Sleepless in Fort Collins

Cy has struggled with sleeping through the night since we brought him home. In the 6 months he has maybe slept 3 times through out the night. Currently he wakes up anywhere between 2 to 5 times a night. Sometimes it is only for a few minutes he is just hungry, sometimes they are a wicked fit and sometimes he is just crying.  There are a variety of factors involved in his sleep issues: Night Terrors/Nightmares, Learned hunger and probably our night time ritual.

There is a big difference between night terrors and nightmares. Jeremy and I, for obvious reasons, have learned a lot about the differences. Night terrors usually occur 2 to 3 hours after the child has fallen asleep and during Non-REM sleep. What happens is the child moves from deep sleep in the non-REM stage to a lighter REM sleep. During this transition dreams appear, hence causing the night terror. What is the crazy part of the night terror is that the child doesn't know they are asleep. We have been told to stay calm and just be present in case Cy might hurt himself as he can throw himself violently around or cry. We have also been told to never wake him. They say the most common cause is sleep deprivation, but Cy is on a regular routine. He doesn't have them consistently but about once to two times a week.  Children do not remember a night terror, but will remember a nightmare. Nightmares usually occur after 1am and Cy will be awake for most of those. Seems more willing to be comforted.

I found this great article on line about the Four Reasons Toddlers Wake Up. What I liked about the article is that is got me thinking on other avenues to do research because since Cy was bottled fed by his foster mother for the first two years of his life AND she fed him 2x in the night he did get use to eating. He also slept next to his foster mother for two years and we are trying to get him to sleep on his own. This transition Jeremy or I will be in the room with him for 15 minutes to an hour some nights putting him to sleep. My reading has led me to believe that our nightly ritual of rubbing his back, singing, etc can effect him when he wakes out of a sleep cycle and we are not there. The suggestion is to just put them to sleep on their own when they are awake, but we haven't even implemented that part of our process. Cy is also a total snorer. We recently took him to the doctor and they detected wheezing in his lungs. He is currently taking being treated for it with a drug to help open his airways, but who knows. So as you can tell we have a ton of factors and a TON of situations that we have experienced at night. The deal is now, how do we fix them so he sleeps through the night.

Once we figure out the key factor and reason for his sleep disturbances we might be able to solve them. I wrote this blog post because after talking with a friend from college it made me realize how common these situations are and how much more informed we can be on a personal level. My goal is to try and journal the next few weeks to keep track of why he is waking up and the reason. Then hopefully be able to track a trend. Jeremy does majority of sleep duty with Cy as once I wake up...I am up til I go to work and after a few days of that I am NO fun to be around. We shared duties for the first 4 months and I have to say I was a bitch! I could barely think and have never felt so tired. So I will update you after our experiment. I will blog each night for the two weeks and see a trend.

Peace and Love and good sleeping!

Ode to Glee

I have to say without having TV, I was a little late to Glee...but let me tell you I have caught up! I love the show for so many reasons. I love Broadway and Theater so that is the easy part. I do believe there is always a message and I listen and think it is so fantastic. I love the talent. I love that the show let's kids see it is okay to be themselves, make a mistake or speak out of turn and a true friend will always be there. The message I take away is to always be true to yourself.  Accept your mistakes and allow forgiveness. It is okay to say you were wrong, I am sorry, here is how I can make it better. To accept people that are different then you as they just might teach you something about yourself.  Call me a dork, but I love this show! So to totally Gleek out as my husband would say...here are just a few...

So I wanted to share a few clips of my favorite scenes and songs!

Adoption Tax Credit

How do you think you would feel if you had to pay full coverage to have your biological child. Adoptive parents are no different then biological, just instead of having their own they made the choice to give an opportunity/family and life to a child that might not of had that option.  Adoption is no different then biological and children are raised with the same amount of love, protection, opportunities and care. If I could afford it I would adopt more children then my son. The average domestic adoption ranges from $12K to $25K and the average international adoption ranges from $20 to $35K this is just the cost of adoption.

Attached is the link for Adoptive Families for statistics for Adoption Cost

Some people always ask why some adoptions cost more or take longer...I found this great information on a blog. Why Do Some Adoptions Cost More or Take Longer

Below is just some basic cost information. This does NOT include travel which now for International every country requires you to do.

Domestic Adoption includes, but not limited to: Legal Fee's, Agency Fee's, Foster Care, Home study, FBI screening (basically very extensive background screening), court fees, etc..

