Stacy's Got Her Groove Back!!!

Halleluiah, I think I'm finding a groove again!!! With summer coming to a close, Jack starting half-day Kindergarten, and getting some advice from our social worker, life is good!

I will admit to having a rough few months with Emily's night time sleeping pattern (or lack thereof). When we had our 2 week post placement visit in April, our social worker emphasized the importance of treating Emily like an infant and meeting all of her needs right away. But even as we became more bonded with Emily over these last few months, I found myself still focused on the fact that she was adopted into our family instead of the fact that she's our daughter. Talk about PRESSURE & GUILT!! I kept thinking I had to fill some unfillable void by getting up with her every night & staying up with her as long as it took until she fell back asleep. It was creating tension between Hubby & I. He had been moving towards teaching her how to put herself to sleep & soothing herself back during the middle of the night. I was pushing back that I physically couldn't take hearing her cry.

Thank goodness for post placement visits & good timing!! After the visit, we created a plan that I am now VERY happy to report is working BEAUTIFULLY!!!! I'm amazed at how much rosier the world looks through well-rested eyes than the bleary eyes of a sleep deprived Mama!!!

Another big release is that I FINALLY wrote our birthmother to update her on how Emily is doing (of course I left out the whole not sleeping through the night issue) and sent a bunch of pictures from the last 4 months. Writing that first (since we've brought Emily home) letter was SO hard. Not only is there the language barrier--I had to be very formal in my language so my online translation program would translate properly--but how do you convey how precious Emily is and how happy she seems without bringing some sadness to BM? I decided to err on the side of letting her know instead of not communicating with her. Here's hoping she finds peace in seeing how much we love Emily & how happy she is...