The subject of Mia's sleeping (or lack thereof) when she returned home has come up several times recently in conversation with friends, and during some pre-adoption homework we are working on with our adoption agency. Mia's first year and a half home were not without challenges. I didn't blog about it much, but she would be up for hours every night and suffered from horrible night terrors. I have always been someone that desperately needs sleep. Even as a child, I required more sleep than most kids. (Things haven't changed much as an adult, by the way.) My husband has always been one that can get by with much less, but that first year+ were tough on us both. Yet, somehow, God gave us the strength to get through all those sleepless nights. As difficult as it was, I have to see the blessing in it, too, because Mia and I really bonded in the wee hours of the night... rocking, cuddling, playing. She is firmly attached to me, and I attribute part of that to the special moments we had during the night - even if I could barely keep my eyes open. And during the day, she was pure sunshine and would wipe our memory of the previous night away in an instant with her beautiful smile or contagious laughter. Oh, how I love my silly bunny-nosed girl. Sleepless nights and all.
6 years ago
22 comments:
What sweet photos! Those first few years can be rough can't they? Heck, we're still having sleep issues with Jia (and have implemented a new sticker chart to hopefully address them, we'll see).
Yes, it is extraordinary what you can accomplish as a sleep-deprived parent. Glad that you were able to find the silver lining in it all!
Wow!! We still have these with Lucy. Maybe you could share some tips...LOL.
Gorgeous pics of Miss Mia!
Oh is she a cutie! What a precious little face.
Miss Grace had sleep issues for the first 12-18 mos. I'm like you in that I need sleep and function terribly without it. I don't know how we got through that first year sometimes, but we did. One day the sleep issues just stopped! Fortunately William sleeps like a rock.
beautiful beautiful beautiful pics, as always!
I love the many faces of Mia....she is so sweet...and what a cute outfit....my favortie colors....pink and brown!!
As for the sleep issues....you know what we are going through....I feel your pain....I need my sleep too!!
Lisa
Oh she is so cute in all her photos. She is pure Sunshine. I feel your pain. I too need lots of sleep. Jake was a sick baby and didn't sleep through the night for his first 2 years. I sometimes felt like a Zombie but we bonded from that too...so the cloud did have a silver lining.
Such great photos and funny faces of your beautiful Mia! We had sleep issues too the first couple of years.
Hope you're having a fun weekend!
Janet
What a wonderful attitude, Michelle! It is so wonderful to reap the blessings in the midst of challenging circumstances. I can see how just one smile would wipe the entire sleepless night away. She is truly a breath-taking beauty. The joy is all over her face!
Blessings,
Tisha
These photos of Mia are stunning!
I am looking forward to sleeping through the night - someday in the future :)
Your little sunshine can pull you through anything. Michelle, Mia is one of the most joyous little girls I have ever seen. These photos are so expressive and so fun. What a beautiful angel!
Gorgeous photos, Michelle. And we, too, struggled with those tough nights, although I must say that my best bud Canuck K struggled more with her twins. Sleep issues are tough... and people rarely talk about them. Thanks for sharing your story.
awww she is so darling:)
I am glad things are better.
Just precious pics. I have to totally agree with the last line of this post, underline sleepless! However, so worth it! Just don't bump into any walls like I did this weekend after no sleep. ouch!
Hugs,
Ivy
What beautiful photos Michelle, I especially love the look she gave you in the second one. We went about 6 months of sleeplessness in our house due to an illness my youngest was going through, and I'm convinced the fastest road to insanity is through lack of sleep! ;-) Congrats for making it through to the other side.
how i long for those kind of sleepless nights :O) she is so precious, what gorgeous photos!
Michelle.....these pictures are excellent....what kind of lense did you use?
Sophia went through periods of waking up at night, but thankfully most of the time all I had to do was go in a tell her everything ok and to go back to sleep. And I totally understand the sleep issue as well.....I too, need at least 7-8 hours....
I know how long and hard those nights are....but what a sweet time of bonding and healing for your precious girl.
Happy Chinese Year!!
Can't wait to see what your new year has in store!! :)
What sweet pictures. Mia is just adorable. I really love my sleep and my daughter Livi (6) has never slept the night and still doesn't. It's really hard on both my husband and I. I keep telling myself that one day she will sleep normal hours.
Michelle, I wanted to e-mail you a question, but couldn't find your address anywhere....if you have a free minute, would you mind e-mailing me? Thanks!
Becki
beckiski@earthlink.net
Oh she is precious! I love that you are sharing the journey! joy does come in the morning when we have slept :)!!
Michelle,
Mia is so beautiful! I'm so glad to hear that you are so well bonded.
Hugs,
Ohilda - who is getting very upset that her blogroll is not automatically updating and I keep missing posts! UGH!
ADORABLE pictures and adorable family! We had the sleep issues too, it does get better... in time of course. Amy
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