HOME!!!

Well we made it home! Addy was not doing well in the car so once she was getting sleepy we decided it would be best to keep driving. She was still up most of the night but the driving was more tolerable. So after over 20 hours in the car, numerous stops, and way too much Elmo, we are home!

We are going to get settled in over the next day or two and then will be ready for visitors!

A few notes on adoption, attachment, and loss....

People may not realize that even babys mourn the loss of their birthmother. Think about it this way... When a baby is born it naturally appears to know who its mother is. When it crys the baby is naturally soothed by its mother, when the baby is hungry it is typically breastfed by its mother. The baby lived inside of her for 9 months and knows the mothers sounds, voice, routine, motion, and scent. When the baby is born, the 9 months in the womb has taught the baby who will be caring for and loving them.

With adoption, this dynamic changes. We, the adoptive family, take the baby from everything that it has known for the past 9 months. New sounds, voices, scents. New atmosphere. The baby doesn't understand this and still longs for that natural mother that it knew for those 9 months.

So what do we do about this? We love the baby with all of our heart and help it learn who we are. That we are his parents and will soothe him, feed him, care for him, and love him. Some baby's attach very quickly while others need more time to adjust to the new transition.

So somethings we may do...

• We will be the only ones feeding him
• We may take him away from you (if you are holding him) when he is crying so that we are the ones comforting him
• If many people are over, we may not let everyone hold him and may keep him with us depending on how he is doing

Please do not feel offended if we take him away from you. These are things we did with Addy as well and worked out well for her to learn who we were and to attach to us. So we will see how our little man does and go from there!