International Adoption, Costs for personnel, administrative overhead, training, education, legal services and communications, working with government and agency authorities, legal fees, and passport and U.S. visa fees in the child's country. The fees also cover costs related to the care of your child prior to adoption, including -- but not limited to -- costs for food, clothing, shelter, medical care, foster care, orphanage care, and any other services provided directly to your child. It also includes any mandatory donations required by child welfare authorities. This fee may also cover child welfare projects in your child's country of origin.

Help make Adoption Affordable and give another child a home.

Support HR 4373 and S 3616

Six Months

I am a little late but we celebrated Cy's six months home on October 13th. It truly feels like yesterday that we stepped off the plane. It has been such an emotional roller coaster with the past month, finally coming to a halt. My husband is of the most patient people and we were reflecting with some friends about how far we have come and how hard it was in the beginning. For my husband to feel it was hard you can only imagine the difficulty. When people adopt every story is different. We had a group of 6 people in our training and every single one of us has had a completely different experience, both personally and with our children. Each story and experience is a notch in our journey. I have to thank so many people that were so supportive during this whole process and I am writing notes now. I have learned a lot about myself and feel that I have grown as a person, wife and mother. I am probably a little different then the person I was six months ago...but still the same.

I have enjoyed the new friends having a child has brought us. I swear neighbors have come out of the wood word to hang out with us. It is amazing how children can bring people together. Cy is talking so much right now. He is trying sooo hard to form sentences. He can say 3 word sentences. School is teaching him potty training so that is going well. His motor skills are great! He can run and walk so much better then even 3 months ago. He is starting to gain weight...he has gained 2.5lbs in 3 months (considering he went down to 24lbs after growing 3 inches). He is wearing his glasses all the time. He is just really thriving in all environments. Now we just have to worry about normal toddler stuff.

I am counting the days down to Friday, November 16th as it will be a huge function at the courthouse for National Adoption Day! Our friends go right before us to welcome Colton as a US citizen and it really is so great to share this experience with them. It is such a important day for me, not because I haven't felt like Cy is my son from day one but because I am so excited that it is official.

Right now I am just enjoying the time I get to spend with Cy, but who knows if there will be a brother or sister for Cy....

Strength of Soul, Strength of Mind

I seriously have been hitting a wall at 2pm everyday since we have had Cy. It doesn't matter if it is during the week or on the weekend...it is like clock work! I have decided that the biggest thing missing from my life is exercise. I literally haven't done anything in six months and it is really time to get back on the horse.


Plan of Attack:

1. Run for 30 minutes twice a week during my lunch. I feel like it is really the best time to go and I could use the break from work. I find that I suck at waking up earlier to go for a run and I just don't do it regularly enough to be doing it after work.
2. A cup of Green Tea in the afternoon.
3. Yoga on Sunday! I got away from this and I truly believe that for my self and body needs yoga. I am welcoming it back to my routine with open arms.

It starts this week, so I will keep you posted!

Juice It Up

I have been finding the best way to steer Cy away from milk is to give him a lot of other options! One is using our juicer to make him yummy veggie juice disguised and sweet goodness. (I am using a lot of apples because they are in season, I would use which ever fruit is most in season.

Here are a few of my favorite mixtures for him!

Traditional

1 do half an apple, 1 carrot and a cup of spinach (make sure to do about 1/2 juice and 1/2 water to start)

Cukes are Us!

1/2 cucumber, 1 carrot, half an apple and some kale

Purple People Eater

1/2 a beet, 1 carrot and 1/2 an apple

Green Machine

Bunches of spinach, 1 celery and an orange

Make sure to wash all your veggies...and depending on your child's tolerance make sure to dilute the juice.

Flying the Friendly Skies

We recently took our first flight trip (other then bringing Cy home from Korea) to California and I have to say things were very smooth but their are a few necessities and preparation is key to friendly skies.  My first thing as I have gotten older I have liked flying less but love traveling more...kind of an oxymoron. So, now that I have my son I need to make sure I am always cool and collective. Here are some fun tips on how we travel and of course ever evolving!

1. I HAVE to have my comfort and that is either episodes of Anthony Bourdain or Spain on the Road Again.

2. For Cy and if your child is into the IPhone, Smartphone or IPad I highly recommend the following Apps; Duck Duck Moose Trucks, Duck Duck Moose Wheels on the Bus, Duck Duck Moose Itsy Bitsy Spider, Peekaboo Barn, Peekaboo Wild and TallyTots.  This kept Cy entertained for awhile.

