Wednesday, June 25, 2008

If I were to recount what we did today, it could be summed up in about 3 sentences: It rained. We stayed in the hotel, waiting for our guide to confirm that our Consulate appointment had gone smoothly and for the rain to stop. We watched 3 movies, played on the floor and finally left our nest to get some dinner at the Italian restaurant.

So I'm going to take this opportunity to go into a bit of detail about the star of this show: Shepherd. This is a little boy who keeps his mama and baba on their toes. Not so much physically, but certainly emotionally. He is a roller coaster of emotions, we are still trying to decipher what is anxiety, what is sadness and what is just good ol' fashioned toddler fit-throwing. Shepherd LOVES to be held. Good thing, yes? We agree, it is a wonderful sign that he enjoys this close contact. He is very comfortable gazing deeply into our eyes, loves to be held in the 'cradle hold' when he takes a bottle and has even given me a few incredibly sweet (and sloppy) kisses. The downside of this is when one of us, or both of us, have something we need to do. Like shower. Or get dressed. Shepherd flips out. Falls over, kicks and screams and doesn't stop until he thinks his demands will be met. Sometimes I can even be holding him and he'll throw a temper tantrum if I am not holding him correctly or if he doesn't get something he is requesting in the timeframe he has determined. Yes! Fun stuff!! So we are trying to ride out this temporary acclimation time, being neither too lenient nor too strict. We hold him a LOT, everytime we go out, at meals (he has just recently started sitting well in the high chair, though), when he naps and much of the time in the room. But we want him to get some 'floor time', time to play, explore and use his little body. We have seen great progress in the last few days, he is actually playing with his toys and finally enjoying some time on the floor. Thank You, Lord!

Shepherd is verbalizing more and more. No real words, I suspect those are quite a ways off, but it's great to hear him vocalizing. He engages us with imitation games and pointing at things that interest him. He can wave hello and goodbye (two different waves), has a great pitching arm, can feed himself finger foods and still gets 95% of his liquids from a bottle. His favorite foods are: congee, bread, crackers, cereal, noodles, cheese, crackers and bread. Yes, a very limited diet. He really likes to try other foods, but can't seem to chew them enough to get them to the back of his mouth where he can swallow. We're hoping that he'll learn how to chew and swallow without therapy, until then, I'm going to have to find a good congee recipe ;)

He is shy with strangers and averts his gaze if one of the shopkeepers tries to engage him in conversation. He will smile when we are out, more and more, but his best smiles are in the room, where he feels most safe. He has the cutest habit of holding something in both hands (he prefers food, but toys will do) and if he gets a better offer, he'll drop the least favorite to pick up the bigger-better-deal. Tonight at dinner we were eating thin breadsticks. When he would eat one down a bit, he'd hand it to me, gesturing for me to give him a new, whole one, all the while clutching onto the other breadstick in his opposite hand. He's becoming more amenable to the high chair (it's been a process), but has flatly refused the stroller. We have not pushed this, we agree that it's best to carry him whenever possible while we're out. He prefers mama for the most part, but baba is the fun one and gets the biggest smiles and giggles. From an attachment and emotional health standpoint, Shepherd seems to be doing wonderfully.

I do imagine our 'little emperor' might have a bit of an adjustment upon entering our family. He seems quite comfortable in the role of 'only child', and I doubt he'll happily give up that title for 'baby' of the family. But we are confident that, with time, the benefits of a large family will outweigh the drawbacks. I can't wait to see Shepherd and his brothers wrestling on the floor or with his sisters, giggling in the tub. What an adventure awaits, for ALL of us :)