Lulu's new Happy shirt!

A Good Day at School!

I don't know what made today a better day at school than the past two days, but Lulu did great today. Other than a little bit of fussing as I was leaving, the teacher said she did great and was very giggly today. She was there for about 5 hours. The only problem is that she doesn't want to nap and the teacher had to get her off the cot since she was laughing and being loud. I'm just happy that she was laughing and not screaming or banging her head! I bought a cute shirt from Target that says "Happy" on it. Maybe that helped? And a little bribing! We've also been reading a book for the past several nights called, "Will you come back for me?" It's about a mommy going back to work while the little girl starts school, and how mommy always comes back. (Thank you to one of the FCC moms for suggesting the book!) We're talking about that a lot. What work means, that school means fun, learning and friends, and that mommy will always come back. I asked the teacher to tell her that as well. Lulu will be back at school tomorrow, but only for a few hours since I have an appt in the afternoon. While she is at school in the morning, I'm going to my doctor's office to get a much needed B12 shot!

Oh Boy!

Well...some bad news today. Lulu's PPD test for TB came back positive. Her chest x-ray last week was NORMAL, so she does not have active TB. But from what I understand, she was either exposed to TB in China and it is inactive, or since she had the BCG vaccine in China, her test is showing a false positive. I really need to research it and we have another appointment with the infectious disease doctor to see what's next. My guess is that she may be having to start treatment soon, and from now on they will just do chest x-rays instead of the PPD test. This seems to be pretty common, but I was told the medication is very bitter and treatment is for several months.

Also, after just posting on how much better Lulu was doing, she had a few rough days again. I feel that it was because she was so tired from having some very active days without any naps and some rough nights sleeping. She had a bad tantrum at the pediatrician's office on Monday that started in the waiting room with head banging and all. We were waiting for at least 25 min, and this is where her first doctor's appt was where they took 6 vials of blood. So between being tired, impatient, and scared, it was only a matter of time that she was going to start having a tantrum. People must have thought I was a terrible mother since I tried as little as possible to stop her (until she hit her head on the floor vs her forearm) because whenever we try to stop her it only makes her tantrums much worse. By time they finally called us back I had to pick her up with her legs flailing and with her screaming at the top of her lungs. Then she continued to head bang on the floor in the treatment room.

Yesterday I was able to leave her at the early learning center, but by 2 1/2 hours later I had to return since she had a BAD tantrum there. The teacher looked pale and frazzled, and two other teachers had to come into the class to take over. She broke open some skin on her hand from biting it so hard, and before that she threw a toy at a boy. My poor Lulu...I am so worried about returning to work in less than 2 weeks. I pretended that I went to work yesterday and today while she was at the center, but she was only there for 3 hours each day. Today she started a tantrum right away, but I was able to get her to stop before it got too bad. She wouldn't let me leave though until an hour later. Other than the tantrums (and her impatience which is getting a little better), she is just pure joy! I love her so much and I get so emotional that sometimes it's so hard not to cry in front of her. I know one day we will look back to this time and find it hard to believe that she ever coped in this way. I just hope that day is not too far off since sometimes she bangs so hard that I know it just has to hurt.

Looking pretty in pink (and red)...Lulu's favorite bathing suit

Having fun jumping with Baba and 'new' rocking chair

Happy Days!

After a few rough weeks, Lulu seems to be in a happier place. We had several major tantrums with her over the past 3 weeks...at two different doctor's visits, at the Early Learning Center, the Library, her tutor's house, at her PT evaluation, and less intense ones at Grandmas and at the beach. Once they are full blown, we are unable to console her or redirect her behavior (hard head banging, biting and pinching herself, flailing her body when we try to move her, etc).

However, the past week (excluding one or two tantrums) she has been doing a lot better. Lulu has been drawing happy faces, and now sings a "Happy Face" and "Happy" song that she made up. I hope that the reasons for the changes have to do with increased activity and a lot of sensory integration 'stuff' that we've been doing with her. With suggestions from the PT, OT and stuff I've been reading in books on Sensory Processing Disorder, I've incorporated what's called a 'sensory diet' into Lulu's schedule.

