Feels like child-birth

I naively thought that bringing home an older baby would be less work and easier than giving birth and caring for an infant.  It's true that certain things are easier like she can sooth herself, sit, and sleep through the night.  However, due to jet lag and a change of environment, she is not able to sleep.  In China, even though there were crying and screaming, for the most part she slept the majority of the night.  In the US, she has been restless in her sleep and unable to sleep from 1 am to 4 am.  Since she is in our room, we can't sleep the entire night either.  We are so sleep deprived that we don't want to do anything but sleep during the day time.  Which is not helpful in getting over jet lag.  This week at home feels like the first week home from the hospital after giving birth to my boys.  All I do is attend to the baby day and night and don't feel like doing anything else but nap.  The boys have to be self sufficient while mommy and daddy are out-of-it. 

I still have the rash I mentioned earlier.  The itching is intense and unbearable.  I had to use anti-itch cream and take antihistamine.  I went to see my primary physician and just with one look, she determined that it was scabies, which is contagious.  I had a phone conversation with the doctor who specializes in adoption, she doesn't think so.  I went to a dermatologist today to get a second opinion, he did a biopsy and said that it was not scabies, but dyshidratic eczema.  I am so glad it is not contagious, but it itching is still there.  There is really nothing to heal it, I was only given steriod to control the inflamation. 

I feel like being sleep deprived and suffering discomfort is the passage to motherhood that I must go through.  With birth, I was sleep deprived and suffered from pain.  With adoption, I am also sleep derived but suffering from itch.  I see that there is no easy way to be a mother.  ;)

Other than the sleep thing, Mui-mui is doing well.  She likes to explore our house by crawling around, getting into everything, and putting everything in her mouth.  Her appetite is back and she loves jook.  When we first got her, she can only crawl via army style on her belly.  Now she is crawling normally and can get from the crawling position to a sitting position.  We also have the priviledge of seeing her first tooth.  When I brushed her gum the other day, I felt something sharp.