One week with Diego

Several times I have tried to post something... But either Diego woke up earlier than expected or I was exhausted and went to bed... In some ways this week felt long, but at the same time I wish I had more time to get few things done!

I have debated how much I want to share about our experience as new parents of Diego... I remember during our adoption process that I enjoyed reading blogs of couples going through the same process as us, but I didn't pay attention to the blogs of couples with their babies at home... I wish I did!! I follow Melissa's blog now, and this week I had to go back to her July or August 2007 posts to read about their first days as parents... I was happy to see some similarities between Ilya and our Diego and few of their initial concerns/struggles...

Don't get me wrong, watching Diego everyday learning few things and smiling and lifting his arms towards me so I can carry him are just awesome moments, but at the same time to some extent I feel Mark and I were pretty naive and unprepared for parenthood!

To start, Diego has SO MUCH ENERGY and he can be VERY LOUD!! During our visits at Podolsk we noticed he liked certain games and that he can crawl pretty fast and never made a sound, but Oh My, sometimes it looks like a different boy!!! During our flight back we talked a little with a new dad bringing his boy home, and he asked us if we gave Benadryl to Diego for the flight. We didn't and Diego was not too bad, but he did and his baby was SUUUUUUPER calm... He also mentioned that some orphanages give benadryl to some kids to keep them calm... Hum... I wondered if our Diego was one of those kids!!!

Also we are still playing around with his food likes and dislikes. So far he like peas, corn/squash, apple juice, prune juice and yogurt. He used to like banana, strawberry, and oatmeal, but not so much lately... We are buying the organic Earth Land jars, but we are still playing around... Oh, on the side, for the trip 3 we bought the food jars in Moscow, and the ones with little chicken and stuff were almost $3 while here they are less than a buck! So, if I did it again, I would bring few jars from US...

Diego had his first doctor appointment on Thursday, which ended up being a crazy day! I was going to stop by my office to show off Diego (I debated a little, because I was not sure how he would "behave"), but when we finally got into the car, my Prius didn't start!!! I wasn't sure it was the electric battery or what that was not working, so I had to call Mark (who was getting ready for a meeting) to ask him to drop everything and pick us up! Then at the doctor office we had to wait for while, and while all the other parents with theirs kids seem pretty calm and dandy, our Diego was all talky-talky and moving a lot! When we were finally in, Diego actually behaved very nicely with the nurse who measured and weighted him. Diego is now 29.5 inches and 20 lb 2 oz. For 13.5 months he is in the charts, but in the low percentiles... Oh well...

Then the doctor came and we talked a little about this past medical history; he listened to his lungs for a while and said they sound really good (Diego had bronchitis in February and had a big time runny nose in Moscow). He checked his hernia and gave us a referral for a surgeon. He checked his ears and then found that both ears had infections! Poor thing, probably as a result of his recurring colds/bronchitis. So, antibiotics for 10 days. We talked a little more about our plan for his immunizations (he has none) and the doctor gave few recommendations... We asked him few questions about his eating habits, certain behaviors and asked for suggestions... A lot of the stuff we were a little concerned, the doctor told us it was typical toddler behavior! He gave us the order for the lab and we will see him again in a month.

Yesterday it was Mark's 32nd birthday, so we invited over few friends. Once again we debated wether we should invite people over or not... on one side we were both exhausted, we had to clean the house a bit, and we just didn't know how Diego would feel with strangers around... but on the other side, I didn't want Mark to feel I was forgetting about him and making our life all about Diego... So I emailed 8 friends and everyone was actually waiting for us to invite them over because they were also dying to meet Diego. To make this short, Diego really seem to enjoy meeting people... Everyone wanted to carry him for a bit, and he let them, but if Mark or I look or talked to him a little, he would extend this arms towards us wanting to go to mommy or daddy! We had pizza, cake, Diego had his dinner and people left around 8 pm (I know early, our parties used to start at 8 pm!!). And when everyone left, then Diego started screaming and crying!!!

I keep repeating myself to be sensitive about all the changes Diego is facing... I keep saying to myself and to my family and friends that this initial time is all about developing trust and bonding... But sometimes it feels like there is a very thin line between nurturing trust and spoiling your baby and creating a little monster! I know, I know, I sound horrible... I am hoping once the ear infections are gone and Diego is totally settled with a schedule (he has one, but he keeps monkeying around with it!) our lives can feel more "normal" and on track...

And now, I leave you with few pics!