[maryanddon]

Hi everyone! Well its been 2 weeks and things are good. Maggie is doing great, but I could use some advice, maggie will not eat fruits or juices. infact she gags on the fruit, such as applesauce, I can sneek the bananas in her cereal, she will not take juice even watered down. A friend who just brought back twin 8month old girls is having the exact same problem, we also noticed that none of them will nap for more than 20 to 30 minutes. Could the resistence to fruit be a Guatemalan trait? All 3 love sweet potatoes, squash and carrots, so I am thinking it their taste buds? sounds dumb I know, but cant think of what to do on my own. Thanks Mary

[Romans828]

I have no experience with a child from Guatemala to base this opinion on(still waiting or our little girl to come home), but maybe you could mix her fruit in with her vegetables. My bio kids were the same way, but opposite(loved fruit, not veggies) so I would give them half of each and mix it together. If that doesn't work try mostly veggies with a very small amount of fruit mixed in and up the amount slowly. The truth is, if she is eating her vegetables she is getting what she needs as far as nutrition anyway!!!
Good Luck!

Michelle
Waiting for Isabel Rose
Born April 17, 2003
Referral April 28, 2003

[becky]

Mary,

I wouldn't worry about giving her fruits and especially juices. If she loves veggies...then great...they are better for her anyway.

Juice is really not that great for babies...lots of calories and sweetness, and not a lot of nutrition. I would offer her formula, water, cereal, and veggies. Later as she moves to 'table food' you may find that her preferences change. Once she has enough teeth to actually chew some food, she may love the texture of a banana or mandarine oranges, etc.

I'm so glad things are going well for you!!

[crathke]

Mary, are you trying fresh fruit or "canned"?

Aaron gives us the "schrunchy face" (as Nick calls it) and will literally push canned fruit as far away from him as he can. Oddly enough, same goes for Jell-O. I think it's too tart for him.

However, he loves fresh fruit like mangoes and melons; it's something he's more familiar with (we couldn't give him enough mangoes while we were in Guatemala)

And as far as the napping goes...that's a "kid" thing, not necessarily a "Guatemalan" thing; you are just blessed with a child who does not want to give Mom and Dad a break in the middle of the day!

[becky]

O.K. Courtney...calling it 'blessed' is going a bit too far don't you think?!?!? I don't think I could LIVE without that nap time each afternoon.

Mary...when you say she won't sleep for more than 30 minutes, is that because you go in and get her when she starts to fuss after 30 minutes? How much does she sleep at night?

Some children take a while to figure out how to put themselves to sleep (especially in a new environment). I know this is a terrible thing to start at 8 months...but have you tried a pacifier? Sometimes they just need to be able to comfort themselves, and that can help. (Bella never takes hers out of her bed)

Hopefully once she is more settled, her sleeping pattern will settle as well!

[crathke]

I said that (tongue firmly planted in cheek) because I've had one of each; Nick would nap for three hours if we let him. Aaron fights sleep with a passion.

However, I can say on good authority that many, many brilliant and creative souls never napped as children. At least that's what I hear from my mother....who never got a break in the middle of the day, either!

[Tinkrbel]

I agree with Becky!

As long as she's eating veggies you are OK, remember she has had a lot of new things to deal with over the last few weeks! Maybe she didn't eat fruits in Guat? I know that some foster moms introduce foods a lot later then we do over here.
Juice is not important at this stage of the game.

Mary and Don if you are intrested I have information on infant meal pattern requirements from the USDA. I am a childcare provider and all of are meals are Nutritionally balanced by the USDA.

As for napping, some children take longer to adjust to new sleep environments. Have you tried running a fan, or some quiet music? What about the temp of her room or the lighting? Plan her naptimes around the times when she is sleepy. I take care of one little girl who sleeps 12 hours at night but only takes an hour nap each day; she has been on the schedule since about 11 months?
Above all else, don't get too stressed, she'll sleep when she’s tired.

Good Luck!

[maryanddon]

Thanks guys! once again you have put things into perspective! She goes to bed at about 9:30, usually sleeps until 7am. with restlessness about once at around 3am. As for naps, she gets tired about 10am, falls asleep and is wide awake by 10:30. I let her fuss , to see if she will go back to sleep, but once she opens those eyes, its for good, then around 2:00, she fusses rubs her eyes, and is asleep for another 30 minutes. I listen by monitor , because once she sees me forget it!! Do you think it could be that she wants to know I am there? Sometimes if she cries out , it is a frightened cry, very high pitched, I think that perhaps its part of transitioning along with your normal baby habits. I have noticed if she cant see me , she seems to worry, though this I think also is a normal stage of the game. Thanks again!!

