Sunday, April 22, 2012

Sweet Memories



This makes me cry EVERY TIME I WATCH IT!
There is no feeling like meeting your son.
Even if he cries a little.
Then there is poor finn on my back, he's not sure what to do either :)
These moments and the progress we made that week help me to get through these days.

These memories are similar to those you have at the hospital. When you think back, you think , "Gosh, you were so small. I remember the moment I first saw you. I remember when you first cried in the night..."  These are our "new parent" moments and memories with him.  Next time we see him, he will be 3 months older (hopefully less).  I would compare it to your child being in the NICU across the globe...

Trying to walk with Gigi

Our sweet boy and his snaggleteeth... :)

The leaning crawler...at the beginning of the week he wouldn't crawl at all.

I kept throwing his toys far away so he had to get them...

Crawling a little lopsided, but he was doing it by a couple days into our visit!

And although the sweet guy can be a little bit unsure, he loves to play!

Sweet Finn got his first tooth on the plane ride to Ethiopia and his second one right after we arrived. He spent a lot of time running his tongue over his new teeth.  


I know updates have been sparse here lately.  I am trying to enjoy these days with Finn, really mourning that they are the last ones that we get just us.  But also childproofing and rejoicing that soon we will have a new brother.  We are so excited about that!  Finn is rolling all around.  If I walk out of the room he will have rolled across the room looking for me!

We haven't heard anything from embassy or our agency.  It will be four weeks since court on Tuesday.  That means we are probably about one third of the way there!  That seems encouraging to me!  I have had friends there almost continuously so far playing with him.  When the last one leaves, that will be very  hard, because noone I know will be going over there to play anytime soon.  That breaks my heart!

I hope you all are having a wonderful Sunday.

Today, I left Finn in the nursery for two services at church while I served the school age kids.  I tried to get him to take a bottle with no luck.  In the past, when he has taken them, he will take them if they are warm (this was not) and if I am not around.  Today, he refused, even though he was starving. It could have been the temperature...but.. Any tips? If I leave this guy for 7 DAYS (slight panic at the mere words), I definitely need him confidently taking a bottle before I leave!!  I am really praying about leaving him home and going tiwth Brandon to get Eli.  He would be with my in laws, who were going to go with us, so I feel very comfortable with that....but not with the idea of leaving him and being on the other side of the world.  Maybe we should start with one night?? It's all hard...but I definitely need him to be used to a bottle of breast milk...and..has anyone pumped for a week and kept their supply?

I am SO HAPPY we took him on our first trip. NO REGRETS AT ALL. But, he will be mobile for our next trip...and I don't want to be trying to transition home to Georgia with Eli while dealing with a possibly sick (I'm talking colds, not big illness...) Finn as well.  I haven't written off the idea...but I am trying to look at options.  Plus, taking him in the car there was crazy....horrible pollution, no car seats, etc.(He threw up every time we got out of the car there)..so we ended up staying at the transition home most of the time...and I would love to get to see Eli's place of birth,etc, which we can't do if we have Finn...so...just some thinking points.

ANYWAY. Thanks for reading all the rambling. I love that so many of you have followed our journey!





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18 comments:

  1. I have been reading your blog for about a year and I think you are such an inspiring person! You have had such an incredible journey and I look forward to reading your posts. On a baby note I have an 11 month little boy so I totally get the whole bottle thing. Have your tried different bottles? Tommy tippee bottles are great for transitioning breast feeding babies to bottles. Good luck!!

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    1. THANK YOU! Maybe I can try those!! It seems he really likes them warm. :) I am learning as I go with the bottle thing!! Thanks for your help!!

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  2. Such a beautiful video. It's so hard to see the reactions of our kiddos upon that first meeting. My son just stared at me blankly. . . or wouldn't look at me at all. So hard! But then you'll find yourself home for a while with your new child, and they become an entirely different child than we first meet in Ethiopia. It's amazing. :)

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    1. Oh, Leah, as we get closer I would love to talk to you more! Our case got submitted to Embassy today! I wondered at first if Eli had a problem because he would not give anyone EYE CONTACT. But it is getting better.

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  3. Mady and I just watched all the videos of sweet Eli (and the whole fam)! We loved them and they made me cry tears of joy. I know this wait must be very hard. I am praying for you guys. Really want to meet both these boys soon :)

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    1. I'm so glad Mady watched with you. LOVE YOU GUYS!!

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  4. Pumped for 7 days while in Maui. Took Fenugreek 1x/day and (double) pumped every 3-4 hours for 20 minutes. On the plane I used my nursing cover to remain hide the funnels. :) I think my supply may have increased. You can do it!!!

    The hardest part was dumping the milk...I thought I was going to cry every time.

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  5. My little boy would not take a bottle of breast milk but would take a bottle of formula (ready to feed). Maybe you could try that.

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  6. This mama, Jennifer, at www.mycharmingkids.net froze bm before leaving for Africa and pumped while gone. Ask her for advice :-)

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    1. THANK YOU for your help!! I appreciate it so much!

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  7. I pumped for 5 days while my husband and I were in Jamaica. My little man was not big on the bottle either, but leading up to our trip, I pumped and fed him at least one bottle a day to get him used to it. He ended up doing great. Also, you could try using a different bottle? Avent has always worked best for us.

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  8. What a sweet moment in your life! I can't imagine all the emotions you are going through. Im so happy for you. I can relate to the introduction of a bottle. I had a hard time with Isaiah when I went back to work. He would only take 1-2oz at a feeding. It was a rough transition. His reaction is perfectly normal. I agree with Natalie. Start giving him one bottle a day (not from you though) so he can get used to the bottle. Make sure he is not starving though when you give him the bottle. Next time he's in the nursery and he wont take a bottle maybe leave some baby food (just a thought). I'm a pumping machine right now. I can give you tips if you would like them. Facebook me. Once big recommendation - if you have a double electric pump buy a hands free bra (you will love yourself if you do) You can blog while pumping, read, or do whatever you'd like. Best pumping purchase ever.

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    1. I feel like a pumping machine right now because I am trying to pump practice bottles in addition to the stockpile for when we are gone for a WEEK. I am going to buy one of those bras now. Thanks for the practical advice. You're the best!

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  9. Check out Kellymom.com for any breastfeeding needs. Love that website.

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  10. Hey girl! Just going to chime in. When I was nursing Nathan I did leave him just a couple of times for several day stretches. I started feeding him a bottle for his last bottle of the day (he was sleeping through night at 7 weeks, so no night time bottles needed). We started with bm then eventually transitioned to formula as he got closer to a year. After putting him to bed, I still pumped to keep up my supply. That way I had a lot for the freezer. When I was gone he did just fine on the bottles of bm. He also went right back to nursing (almost exclusively) when I came home. I did the Fenugreek as well, and pumped while I was away. It killed me to dump that "liquid gold" down the sink.

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    1. THANK YOU!! I think I'm going to try a bottle for the evening feeding. I just hate to "waste" a bottle because I am trying to build the stockpile for being gone 7 days. GAH....that is a LOT of milk!! I have about 20 bags and need 40 or so. Probably less...but I don't want them to run out!!

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  11. Speaking of crying...i am a tad disturbed at the number of tears I have cried while following your story over the last few years...it is even worse now that I know you in real life...LOVE to you as you make these decisions, friend!

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