(Maureen's Post)
Well, today was not an eventful day at all. When I first awoke this morning at 6AM the temperature outside was -29 degrees Fahrenheit (-34 degrees Celsius), and today's high temperature reached -13 degrees Fahrenheit (-25 degrees Celsius). Needless to say, we spent the entire day inside the apartment, just hanging out. Oleg stopped by this morning and picked up the crib that we weren't using. Inna also called to confirm plans for tomorrow's trip to Lake Boravoi. I guess she just wanted to make sure we still wanted to go if it was still this cold. Tomorrow's temps are expected to warm up quite a bit (relatively speaking) to a high of 4 degrees Fahrenheit (-18 degrees Celsius), so Sean and Darryl decided that as long as it was over 0 degrees Fahrenheit that we would still go for it. Oh, yes - the longjohns and coats with fleece liners will be worn tomorrow. Hopefully, Luba will be able to babysit James for us again.

We also did a load of laundry, which is something we have been doing more often since having James with us - imagine that! One thing we've never really completely figured out is how to keep from tripping the circuit breaker which supplies both the kitchen and bathroom. So, all the big appliances (refrigerator in kitchen, washer and water heater in bathroom) are on the same circuit. We also suspect that a neighbor's apartment may also be tied into that same circuit. Nice. So, tripping the breaker on a daily basis is almost inevitable. God forbid I try to heat up water with the electric tea kettle or even have the lights on in the bathroom at the same time. And yes folks, we have had the lights go out in the bathroom in the middle of a shower more often than not. You haven't lived until you've had to try to shower by flashlight (remember, we shower in parts since the drain takes so long to clear). Luckily the breaker box is in the stairwell right outside our apartment door. Of course we need to have a coat on just to do that since the stairwell is not heated. You can see your breath the minute you walk out of the apartment on our floor (4th floor), even before going down and exiting the building.

James seems to be adjusting to us well, and we're adjusting to him, too. He's so much easier to "read" now than when we first brought him home with us. Maybe it's because we've started to figure out his likes and dislikes, and we can now kind of distinguish which cries mean what for him (I'm hungry, I'm sleepy, etc.) I think he's been eating a lot more now than what he was getting at the baby hospital. Of course, we're constantly with him and giving him attention now vs. before when we visited him for two hours at the hospital and he just spent the other 22 hours laying in a crib without a lot of contact. So, surely he's using up more calories now. We've increased the amount of rice cereal in his snack and have added a 4-oz. formula chaser afterwards. Yesterday, we also started to transition him to the new formula he'll be getting at home (soy, lactose free). His bottles now are 25% new formula and 75% old formula (thanks for the tip, Dawn). Today we've already noticed a lot less spitting up and no horribly messy poopy diapers, so I think he'll be okay with the new stuff. We'll do this for about a week before increasing the amount of new formula to his bottles.

It's amazing how much James is attaching to us, even though he hasn't been with us that long. For that, we credit the mandatory bonding period at the hospital and now the waiting period with us in the apartment. He used to indiscriminately smile at anyone in the hospital that showed him attention, but now he's starting to show preference to us and a little shyness towards strangers. Of course, it's been pretty much nonstop Mama and Daddy for the past two weeks, 24/7. We are so grateful for the opportunity to bond with him during this time with no interruptions and no distractions. It's amazing - with each passing day we fall more and more in love with this precious child, and everything just feels so right. God is truly good!

That's it for today! Paka and love to all!