The Stahnke's New Journey: Getting Bigger By The Day!

Andrew is still growing every day. I went and got his pictures taken last week because I told Cain if his cheeks get any bigger we wont be able to recognize him, and he already doesn't look like the baby we picked up at the orphanage. I think Andrew is around 16 lbs now, which means he has gained 4 lbs in 4 weeks. I think he needs to stop growing outward and start growing upward. He's got quite the belly on him now. We are all getting more use to having a baby in our house every day. I am personally enjoying being a new mother again. Andrew brings so much joy to my life, and I can't imagine life without him. Andrew is still trying to overcome his old orphanage life. The Dr. did find that he had a parasite which we treated him for immediately, but this is very common for international adopted children to have. This could of been part of Andrew's problem for being so underweight. Andrew is still having a tough time taking his bottle. He never stops eating, but drinking formula is a totally different story. Andrew is also having a very difficult time with sleeping. He wakes up some nights every hour. He cries and usually within a minute he stops. He always seems scared when he wakes up, so we are not sure if he is having nightmares, night terrors, or if he is just scared, or just teething. We are trying to find out what is making him uncomfortable. We have tried making his room, warmer and then colder. We have tried a night light, ocean sounds, a fan in his room, and then we tried covering him with blankets, and then no blankets. We have tried rocking him until he is sound a sleep at night, and then we tried just letting him fall sleep on his own. We have tried feeding him right before bed and then tried not feeding him his last meal so late. Recently we have tried letting music play all night, and then I also have tried tying a blanket around his waist and tying a knot in it. They used long pieces of material at the orphanage for their diapers and then they would tie it in the front. Some friends of ours gave us the idea to try that. Last night Andrew had the most peaceful nights sleep since we have been home, but who knows what made the difference and if it will last. He has been sleeping in until 7am still, so that is better then the 5am thing, he was doing in Kyrgyzstan. I just get frustrated when I don't know how to make things better for him. It's hard to help a child, when you don't know much about their life before you. On a good note, Andrew is getting more use to his car seat everyday. I get around 15 minutes before he starts screaming, which is a huge turn around from him crying at the sight of his seat. Andrew is also having little moments here and there where he will actually play for a few minutes on his own without worrying where I am. The other day he actually crawled away from me to get to his toys to play. Overall, Andrew has come a long way since a month ago, and he is very happy and alert when we are around him. We thank God for our Andrew everyday, and we continue to pray for God's grace upon him.