We had a long morning to eat breakfast and wait...and wait. Rob and I sat in chairs in the room just looking at each other. There wasn't much to say. Jackson was playing the computer and we were just wanting the time to pass. Rob said that I finally understood what labor was like for him. He couldn't DO anything, just wait. He finally convinced me to take a walk. A street market was a short distance away, so we walked. The vendors had food, produce and butchered meat as well as some live meat. The produce all looked so good. I really got hooked on the baby bok choy. We bought a huge bunch of bananas for a few cents. We also had some small citrus fruit, you eat peel and all. Yes, we all ate the fruit, but we were sure to wash it with the boiled water and dry it thoroughly. I never got sick from the fruit.
When we returned, we met our guide in the lobby of the hotel and continued to wait some more. About 2:30, Ethan, 2 nannies, the director and a driver walked through the door and towards us. He was shy at first and we gave him some toys. Overall, he didn't want to come to us. Jackson was really upset because he said, "Ethan didn't want us." I explained that he just doesn't know us yet. Jackson and I went up to the room to get the gifts and it gave me a chance to calm Jackson. When we went back down, the guide took Ethan from the director and handed him to me. The nannies were really crying and I wasn't prepared for that. They said that he was the favorite and very naughty, maybe hard for us. There was a flurry of papers and I had no chance to ask my list of questions. He was kicking and screaming and we headed to the room. He's 2 and very strong! Poor fella! I felt so bad for him and for me. After a few minutes in the room, we went to have our family picture made for the adoption certificate.
By the time we went back to the room, about 5:00, Ethan was exhausted. He laid down on the floor and slept. We were afraid to move him. Jackson went to bed, too and we had a strange couple of hours of quiet. Now, I know that sleep is Ethan's reaction to any difficult day. He just seems to withdraw and sleep. He certainly did sleep a lot the first three days we had him. But for this first day, Rob and I sat on the floor and put our hands on his back and prayed and wept. It was such a relief and so endearing. It is a precious moment from our trip that I will never forget.
When the boys woke up, Rob went to the street market and got us a feast for $3.50. He got water, milk in a box for Ethan, meatballs, saucy vegetables. I'm not sure what the meat was, but the vendor laughed when Rob bought it. Well, whatever it was, it was good and we all ate it. Not long after eating, Ethan had his first bath. He was more comfortable with Rob, so he bundled him up in a towel and dressed him in pajamas. He laid him in the portable crib and Ethan put his thumb in his mouth, rolled over and went to sleep. Then, we all went to bed and slept until morning. What a day!
Interesting 'gotcha day' events - all of it - but thanks for recognizing that Ethan 'retreated' into sleep! Nothing at all wrong with that - we've had all the differnt responses that you could imagine - from open acceptance, to joy, to just plain rage - but in the end it's always been good! But still - hard for a mom to let the child bond with the dad because the child is more 'comfortable'....but a good thing to let happen!!
ReplyDeletekeep em comin!!
hugs - aus and co.