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My 2 year Old

Svetlana is now 2 years old and she is able to walk and mumble phrases. She's has not been a very fussy child and she's quite friendly with other kids at the playground, although she mainly just plays next to them. I feel I am lucky to have her. Not only did I save her, but she saved me. Even though she is 2, she still LOVES having her pacifiers. She has chewed through so many that I’ve lost count, and every time I go to the store to buy her new ones, I buy 5 at a time. Svetlana is now able to feed herself and at times will even grab the fork out of my hand so that she can eat on her own. I usually don’t try to stop her even though she makes quite a mess because she hasn’t figured out the angle that the fork should enter her mouth in. I believe feeding her formula as a baby was very beneficial because it made sure she got all the necessary nutrients and she has been developing super rapidly cognitively, physically, and emotionally. She understands if I ask her to pick up her toys, or get her jacket before we leave the house. She enjoys watching children’s cartoons, and her favorites are looney toons, tom and Jerry, Mickey Mouse Club House, and Masha and The Bear. Occasionally she watches Dora the explora as well. I do not introduce her to shows that I think will be detrimental to her such as Spongebob, or caillou. Another impressive but unfortunate feat, was that a few weeks ago she climbed out of her crib on her own without my help. It seems I will need to get her a regular bed so that she does not fall and hurt herself while climbing.

https://www.google.com/amp/www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/1029571/the-worst-tv-shows-for-kids/amp

https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/milestones-3yr.html

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Parenting Reflection

The hardest part about being a parent for me was always carrying my child around with me. One time I was at whole foods and the cashier looked as if she was holding in a giggle the whole time which I found kind of amusing. The project gave me a glimpse of how much of a time commitment it is to take care of a child but I kind of wish I had a real baby or something that could also be a bit more responsive, warm, and soft. I thought the process of writing the blog was fun because I felt a bit like a child again and got to excersize my imagination. Creating the elaborate story of rescuing Svetlana amused me. I tried to make it as real and Personal as possible with thoughts like:” if it was a real baby I would probably dry heave while changing the diaper” and incorporated it into my writing. A family friend of mine recently had a baby so I was able to apply my experiences with her to create situations with Svetlana. Another aspect that helped me with the project was simply remembering the decisions my parents made with me (for example: Long before I was in kindergarten, I was enrolled in a daycare where they taught me the alphabet and the groundwork to start reading).

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Svetlana sits with some of her favorite toys and watches TV. For some reason she prefers the ground rather than the couch.

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My 3 year Old

Svetlana is now 3 years old and boy does time fly. The mess gets smaller and smaller every time she eats. Although she can’t tie her own shoes, for the most part, she can dress herself now. The other day when we went to gymboree, she took off her socks and shoes to run around, and put them on by herself afterwards (There were no laces, just straps). Sometimes it is funny to see that she has her shoes on the wrong feet and seems not to care. Her favorite toy is the mini trampoline. A few weeks ago Svetlana was able to answer how old she was when someone asked her for her age. Everytime, she takes a moment to hold up 3 fingers before actually answering. Due to my mom’s recommendation and how she raised myself; I’ve decided to enroll Svetlana in a daycare/preschool where they will teach her the alphabet. In addition to learning, this way she gets to have a bit more social interaction. She can already identify most letters up to the letter O! I learned the other day that Svetlana had been defiant at daycare when the Nanny told her to clean, and in addition was not playing nicely with the other kids. I decided to research what the best way to discipline such a young child is and found that spanking is actually a very bad decision. It can lead to aggression later on, and a ruin the bond between the spanker and the spankee. Instead I decided to put her on timeout and have talk with her about better ways to play with kids and how to act, and I concluded the talk with a hug. So far, the nanny has reported that Svetlana listened the first time after being told not to take toys from other kids. You followers have been asking, am I going to tell Svetlana she is adopted when she’s older and to be quite honest I hadn't even thought about it until you brought it up to me. Because I couldn't make a decision on this dilemma, I once again turned to others for help. After asking around and reading, it seemed that if I don’t tell Sveta and she found out on her own when she was older, there was a possibility she would have hard feelings and would be upset. I didn’t want her to one day feel as if she had lived a lie so I decided to tell her. I found that I agreed with Parents.com most in their claims that the best time to tell a child they are adopted is around 2-4 years old so that it is easier for them to become comfortable with the idea. I found another extremely helpful article on adoption.com that talked about a mom’s method in telling her kids they are adopted. She simply reiterated on occasion (in a loving tone while holding her children) about how happy she was that she adopted her kids and how much she loved them. Svetlana hasn't questioned me any of the times that I’ve used the mother’s method, however I’m not sure she quite understands the idea yet.

http://healthland.time.com/2012/02/06/why-spanking-doesnt-work/

http://www.parents.com/parenting/adoption/parenting/when-should-we-tell-child-he-was-adopted/

https://adoption.com/how-to-tell-your-kids-theyre-adopted-and-how-not-to

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Svetlana feeding herself a cookie. She still loves her pacifier at 2 years old!

