Colds and Kids Hanging On

More on Christmas festivities and Ethiopia soon, but I wanted to just write a quick update.

I am really sick of being sick. Or as Aaron carefully put it as I hacked in bed, "I'm glad you don't get colds very often." I am getting better, though--or at least feeling better due to near-narcotic levels of cold medicine. I really need to get back into a regular routine, though a certain little person's BIRTHDAY (what?!) is sure to distract.

Along with the cold hanging on, Anna has been hanging onto us a lot since we've been home. She was amazing, really, with all the new people and places and experiences over Christmas. Not until the last night did she get unwilling to sit with new people and more wanting mom and dad. But the day after we got home? Super cling-on, and kind of generally fussy. Sometimes we can't even leave the room without her whining. Crying or grumpy after afternoon naps. She's been pickier about food too although I'm not suave enough to quite know what's maybe teething and what's tiredness or early-onset toddler-ness. But the not wanting to be left alone is the most definite.

I know this is the age where separation anxiety is common, but given the timing, I think it's more attachment related. Like I said, she just went through a whole lot of "new." She met dozens of new people (probably 50 percent of whom held her) and slept in a new room and drove in a new car to new places and heck, even the ground was a new color. She liked most of it, but it was a lot, and not a lot of routine or naps to go with it some days. I was actually amazed how well she did for so long. So I'm not surprised that she's showing a little "anxious attachment." We have to remember that she still hasn't been with us as long as she was bouncing around orphanage care. Of course she's not completely, 100 percent securely attached--we feel she's doing well, but we have to keep working on it.

Meanwhile, well, I guess I'll be the Velcro, you bring the birthday cake!


If you're interested in attachment/adoption/people (oh how I sadly see this in teenagers!), check out this detailed article: "Attachment 101: A Primer for Parents: How Attachment Relationships Impact Brain Development."