Bonding in St. P*te

I am so overdue for a blog post!!  I'm so sorry for the lack of posts since I picked Vika up from the Baby Home.  My only excuse it Motherhood!  What I have learned, is my time is no longer my own.  When she is awake, I’m playing…and when she is sleeping…I am…well sleeping! 

 

 She struggled to sleep the first few nights, as she was waking up about every 3.5-4 hours.  This could be for a number of reasons, but I’m leaning towards one of two reasons:  1. she was afraid she’d wake-up alone; 2. she had been running a fever and she woke up when the meds wore off.  Either way, she is feeling better and she has woke-up with mama in her bed every morning…and last night, she went to bed with NO TEARS!!!  Additionally, she slept through the night…well, she woke up, but I was able to rub her back and get her right back to sleep.  Woot Woot!  So, not only did she wake up more rested, but so did Mama!    

The last three days have been fabulous days, full of smiles.  It’s hard to remember everything that has happened, thus far, as my mind is going 1,000 miles a minute.  But it’s full of lots of good things and ahhhh-ha moments!

Let me try to recap some of them for you…

Vika is becoming much more vocal!!!   In fact, Nana better be ready, because I’m thinking she’s going to be just like her mama…a real talker!   The funniest thing happened two days ago at lunch.  Cindy was being goofy at lunch and Vika looks at me and then looks back at Cindy and says, “Pe-re-stan!”  Finding it funny, Cindy does it again, and Vika once again says, “Pe-re-stan!!”  The third time Cindy does it, Vika leans way forward, looks right at Cindy and says, “Pe-re-stan!  Ho-chesh…”   We look around and all the waitresses are standing behind the bar laughing, so we ask what she was saying, and wouldn’t you know MY daughter is telling Cindy, "stop that, stop that…don’t you understand!”  Way too funny, as that was the first thing she had really said (and with such AUTHORITY), other than mama, nana, papa, and Sasha (She attempted some others, but those were the only ones that I had shown her pictures of (which she LOVES)). 

Yesterday, and today, she has been mimicking my Engligh and has been trying to let me know her desires/wants.  This makes me soooo happy, as it’s a sign that she is beginning to trust and bond with me.  I called grandma earlier today, and she was looking at pictures of her and I and would say, “Mama”…”Vika” as she pointed to the pictures.  While we walk down the street I try to point out things and give her the English word, which she repeats and will also say the Russian word…maybe I will learn a bit more, after all. 

It's not nearly as frigid as the Russian's dress

Vika wasn’t carried very much (if ever) in the orphanage.  Initially, she refused to let me.  Now, she is not only allowing me, she wants it.  We can be walking around outside and she’ll stop walking and reach up for me to pick her up.  My heart melts!  Once again…a small sign that she is becoming more comfortable with her mama.  She does this straight-legged thing, and doesn’t seem to understand the importance of wrapping her legs around me…but we’re working on it.

Sadly, many children have to rely on themselves to sooth themselves, including Vika.  *tears*  The first thing I am buying myself in the US, is a rocking chair.  My poor lil’ girl has spent the last four years soothing herself, by rocking herself when she crys to calm herself down.  She also rocks herself to sleep.  I never saw this behavior at the orphanage, but I see it daily at bedtime and when she’s upset.  It breaks my heart to think she had to learn this behavior due to lack of love and care at the orphanage.  Okay, maybe it wasn't due to a lack of love...a mother's love, most definitely!  There are 150 children at her baby home, and I truly do believe they loved my daughter, but there just wasn’t enough hands to meet the vast needs of all these precious lil’ children, and my daughter is reaping the results of that.  Devastating, but a sad reality, in orphanages, all around the world.   Thankfully, she is letting me hold and rock her a lil’ more each night.  This evening when I was skyping with my mom, she actually allowed me to rock her to sleep.  Praying this will happen again tonight…for this means she feels safe and knows she can rely on me.

Eating is becoming more challenging.  As much as I don’t like, this too, is probably a blessing in disguise.  The first three days she ate EVERYTHING I put in front of her.  No questions.  No faces.   She devoured everything!  Now, things are becoming a little more challenging.  She will spit things out and if I’m not watching her closely it ends up on her and me.  :(  The “frustrating” thing is NOT that she is a picky eater because welcome to mama's world...so am I.  What "frustrates" me is that some of the foods, she is doing this with are the very same foods she was eating earlier in the week.  She definitely seems to be a texture girl, which may be because she is use to having EVERYTHING be mush.  The blessing, you ask…she is comfortable enough with her mama and is letting me know that she doesn’t like or want something.  This may NOT ALWAYS be looked at as a blessing, but today, I’m counting it as a blessing. Things could definitely be worse, and with all the changes, I will just monitor this, and try to get her the nutrients she needs while introducing and reintroducing new foods into her diet.  I’m thankful I haven’t noticed any hording behaviors…Praise God! 

She doesn’t however, know how to suck through a straw.  And I haven’t been able to teach her.  However, she is amazing at drinking out of cups, glasses, and bottles.

Vika went on her first shopping experience and it wasn’t a lil’ one.  We went shopping at their verion of Sam’s Club and she did awesome.  Even with all the potential for stimulus overload, she did wonderful! Mama was so proud! 

snapped just seconds before the angry worker caught us
with our camera, and said, NO PICTURES!!  But he was
too late!  :)

Today we decided to take her (the whole crew :)) on a tour of her hometown before leaving to go to Moscow tomorrow…and that went well also.  She is quite the trooper!

St. Nicholas Cathedral

Government building

the whole gang with St. Isaac's Dome

Peter the Great on a horse

St. Isaac's Dome

Vika, Mama, Cindy, and lil' E

Kazan Cathedral

a bookstore

the group outside Kazan Cathedral

stunning clock tower

Hermitage--The Winter Palace

Auntie Stephie and Vika outside the Hermitage

simply stunning...Church of Spilled Blood

Mama and Vika outside the
Church of Spilled Blood

Mama and Vika outside Peter the Great's home

Peter the Great's Home

Peter and Paul's Fortress

Museum

Vika, Moma, and Auntie Steph

Mama and Vika

Mama and Vika

Mama and Vika

Vika, Mama, Auntie Steph and Flat Stanley

Mama and Vika

Mama and Vika