Date: 11/11/2006
Subject: Five weeks

Update for today:
Five weeks, that seems impossible. Soon we will be marking the passing of time by months, not weeks.

We have officially scheduled Kaytlin’s surgery for January 30. We needed to coordinate the schedules of two very busy surgeons, so the end of January was the earliest they both were available. We are not sure as to the length of time she will stay at The Cl*nic post-op, but it is likely that the stay will be at least two days. The more I speak with the staff at the Cl*veland Cl*nic, the more impressed I become. We have been through many surgeries already with Andrew. I have always carried him back to the OR and held him until he was asleep; however, it was always a fight to get the anesthesiologist to allow me into the OR. When I brought up my wanting to carry Kaytlin back to the OR, it was not a problem. Dr. B’s nurse, Sam, said they actually encourage parents to carry the kids back; it is less stressful for everybody. They also will bring us into the recovery room as soon as she is hooked up to the post-op monitors…as apposed to waiting until she is completely awake. I am very impressed with how they consider the Child’s needs vs. the staff. I owe a huge thank you to my friend Maggie and her daughter Laynie for telling us about Dr. B at the Cl*nic. I am honestly completely at peace about the surgery…however, I know as the date approaches the “Mama Nerves” will start to show. I know when I walk out of that OR, I will NOT be leaving her alone with strangers. Her Father will be with her, holding her in his arms.

Kaytlin’s true personality continues to show more each day. She is a very strong willed little lady, so she fits into the family very well! She understands most of what we say to her, and adds new signs to her vocabulary very quickly. She is still very reluctant to talk, but has a few key words. I have a feeling when she starts talking, it is going to be in phrases and sentences.


I realized about two weeks ago that Kaytlin would be dry all day until she fell asleep for a nap, while riding in the car, or when she went to bed at night. I knew girls were different from boys, but I was amazed that such a little girl never went to the bathroom. After a couple of days, I figured out that she had been holding it until she relaxed in her sleep. I honestly think she was ashamed/worried/not sure what word to use about going in her diaper. I tried putting her on the potty, and she freaked out. Through the advice of another adoptive mom from my Y*nnan group, I had her start squatting over the potty chair. Once she connected that these silly looking chairs were not furniture but "squatties" she went. She will now come get me if she has to go. Would I say she is potty trained? No. Am I worried about that right now? No. However, I do want her to be comfortable and healthy. I feel terrible that it took us that long to figure out part of her "grumpies" was that she really needed to go potty. We assumed that since she had a diaper on, she knew it was OK to go. We were wrong! We are learning through trial and error!

Kaytlin meets her older brothers after school with a kiss. It is very cute. David loves it, as Kaytlin was very reluctant to go near him for the first few weeks she was home. I thought that was interesting, as David is probably the most quiet of all the boys. I figured she would latch onto him very quickly. Andrew just eats it up, as adding a sister to our family was “his idea”. He never lets me forget that one! We are even seeing a few smooches and hugs between Christopher and Kaytlin. It is usually at night when we are getting them ready for bed, but I will take it. A smooch is much better than a bite or pinch!