A Repeat of Chris' Day 58

Maria's View-
(Sorry, y'all, just realized that a chunk was missing and paragraphs got scrambled,  so it has been edited now! :-)
Wow, just by chance, Day 58 came up on my blog stats and I clicked on it.  It is exactly what I have experienced today with Griffin, right down to the times, except for the flavor of oatmeal!  Griffin was awake at 5:40 AM, we didn't go downstairs until around 6:30'ish.  I went down before him and prepared oatmeal and threw it into the fridge to start cooling it down.  I could tell that he was more awake than normal by his sounds so I suspect he was hungrier than usual.  I brought him down, changed his diaper, he appeared pretty happy, sat him in his highchair, brought the oatmeal into viewing distance and I immediately saw his little fists balling up.  Before I could get the first bite into his mouth, he let out a moan.  And he continued the moaning and fussiness for the entire meal.  At the end, he cried huge tears.  I cleaned him up, soothed him the best that I could, turned his highchair away from the table and kept his juice on the tray.  He continued to drink juice and calmed down as he watched a little bit of Sesame Street on TV.  I purposefully wanted him to stay in his highchair a bit longer just to see if he would calm down in it and I'm glad that he did.  So what I think I am going to do is start feeding him something healthy every 2 hours so that hopefully we can take the desperation and frustration out of the food.

The speech therapist came today to help with Little G so I wanted to get a snack in Griffin and into bed by 10.  I got an Activia Yogurt out and he really enjoyed it without any fussiness, until he heard the spoon scrape the bottom.  I could see the frustration bubbling up within him.  Thankfully, he kept control of his feelings, I gave him juice, and now both of them are sound asleep in their crib.  Speech therapy went very well for Little G and she gave me pointers for Griffin as well.  I was sad that she didn't get to meet him but she will in due time.  She is keeping Little G on weekly appts because she isn't progressing as quickly as she would like for her to. 

A sweet moment today-  Big G was sitting on the floor with Griff and me.  She was sitting at his head as he laid on his back.  She started rubbing his face back and forth from the forehead to the chin, over and over again.  I told her to stop because I thought she was annoying him, she paused, Griffin reached up and put his hands over hers and controlled them back into the rubbing motion!  He was loving it!  Then she would clap her hands and he would clap his, then he would control her clap and giggle.  It was pretty sweet.  I am so thankful that he enjoys being touched and hugged!


With all of this being said, this little guy has been fairly easy!  This has actually been a pleasant experience.   Don't get me wrong, I prefer meal times to be more peaceful but hopefully, prayerfully, God will take away his food frustrations.  I keep waiting on the storm to hit but it hasn't yet...and I know that he will start pushing boundaries eventually just as any child would, but for now, he's super sweet and easy to care for.  I really think he is enjoying having one on one time.  I doubt he has ever had anyone pay attention to him the way that Chris and I have over the past couple of months.  Not even a good nanny can give the love and attention that a parent can.

As I checked on him today during his nap, it was just dark enough in his bedroom that I had a hard time seeing him.  He had a little receiving blanket over him and I promise you, I could not see him, he is just that tiny.  In the lighting, there was hardly a bump in the blanket where he was laying.  Bless his little heart. 

But anyway, all is well here!  Please continue to pray that dude has a great doctor's appt on Friday and that he receives excellent care.... also, that his food frustrations ease.  It's time for this little boy to heal!

A quick PM update-  3 times today, dude has cried when I put him down after cradling or hugging him in my arms.  I'd say that's pretty good for bonding!  Thinking I may get the Moby wrap out.  Still a lot of fussiness but I think his tummy and/or eyes are bothering him.   Ever since we were visiting him in the orphanage, the eye that crosses flares up a lot and I really thing he could possibly have a blocked tear duct.  Looking forward to Friday!