It has been a little over a week since we brought Benjamin home and we are all getting adjusted to being a family of 5. The people at the International Adoption Clinic told us to watch progress by the week as opposed to by the day. Often times we may expect Benjamin to behave a certain way or should know something we told him yesterday, but we have to be patient and recognize that everything is new. We are starting to incorporate some boundaries, but mainly trying to do things that will develop trust, bonding, and attachment. We have noticed some very positive signs that he is starting to look to us as his parents. When we first got him in Taiwan, he got hurt doing something and his response was to just put his head down and deal with it. Now, if he falls down or gets hurt he wants his mama to pick him up and hold him. We have noticed that he no longer reaches for others to hold him and is very content that we are holding him. Our nights are still a little rough, but they seem to be getting better. The past two nights, he has only whimpered (not cried!!) and it takes him less time to go to sleep! He will go to sleep with Nanette holding him in our bed, then she transfers him to his bed and he typically sleeps through the night. There are times when he has woken up, but overall we think there is good progress. He is starting to feel safe and secure, even enough to get in his bed (a pack-n-play) to play and pretend like he is sleeping. Things like this are small steps to help him feel secure and know that we are always going to be here when he wakes up.
Since we got home, he has avoided taking naps willingly, but it works out that when Nanette goes to pick Bryce and Elise up at school, he falls asleep in the car and gets a 20-30 minute nap…just enough to keep him on good behavior until bed time. He is just like all other 3 year olds, when they get tired, their behavior becomes a little unpredictable.
Overall, Benjamin is adjusting well and a lot of things are going pretty smooth. We feel that Benjamin is learning English very quickly. It appears that he understands more than we think he does! Of course, he has selective hearing occasionally, as most kids do!! He is eating pretty much whatever we give him and we are not noticing any “bad” signs with his eating. He has been telling us that he is hungry frequently and we have learned that we are to feed him whenever at this time to gain the trust and dependence to provide for him. Despite all of the information we received from our agency, which was that he was a picky eater and very slow, he has shown no signs of being picky and he finishes before Elise!
Bryce and Elise continue to be a great big brother/sister, always wanting to help and play with Benjamin. They are very proud of their brother and find many things that he does funny! They have exceeded all of our expectations!
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