about something like an animal he sees he makes a funny growling sound. Today it was the koi and goldfish in a small pond in the park. He has great fine motor coordination and enjoyed tearing leafs and throwing them into the water. He also enjoyed trying to write on paper with a pen. He often picks it up and holds it like an adult. Funny! Then of course he mouths it and holds it typical baby style. He is really into trying to see how things get put together or taken apart. He enjoys trying to fit things together and does a pretty good job of it.
Jacqueline - Your Jamie sounds like such a joy. It will be fun soon. How old is he? The toddler age is my favorite so far, I'm so sad that my youngest will soon be outgrowing this adorable age. They can be difficult to control, but they have such wonderful spirits and curiosity. They say such adorable things. You have adopted a precious age. I hope you can fully enjoy it soon! ~Raina
ReplyDeleteJacqueline and Dave, we have had immense fun following your blog and praying for you three. Thank you for all your posts! I'm sure once you get Jamie on a routine at home he'll be fine. Toddlers Are a lot of work, but he is especially adorable! For the flight home can you dose him up before the flight? He might even be able to chew chewable tylenol, and from our experience, flight attendents are often helpful with earpain issues . . . even if you give hime something to chew on on the way up and down that might help.
ReplyDeleteDavid and Jacqueline - LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the pictures! LOVE his adorable smile and grins - I can hear him laughing. Oh how I remember the screaming days! They were long and difficult! Reading your post just took me back there and I remembered how stressed I was. It was hard because you wanted to do whatever you could to make the screaming stop - but I did find that if I forced Nathan to stop screaming before I gave him whatever it was he wanted he eventually learned that screaming isn't how you get what you want. I would say things like "I'm sorry, we don't scream when we want more" or sometimes I would hold my ears and say "Oh, that hurts mommy's ears, I can't help you when you scream like that." Even if you can just hold his face gently in your hands and say "Use your words" eventhough he doesn't really have words for what he is asking for, he can grunt and you can model for him what you want him to say. It's a grueling time, but the more you guide him away from the undesirable behavior and into the desired behavior, the faster this part ends. Of course, tons and tons of praise when he gives even a faint attempt at doing what you want...even if it's just stopping the screaming. Oh guys, stock up on your nerve pills and roll up your sleeves - toddlerhood is a trip. A wonderful trip for sure...but it has it's moments! Can't wait for you guys to get home.
ReplyDeleteFinally figured out how to post messages! Hope things get easier, and you three have a save trip home! Celine
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