Mommy Moments

Today Kalina is 4 months old! We've had her for 6 weeks now. When she first came to us, she was such a tiny little baby. You could see her ribs, and her little arms and legs were so small. She arrived with a cough, a touch of diarrhea, and some skin issues. Now she is so much healthier and stronger and bigger! We are so thankful to God for providing healing for our little girl. She is a happy little angel (well, most of the time!). She smiles at everyone she meets, much to their delight. We've noticed that most babies and children here don't smile much.
When Kalina first came to us, she arrived without warning in the middle of the day as a surprise. She came crying with hunger. Quickly we scrambled to prepare a bottle, diapers, and clothing that we had brought from home. We were immediately thrown into parenthood without our family or friends to support us. We were scared! This was a big topic of my prayers before I left home. I was very nervous about taking care of such a tiny baby. I've never been a mom, and I'm used to older children. At home I'd have help and books and our pediatrician. Here we were on our own. God would have to be the source of our wisdom.
The first few days were challenging and scary. We faced a fairly newborn baby throwing up-quite shocking, I might add, if you haven't witnessed this before! Her first night with us she screamed for about an hour straight at 1:00 a.m. We were totally panicked. We really had on the job learning! Nobody helped us. In fact, people would ask me questions like "Why is she crying? Why did she throw up?" I realized that I was the mom!
I look back at how far we've come and I'm amazed and know that once again God provided for us. We still feel clueless and inept much of the time, but Kalina knows us and we know and love her. It's incredible to watch her grow and change. Just two days ago she discovered her toes! She leaned over from her new favorite sitting position and got this look like an archaelogist on a dig! It was really funny. Then she grabbed her toes, turned her head sideways to look at me, and gave me this big grin of ecstasy! Then she proceeded to try to pull her toes off. Probably not a good plan for when she's ready to walk in many months! My friend Lydia had told me that at around 4 months of age or so you start to see your baby learn something new pretty much every day. It's true! She loves looking at herself in the mirror now. She has been fascinated with this butterfly on the wall on Smeira's room where we sleep ever since she first came. I always sing this butterfly song when she sees it. Now when she hears the song, she smiles. She loves to be active and hates naps. That's when the not-so-angelic side of her surfaces. Get out your earplugs! She fights like a wild cat. She has learned to play with toys and also how to pull out her bottle and pacificier. She can almost put her pacifier back in correctly. She has a contagious laugh, usually in response to having her stomach tickled or hearing a song she likes to hear while she's looking in the mirror.
Oops, I think I hear my daughter now! Time to relieve Daddy and give Kalina her nap time!
Thanks so much for praying for us and loving us. I know that parents around the world watch their babies grow, and in some ways it's nothing new, but at the same time it's still a miracle!