Five months home

I think it's time for another update on this little guy!  Has it really been five months now since we first met our precious baby?  In this short amount of time he has solidified his place in our family and my heart.  He is, in many ways, so much a part of me that it feels like I've always known him. 

 

I do want to share a little about one of the things I have struggled with.  That is coming down off this "adoption high."  There was a lot of anticipation leading up to finally meeting our lil' peanut.  The trip to Korea, our first meeting, bringing him home...I was just in a state of euphoria for several weeks.  And then real life set in (I think my real life was a bit harder due to the fact hubby was gone) and I struggled with "feeling it."  Where did those over-the-moon feelings I had for my son in the beginning go?  Particularly when our honeymoon stage wore off.  I thought the "honeymoon" would last a few weeks.  Ours lasted a few months.  So, imagine my surprise when after smooth sailing things started to go downhill 2-3 months in.  Thanks to the world of facebook I understand that this is quite normal.  And I've been able to look at our attachment journey more as an up and down ride rather than one smooth uphill journey.  But, even when you know it's normal and you certainly don't fault your child for their feelings/behaviors because they are entitled to them after what they've been through...It's still hard to love a child in spite of their rejection of you.  There, said it.  And some days, even now, I think "if I get slapped in the face one more time..."  But, then later when he comes to me and says "uppa" and sits in my lap or when he sees me and says "hi" with a big grin on his face...I do get those over-the-moon feelings.  In our relationship, I have moments where my eyes fill with tears I am so overwhelmed by the love I feel for this child.  And I also have moments where he makes me want to stick my head in the freezer and scream. ;)  Seriously though, you know what that feels like to me?  Normal.  Motherhood.  Real.  A lot of that "newness" has worn off and with it I've watched the fading away of my child who could do no wrong.  Now when I look at him, I simply see a child.  My child.  We're coming along.

 

Sleep...

He goes through little phases every few weeks where sleep is rough, but overall he is a good sleeper.  We haven't really nailed down a solid nap/bedtime routine.  Sometimes we read books, sometimes we don't.  Every once in awhile he goes down without a bottle.  When I put him to bed he likes to be rocked, but hubby has success just laying him down right away in his crib.  Sometimes he gets mad being in his crib and points to the floor, so we lay with him on a little pallet until he's asleep.  We're still letting him dictate most of that and trying to do what he's most comfortable with (which just so happens to change on a pretty regular basis!)  We'll get there eventually but right now it's just not one of the battles I'm choosing to fight.  Need to be rocked to sleep?  Sure.  Insist on sleeping on the floor?  No big deal.  Must have a book in each hand, bottle in your mouth, and tractor blanket covering your feet and half your face?  Okey dokey. ;)

 

Food...

He has gotten a little pickier since he first came home, but he is still by far my more adventurous eater.  I have seriously been lacking in my efforts to serve Korean food, but it's something I plan to be better at after my second surgery.  Actually, I do have a crockpot recipe for bulgogi that is on the agenda for this week!  He prefers meat over carbs and would rather have sausage or bacon for breakfast instead of waffles or pancakes.  His favorite breakfast food though is oatmeal.  He inhales it.  And he still loves yogurt.  Grapes and bananas are his favorite fruits.  He tried clementines for the first time last week and gobbled them up.  Fruit snacks are my go-to for shopping trips, keeping him quiet for five minutes when on an important phone call, avoiding meltdowns, bonding...etc.  He really, really likes them. :)

 

Speech...

His receptive language just continues to improve.  I really don't think there's much we say that he doesn't understand.  He regularly uses all the signs he has previously learned and picks up new ones very quickly when I introduce them.  He has recently been making more of an effort to repeat words after us.  A lot of them still don't sound anything like the real thing, but he's trying. :)  He has a few two word phrases - uh-oh, oh no, bye bye car.  He probably has about 15-20 words that I think other people would understand. :)  Car, bye bye, hi, dada, nana, papa, whoa, hurt, ow, down, eye, eyebrow (one of my new favorites!), star, tree, no, neh (yes in Korean which seems easier for him to say than yes)  He has more words than that but they are the "I know what he's saying" type. 

Christopher - kuh kuh

Tractor/Jacket - both sound like Dada so you have to rely on context :)

Up - uppa (super cute)

shoes - chews

bottle - bow

 

Sass!

He has a lot more than I originally thought!  Coming out recently in the following two ways...going out of his way to annoy big brother...sitting on top of him, sitting in his chair, snatching his toys, drinking out of his cup, etc.  And taking full advantage of the fact that I can't get to him quickly.  I can't tell you how many times he has grabbed something he knows he's not supposed to have and when I tell him to give it back he says "no" in, what I have to admit, is the cutest voice ever.  Then runs straight to the kitchen because he knows he can run circles around the island faster than I can scoot.  He laughs his little head off while I try to cut him off and take back my cell phone, bobby pin, piece of nastiness he pulled from the trashcan, etc. 

 

We love our little boy!!!  He has turned our world upside down, for sure.  And now as the dust is settling we are looking around at our new normal and thinking...yep, we're gonna enjoy this. :)