Marking One Week of Being Home

Time is marching on and now that I look back on the time that Bereket has been in our arms and now in our home, I realize time can very much be our friend.  Time has helped so many things, so much adjustment for our sweet guy.

I did not even realize until after we got home that it was exactly 3 months (27th) after Eden arrived at the Medford airport, that we arrived home with Bereket!  I am thankful that with that time of having Eden home and getting her settled and adjusted into her new home and with her family, Cade and I were both able to leave her with confidence and  assurance that she would be okay!  She was and she is.  She has been amazing with Bereket as well as Bella and the other kiddos, but I have watched for regression in her attachment with us and I don't see it.  With time I can now say that I see so much progress in Bereket being home!

It was very much like bringing home a new baby from the hospital.  We all had been looking forward to this for so much time (well over nine months, though)!  Instead of getting a quiet, baby- smelling baby, though, we had a new baby that was already 2 years old, had developed some very bad behavioral habits due to his time at the orphanage with inconsistent nannies and inconsistent mothers, a very stubborn will (he's 2!), bad smelling mouth, ringworm, fungal scalp, bad diapers, you get the picture!!  Needless to say, we all love him like crazy!!!  I just want to keep it real.  It is not like it has been an easy road of getting him home (you all know the adoption process hasn't been easy), put him in our family, and ta da!!

When we got to our home, Bereket had fallen asleep so I transferred him to his crib and he continued to sleep as the evening wore on.  The kids were so anxious to hold him and play with him and asked if he would wake soon.  I told them, "Maybe not, he's really tired."  He did not wake until 12 am.  The first night was rough (as well as several following), but what can you expect?!  He woke up in a strange bed and strange place.  However, we were not going to be promoting playing in the middle of the night so we held him tight and gave him a bottle, and eventually..... just put him in our bed!  We were both so tired as well.  What can you say?

The next morning, though, he was sleeping hard after a fitful night and the kids were once again very anxious for him to wake up.  At one point, Bella was pretty much laying right on him!!  These were the pictures I took of that morning!

  The kids were happy when he woke up but he didn't have any tolerance for them touching him, kissing him, or playing with him, let alone holding him!!  It was just too much for him to take in.  So many new surroundings and so much stimulation.  On Sunday he started interacting with them and then it has just improved steadily with time.  On Monday it was good for him when the older kids went to school and it was just Cade and I, Eden, Bella, and him!!  

We have learned so many things about little B. since we have had him!  He absolutely LOVES to be outside!!  His daddy and him have done a lot of bonding in their relationship being outside!!  Bereket also loves looking at books.  On the airplane we had one little book he would look at and then magazines he would do the same!!  He is super sharp and even though he maybe does not understand a lot of our words in English, he does understand, no, come, diaper, up, and some words like that!  Like I said before, he is very stubborn and knows what he wants, so he has been testing his mom and dad and finding his boundaries.  This is normal.  Little B. has had a harder time with eating.  We actually had to make him try food and almost always when he finally tries the food, he eats and eats.  We feel like he has not had a positive feeding experience at the orphanage.  Most likely, he was fed the same food over and over and I know for a fact that they stuffed it in his mouth!!  They have so many babies and only so much time.  Bereket is smiley and happy most always, though.  Some neighbors stopped by our house the other night, though, and it was interesting to watch Bereket.  He was very active, playing and walking around but when they came in the house he came to me and started acting very sleepy.  It was almost bedtime, so I had Cyrus make a bottle for him (yes, he is still taking formula) because I wanted him to sleep good and make sure he had a full tummy.  Anyway, he was drinking the bottle and appeared to be almost sleeping.  The minute our neighbors walked out the door, his eyes fluttered wide open!!  I shouldn't have been surprised.  We have seen that often he reacts to new experiences, or unsure surroundings by kind of shutting down.  He gets totally lax in my arms and ignores the situation, or people. 

Well, baby Bereket is now out of his crib and done napping and the beautiful sunshine is calling me outdoors so I will have to wrap this post up for now!!!  Happy weekend to you all!!