Update on the Boys

Things are going pretty good with the boys. Each day brings more trust, more smiles, and more experiences.

Noah is getting more and more comfortable with Chuck. Chuck has been able to change his diaper a number of times now and plays with him a lot. I was able to disappear for 45 minutes and get a much needed shower yesterday and no tears were shed. Noah still reaches for me at meal time and bath time if Chuck tries to help him. Samuel LOVES his daddy. I think he prefers Chuck to me, but he is completely comfortable with me caring for him.

Playtime is getting more active and crazy. The boys just seem to be more and more comfortable in this environment. They run circles through the kitchen, dining room, and living room if given the opportunity to do so. They know that their bedroom is theirs and they willingly go there for naptime and bedtime. Today they spent naptime in separate beds. They are in bed now separately, too. We are completely comfortable with them sharing a bed, but unfortunately one of them usually ends up on the floor. We have the beds pushed up against each other so they can still reach out and touch each other if they want.

Meal time continues to be a struggle. Samuel is a much better eater, which is strange because he is the smaller of the two. He is more willing to try new things and eats more foods than Noah. Noah is VERY picky. In general, he won't try something new. We are eating a lot of spaghetti, rice and beans, and bread. We were able to add peanut butter to the bread a few days ago. Both boys will drink some milk, but not the amount the doctor says they should be driniking. Our doctor recommended that they take Poly-Vi-Sol vitamin drops. Luckily they do like the way that tastes. They enjoy taking medicine. Both of them like liquid Tylenol. Weird.

We went to the doctor on Friday and it was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. We have a great pediatrician and the boys did really well. Samuel was examined first, with Noah watching intently. He did great. Noah was then examined and cried a little, but did really well considering how scared he is of new things. The doctor was happy with their overall health. They are in the 25th percentile for height and weight. What wasn't fun was the shots. We know the boys were immunized in Haiti, but we have no record of what they received. So, we are starting over. The boys screamed, of course, but I think they did really well. The nurse was super fast. They were both tested for TB and today we checked their arms and there are no bumps - YAY! There is still a lot of labwork to be done and stool samples to get and turn in. Samuel is being x-rayed because his legs are quite bowed. The doctor doesn't believe that it's Rickets, but he wants to make sure. He seems to think that good nutrition is going to help straighten out his legs. The only prescription we received was for eye drops. Noah has a yucky eye infection and so we will treat both boys with some eye drops. I asked about a spot on each of the boys' heads and the doctor says it's not a fungus. I'm not sure I believe that, so I'll wait a little while to see if it clears up.

Today I took the boys to church since my mom and sister were here to help with the baby. Since Chuck works at the church on Sunday mornings, I don't have his help. It will be a while before I attempt taking all three to church. Things are fine if they are all happy, but if anyone has a meltdown I will be in trouble if I'm on my own. Today went well until just as we were leaving. Samuel had a meltdown. I'm not sure what he wanted, but he was not happy that he didn't have it. I really think he was just tired because he fell asleep in the van on the way home. At church I just kept them in the double stoller and gave them cheerios to eat. We got there about 20 minutes after service started and just hung out in the lobby. We have no intention of putting them into children's ministry anytime soon unless I attend with them. They call almost all women Mama and a lot of men Papa. Most bonding and attachment material suggests not leaving them in the care of anyone else for at least 6 months, so we will follow that and see how they are doing at 6 months home.

Overall, things are going really well while we are here at home. We run into problems when we go out in public, it seems. We have lots of physical touch going on, lots of eye contact, and lots of the boys running into our arms for comfort when scared or upset. My favorite time is when we are getting them ready for bed. We put their lotion on and stare into their eyes and tell them how much we love them. It is in these tender moments that my heart overflows with love and gratitude and I'm overcome by the fact that they really are finally home. Last night as I was holding Noah and kissing him and telling him how much I love him he reached up and began caressing my face. It was so, so sweet. Samuel has done the same to Chuck.

Of course, having a newborn puts an added spin on everything. Meal times, bathtime, and getting ready for bed are all very tricky times. Having my mom and sister here this weekend to take care of the baby has been such a blessing. Lots of people have offered their help and Chuck and I are talking about possibly having friends come over to help with the baby between 6 and 7:30 p.m. It's an odd time of day, but it is really when we need the most help. I have thought about doing baths in the morning, and I might do that in the future, but for now we feel that it's really important to have Chuck be a part of bath time.

I'll end this post on a completely off topic and random note - today I got my wedding band back on (it is tight) and I'm wearing shorts from last summer. Yeah, I'm sporting a mad squishy muffin top, but I am totally wearing pre-pregnancy clothes 30 days after having a baby - woohoo!!