A lot of Lulu's sensory issues are tactile (she does not like to be or would not accept a lot of touching from us), and vestibular (does not like swings or lack of control over them). So, we've incorporated several things. I went and bought a really nice rocking chair from someone off Craigslist (I love the look of this one..not old fashioned looking and very comfortable), she is using a hand held vibrator for vestibular and sensory input that I showed her how to rub on her arms, legs, face and head (and she enjoys just holding it which we first discovered at her initial PT session), I've been doing joint compressions and deep pressure on her arms and legs, and firmly rubbing her down her back, and we just received her new mini trampoline with a handle two days ago in the mail. She LOVES jumping on it! Also, more time at the park, kicking and running after a ball, throwing the ball, yesterday practicing dribbling the ball. I am no longer doing canine rehab, and I picked up all my equipment from where I was working. The equipment includes a BOSU ball, a rehab scooter, stability balls, and a dynadisc. I just started some ball work with Lulu, and she was doing so well with some of the exercises and knew what to do, so I asked her if she did this in China. She said she did and I believe her. I'm pretty sure she didn't have any formal rehab by any licensed professioonals, but things that she has shown me or knows how to do, amazes me. Whoever worked with her in China knew what she needed! She enjoys doing 'rehab' and also working with her hand. Two days ago she made necklaces out of string and beads, and was able to do it without too much time using both hands. She also rides the scooter face down throughout the house, which helps to strengthen her core and her right upper extremity as she's propelling herself forward and in circles on it.

So, the results of the new stuff we've been doing...
1) She now lets me wash her hair, comb her hair (a little), and wash her. (Yes, she can do these things by herself, but letting me do them is huge! She is trusting me and enjoying being touched!
2) She has been sitting on my lap, leaning on me, giving me a lot more kisses and hugs!
3) She appears to be more confident
4) Her small tantrums at home are getting smaller and lasting for shorter periods
5) She is Happy and says she is Happy!
6) She is getting stronger and spending more time on the equipment at the park

Also, Lulu was finally able to stay at the Early Learning Center again without me for a few hours on Friday. She also had a fun day playing with two girls adopted from China who have been home awhile and speak English. The girls' mother was so kind to invite us to lunch and then have Lulu go to their house without me to get her used to being away from me, and to have fun play time with her girls. This was all on Friday and she did fantastic! I had Lulu's tutor meet us at the Early Learning Center and she spent an hour with her while I left to explain to her that mommy is working, but I will always come back for her. I was worried that Lulu would have a tantrum once the tutor left, but she didn't! The teacher said she did great and played with some of the kids. So...I hope this continues because I really go back to work in 2 weeks. We are going to keep pretending that I have to go to work and see how she does. I really hope we can have a repeat of how well she did last week!

A Visit to Grandma & Grandpas, and Fourth of July

Lulu's First Fourth of July

We had a really good Fourth of July weekend. We tried to explain to Lulu that it was "America Day", and although she probably had no idea what that meant, she seemed to understand that it meant something. We did that with Father's Day as well. I did have her tutor ask her in Mandarin if she's seen fireworks before. At first she said no, then she said yes. They are big in China during the New Year celebration, and they even celebrate wedddings, completion of buildings being constructed, and I believe funerals, by lighting off fireworks. So, we think she has seen them, or at least heard them before. We decided to drive to see fireworks from a not so close distance, and we stayed in the car most of the time so it wouldn't be too loud. Lulu seemed like she enjoyed them in the beginning, but then she started to seem bored. They did go off for a long time, and it was rather late in the evening, so maybe that it why she didn't seem too interested. She was startled a few times when people nearby were lighting off small fireworks, but it didn't seem to upset her too much. We spent several hours at the beach during the day and on Monday Jonathan came over in the late afternoon for a few hours. She just loves seeing her older brother!