[jen g]

Hi-- We were lucky to be given (from her foster mother) a list of foods our Mia (also home for two weeks) likes. Watermelon, mangoes, cantelope -- these are the fruits she loved at her homecoming. She literally giggles when I give her diced up cantelope. (She's 15 months old and has a mouthful of teeth.) Now she'll eat apples, applesauce, etc. She loves fresh blueberries. She doesn't like strawberries or raspberries -- maybe too tart like another mom wrote. She also won't touch cheese. Not macaroni and cheese, nothing cheesy. She won't eat ice cream or sorbet or popsicles or anything cold. She resents being cold! Cold diaper wipes, being cold after a bath, she looks shocked and insulted! She loves spicy foods -- tonight we had bean enchiladas (tofu, bean, vegan dish) from Amy's Kitchen. I also have been buying black beans (canned) and putting them on her highchair tray with some meals, just rinsed from the can. She loves them. Refried beans give her terrible gas -- kept her up one night. (Amy's Kitchen is great -- frozen, organic meals for a fast healthy dinner -- available at Whole Foods and natural foods stores. No I don't work for them, but the more kids I have, the more I appreciate Amy's entrees for days when you can't get anything done. This was a day like that -- Mia only catnapped and I ran out of time to make dinner.) We buy lots of mangoes and bananas. Our other kids (born and raised in the good old midwest) also love those foods -- particularly mangoes -- so we're in good shape. Mia also LOVES yogurt and gets lots of that. I know not all kids adopted from Guat will like the same things, but thought I'd give you a complete list in case it's helpful.
Best from,
Jen G

[crathke]

Mary--it sure sounds to me as if Maggie is a little startled when she wakes up (the high-pitched cry). Even at a young age, the fear of being "alone" is there, especially in a new and strange place. Personally, I think her sleep habits will adjust as she becomes accustomed to her new home.

And I think your statement "once she sees me, forget it!" speaks volumes to how she sees you as her "security"--which in turn says a lot about how she's attaching/bonding with you. You sound like a veteran! Good job!

Mary and Don,

So nice to see your post on the first weeks home! We've been home for 1 1/2 weeks and we are of course still adjusting.

The foster mom told me that Reid didn't like fruits but he seems to like each baby fruit I've given him. However, I don't think he's ever had anything with much texture. He's eating cereal now mixed with fruits or veggies. I was just surprised because by this age my 4-year-old bio son was eating crackers, goldfish, cheerios, and all prepared toddler foods.

I'm facing the same napping problem. WHen we first came home Reid napped for 2 hours twice a day, but that lasted only a few days (probably exhaustion from the trip, etc.) Now it's only 40 minutes to one hour twice a day. I guess the good thing about it is that he sleeps longer at night. In fact, he went to bed last night at 8 pm and is still asleep right now at 7:54 am. BUT OH DO I NEED THE NAP TIME! My bio son didn't nap much and I was really hoping for a second child that was a good napper. : )

Kathleen

[bennett]

for my bio kids we purchased one of those
WHITE NOISE machines...

its great for light sleepers and keeps them down longer

they also get conditioned to it so when you turn it on at
night.or at nap time...the sound soothes them to sleep

they are about 40-50 but totally worth it

we still take it on trips to drown out outside noises

[srspiv]

We had the same problem with our son when he came home at 4.5 months. He only took catnaps.

It was obvious that he was used to being rocked to sleep and he did not know how to put himself to sleep. We let him do this for about 6 weeks to give him plently of time to adjust but then we taught him to go to sleep on his own. Once he learned to put himself to sleep, his nap times increased significantly and he stopped crying in the middle of the night. It became obvious that the short naptimes and night crying were due to waking up and not knowing how to put himself back to sleep.

Now, at nine months, he takes 1.5 to 2 hour naps twice a day. Everyone in the family is much happier now!!

[momcat1011]

Mary:
If Maggie is gagging she my not be developmentally ready for fruit? I would wait a few weeks as she is so young. With respect to napping, Robin had a good suggestion-- for me, however, with one of my bio kids he did not nap in a crib until 18 months--so I wish I had known how to teach him to nap? Regards, Susan

[dpen]

Mary and don, I am not an adoptive mom..just a mom of 5 and I was perusing around and found this thread. I had to giggle, because when mine were babies I had only one that slept an hour in the morning and 2 in the afternoon. I use to joke with my friends" We work so hard to get them, then we want them to sleep"!!! But, your right when they go down its like heaven. But remember it goes by sooo fast...enjoy. My babies are now 11 and ir seems like yesterday they were having the same problems.

Have fun!! Donna