3. I brought along Cy's favorite shows to watch.  We had Thomas the Train and Diego Go!

4. You can now bring through liquids for your children so don't dump before going through security! It was a life saver as Cy doesn't drink milk and finding soy, lactose free or almond milk in an airport is tough.

5. Water! As soon as I get through security I am stocking up on water for Jeremy, Cy and I.

6. Emergen-C - Don't leave home without it! I take enough for the flight and during our stay. This helps fight off the recycled air in the cabin and just the natural weaknesses that comes from traveling.

7. Snacks for Cy. I packed Kashi Strawberry Bars, Graham Crackers to munch on. Snacks for Jeremy and I, Cliff Bar, Kind and Larabars. Healthy and totally filling.

8. Suckers for take off to keep Cy's ears from popping.

9. Check in EARLY! I swear I don't know why people don't do this already but especially with kids you can check in early, get your seats assigned and check your bags. Saves you a hell lot of time!

10. Luxury but LOVE, Bose QuietComfort Noise Cancelling headphones.

11. Shoes! Slip on and slip off shoes and that are comfortable...TOMS or Ahnu shoes! Love them! I own both pairs and switch between. They are comfortable and easily slip off during security and kick off when taking long flights. Both pair feel like slippers.

12. What to Wear? Yoga pants or MOTHER skinny jeans (my new favs), comfortable t-shirt and over sized sweater or sweatshirt. I am telling you, go with comfy. This is just my go to outfits. I love MOTHER jeans and fortunate enough to not have to pay that much for them. Local boutique in Fort Collins, McKlarken, has great sales

13. Extra clothes. Cy peed all over me as we were going through security so I learned on the way back to bring extra clothes for everyone in our carry on.

Peace, Love and Happy Traveling!


 

Favorite Things for Cy

Here are some of my Favorite Things for Cy!

The Little Engine That Could Book

Remo Drum! Such fun for Kids

Plantain Chips, we love them!

Loyal Order of Cheetahs

I was recently watching an episode of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and they were making over the Loyal Order of Moose and I realized...why don't woman have clubs or loyal orders? I mean I know a lot of woman in book clubs or other such things but what I love about these organizations is that despite all the comarodory their is a purpose.  They give to charities, have fundraisers, support organizations, etc... I mean men are easy, not very judgmental, tolerant, etc..  Is it impossible to have a Loyal Order of Cheetahs?

Our family has a lot of charities that we donate to and are very passionate about and I would love to belong with a group of women that work together to support organizations and charities. It literally is my passion being a voice for those who cannot be heard. Helping people who need a hand up. Pointing people in the direction of good resources. My goal for the next year is looking into starting my own Loyal Order of Cheetahs.  The first thing will be finding other women who are interested and then determining the charitable organizations.  Starting an organization/foundation can take a lot of work...but when I really thought about what makes me happy...it is truly helping others. I have no idea what it takes but I love doing research.

Here are a few of my passions:

1. Adoption - Children Needing Homes
2. Assisting families who have children who are sick.

Those are just a few! I could go on and on but we are leaving on a jet plane to California.

Peace and Love!

Blogging Craziness!!

I LOVE reading food blogs and here are some really fun one's for you to enjoy!

The Picky Eater

Deliciously Organic

Green Kitchen Stories

Nourished Kitchen

Easy Peasy Organic

Happy Blogging!

Peace and Love!

Gratitude Journal

As Autumn and October falls upon us here in beautiful Colorado I can't help but to be so thankful and happy for so many things!  I remember Oprah (my love) having a show about a gratitude journal. When you change the things you think about, the things you think about change - show your gratitude, appreciation, and love for the things around you. Find things you are grateful for on a daily basis. Acknowledge what you are grateful for in your life and you'll begin to see how amazing your life truly is. Now with technology you can do it on the crapper (I had to throw a little ghetto in there :))  I figure that I can do gratitude journal in a variety of ways, photograph or written word.

• I am grateful for my son and husband
• I am grateful that my family is healthy
• I am grateful that today is sunny and the weather feels great!
• I am grateful for pizza with friends tonight! Yummy homemade pizza!
• I am grateful to go to a job with people who make me laugh everyday.
• I am grateful for getting back into yoga and meditation!
• I am grateful for getting back to me!

New beginnings start in a moment. You can make the change.


Peace and Love!