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My Newborn

After my first post, some of you followers have expressed concern over a number of aspects of my actions. Some of you agree with me that saving baby Svetlana was a good choice, and some of you believe that it was wrong. Although you may disagree with what I’ve done, Svetlana is growing healthy, happy, and even has some baby teeth coming in! She loves to chew all her toys but I know this is simply because she is teething. Several of you have been asking what I will do for her birthday, and how I will find out when it is. I've done some research and taken Svetlana to several doctors but so far everything has been inconclusive. The doctors have been able to give rough estimates however they are unable to give me a 100 percent guarantee. Certain studies are under debate that speak about using X-rays of teeth and wrist bones to assess age but the validity/accuracy of the tests is at question. The article states that "The use of age-determination tests is currently at issue both in the UK – where the UK Border Agency is contemplating a trial of the wrist technique – and in Australia, following incidents including a 2010 scandal in which three Indonesian child immigrants were illegally jailed as “adults” after wrist X-ray tests. They were released last year after providing birth certificates” (News Scientist). In addition to the tests not being accurate, I do not want to put Svetlana under any X-Ray radiation due to her young age. Because of this, I will likely decide a date to celebrate her as her birthday based on the doctor’s estimations of her age. My first couple of months with Svetlana seemed almost sleepless because of how often she needed to be fed. Because she ate fairly often, she also utilized her diapers extraordinarily often. Svetlana and I also learned I have an extremely sensitive gag reflex and Svetlana likes to amuse herself by pooping right after I change her diaper. I believe it is safe to assume she is about 7 months old now because she is able to roll over on her own, and a few months ago (around 3 or 4) she began pushing herself away from the ground while laying on her belly (Understood).

www.newscientist.com/article/mg21428644-300-with-no-paper-trail-can-science-determine-age/amp/

https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/milestones-3yr.html

https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/signs-symptoms/developmental-milestones/developmental-milestones-from-birth-to-age-1

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Baby Svetlana on a playdate!

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#1-2)Our Family after an Unknown Pregnancy

Hello tumblr, My name is Alex Volkov and I’ve decided to start writing a blog because there have been some exciting big changes in my life that I would like to document and share. For the last couple of weeks I had been considering adopting a baby. It’s been hard to get attached to a new relationship since my wife passed and it’s also been feeling progressively more lonely as the days pass. I had been thinking that if I adopted a girl I’d most likely name her svetlana, or sveta for short and if I adopted a boy I would like to name him Nikolai. However, as of a couple of days ago, the opportunity to adopt a child presented itself and demanded a quick decision.

Therefore, I am now the father of a little baby girl, and her name is Svetlana. It’s a bit of a wild story, but it all happened a few days ago when i was on my way home, on bart, and I witnessed a woman mistreating (what I assume is) her baby. The baby looked as if it could not have been more than a couple months old. The woman was carrying the baby in her purse and was unhappy that the baby would not stop crying. I witnessed her yank, shake and strike the purse while aggressively telling it “shut up”. Not only was she putting her child at risk of shaken baby syndrome, but she was also negatively responding to its cries for help. I decided I would not allow this to go on any further. I followed the woman home and as she was unlocking her front door she left the baby on the cold hard ground without a blanket or any sort of crib/basket. At this moment I, courageously and quietly, ran up and swooped the baby, rescuing her from the abusive environment she was being raised in. Now that I am responsible for the life of a child, I decided to do some research to see what I’ve gotten myself into. The Authors at thebump.com have made me aware that raising a child as a single parent can be difficult financially and the child may feel somewhat upset when they realize they don’t live with 2 parents like a lot of other kids they will interact with. However, thebump.com also brought up the notion that my bond with my child should be stronger than it would have been if I had been raising her with someone else. My research also brought up some ideas that I had not even considered yet. For example, an aspect about single parenting that I read about at universalclass.com also pointed out that because I am the only parent in the household, there will be less disagreement about how to raise a child and parenting tactics. Being raised in a single parent household eliminates the negative possibility of the child witnessing the parents arguing and dealing with any disputes. Although I may not be experienced, I am certain that I will be able to provide a better life for her than the one she was receiving. Despite any adversity I may face as a result of being a single father, I am determined to raise Svetlana to the best of my ability.

https://www.universalclass.com/articles/self-help/pros-and-cons-in-single-parent-families.htm

http://living.thebump.com/data-single-parent-vs-dual-parent-households-15860.html

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Icons created for director Laetitia Bech’s website in collab with @dirtyhardware​