The other stuff...

As for the rest of the 'orphanage-type' behavior, she's doing pretty well.  Many orphans display autistic-like behaviors to self-stimulate such as head thrashing, rocking, and playing excessively with their fingers. We don't have any of that!  She's made great eye contact with us, so she doesn't appear to be 'shut-down' from the trauma of the transition.  For all these things, we are very grateful.  We are certain that there will be bumps in the road.  But, the road is just starting.  We'll cover the bumps.. one at a time.   The not-so-good stuff:   She will sit in one spot for hours without moving…playing with one single toy.  Now, in some ways, this is a selling feature right?  Easy kid! But… it's actually a not-so-good kind of thing. And, it's an orphanage thing.  For the past few days, Shawna has played with stacking cups.  She loves them!  It's both interesting and very sad that she is completely content to play with 8 colored plastic cups for hours when most toddlers would be done with them after 10 minutes.    Even without toys, she doesn't move around much.  I've seen her "walk" several steps on her own.  But, we've never seen her crawl.  In absence of interaction from us, she just sits there and stares.  Ok- that's not entirely true.  She prefers to be held all the time!  And, we try to comply as much as possible.  If, for whatever reason, we need to put her down for a moment, say to get a bottle for her… she just sits there.  She won't try to come after us.  She won't roll over, move over, or crawl.  She just sits there and cries.  I'm not worried about her falling off the bed because she doesn't move unless we move her.  I'm not really sure what to make of this yet…   She doesn't put anything into her mouth, except her bottle. We've tried Cherrios, congee, crackers, and teething things.  Nope.  Nothing.  She whips her head around and looks the other way.  Oral adversion?  Sensory issues?? It could be both.  How am I going to fatten her up if I can't get her to eat???  It's also a wee bit weird that she doesn't try to chew on anything.   Developmental stage?? Still yet to be determined.  Experts estimate that an institutionalized child develops one month for every three months of institutionalization.  Shawna was at the SWI for 14 /18 months.  So, she should be close to a 9 month old.  I'll have to consult my "book" to confirm.  She can sit on her own and walk a little.  She has some gross motor skills; I haven't seen any fine motor skills yet.  She can roll over, but I don't know if she can sit up from a laying position.  She smiles and giggles (although not a lot ).  But, I haven't heard her talk …. I wouldn't understand her if she did.  There is much to be gained developmentally.   Lori M. Baylor