Yeap, I have him all geared up with shoes, long pants (for this crawling) and a hat! I also started applying baby sunscreen, because here in AZ it is a must!
- Make effort to make eye contact when feeding and rocking (sometimes you just want him to eat and just give up!)
- Talk softly in the house and do not show irritation/impatience in front of Diego
- Make Diego laugh as much as we can and smile at him a lot
- Tell him we love him million times/day
- Do a session of lotion and body massage twice/day
- Cradle/rock him before sleeping
I know it's not rocket science, but sometimes, after hours of taking care of him and getting exhausted, you forget simple things... It was also important to "set the rules" and agree with Mark on how to work towards gaining Diego's trust and promote his attachment to us... So, little by little we will see how things evolve... Right now, I can tell you that it was MAJOR score, when yesterday I found he has tickles in his neck and under arm... he also laughs when I play with my fingers as they are spiders and crawl up to his arms and body...
Also, as Ciari and Jose (another CSS family we met in Moscow) told us, right now Diego is in the "Velcro" phase. Whenever he is not crawling/walking or playing, he wants to be in your arms!! At the beginning it was getting really tiring, and even my mom was telling me that if I didn't stop it he would not start walking... But after thinking about it and reading the attachment tips, I am now taking full advantage of all the "Velcro" time to hold him very close to my body and even I am wearing tank tops to promote more body contact...
Today I took Diego to the specialist for his groin hernia. He has it in both sides, and even though is not terrible right now and we scheduled the surgery for May 5, the Monday right after his Baptism. I mentioned the doctor we just adopted him from Russia and he asked few questions about the process. Then he asked me if I was Russian! When I told him I was from Ecuador, he told me he was just there and in Peru doing free surgeries for kids. We talked a little about his experience there and then he complemented Diego on how good and full of energy he looks! I really love when people say positive things about my Diego!
After the doctor we did a quick visit to my office. I know, I know, I should not take Diego around too much, but we were in the neighborhood and I felt I had to take advantage of being out of the house and looking decent... The three owners of the company where there and once again Diego got bunch of compliments!!!
Thanks for the comments a lot of you left on our previous post. I was feeling really bit up and a little down. They helped a lot!
7 comments:
Sinzi - it was great to see you briefly in the SVO airport when you were heading home with Diego. He is such a cutie!
I just wanted to thank you for sharing these experiences with all of us. To pass time as we wait for our court date, Norm & I are going to come up with a schedule for Ilya as well as a plan for his first couple of months home so that we can hopefully have the easiest transition for him possible. Getting info like this from those who have BTDT (been there done that) is so very helpful. Please continue posting when you have a chance!
Karyn
What a smile!! He looks so happy in those pictures. I think the thought of balancing work and a little one is one of the most difficult things a Mother is forced to do today. Enjoy your little guy.
Joy
Sinziana, thanks for the attachment tips and I didn't even think of the tank tops. I think I'll pack a couple for trip 3 to Russia.
Diego is so cute and it is obvious by that gigantic smile on his face that he is a very happy boy!
What a great smile! He is just so cute!
Thanks for sharing the attachment tips. I'll be needing those with Eli after next week!
What a contagious smile Diego has! :-) Awesome tips about attachment and bonding. I don't know if you read Adrienne's blog but she has worked very, very hard with Owen on establishing eye contact. She might have some good tips and she is so super sweet and easy to talk to. Thank you so much for sharing all of this info - you're such a GREAT mommy to be noticing all of these things with Diego. Many hugs!
Diego is so cute! On the attachment things -- we had a similar issue with Simone not wanting to look at us while she was taking her bottle in the first few months home. However, she made plenty of eye contact at other times. When I talked to Carol at the agency and to our friend who is an attachment therapist about it, they both said not to sweat it so long as she was doing well and making/seeking out eye contact at other times. Sometimes it's just uncomfortable for them at first to take the bottle face-to-face as that's not how they were fed before. We worked in a lot of good games that required face time (cou-cou, where's your nose, here comes the airplane while spoon feeding, etc.), and that progressed attachment without making bottle times too stressful for any of us. Now, at almost 3, she loves to play what she calls "Bebe la-la", and to lie in our arms with her sippy cup and look right in our eyes. Don't foget that attachment is a journey of months and years (I did at first, because I am impatient by nature!) -- and it sounds as if you are doing all of the right things with Diego. Take care,
Lori
Sinziana,
Thank you for your comment on my blog! Diego is ADORABLE! Sounds like he is already starting to make good steps toward attachment. Being like Velcro is huge!!!! Keep up the good work!!! Let me know if you ever have questions I may be able to answer :o)
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