Runny Nose and Confessions

Since last Wednesday, Diego has been sick. He woke up with a runny nose out of the blue and after a day applying Vick Vapor on his chest and back things did not improve. Wednesday night he kept waking up in discomfort and fever, so we gave him Motrim, but we all spent a pretty tough night... I took him to the doctor, but it seems to be a virus and we just need to let it go its course... He still has the runny nose and seems pretty congested... In the 5 months home, this is the first time that Diego looked sick like this and even tough he still seems full of energy and running all around, it has been quite tough for us...

The only good thing about going to the doctor this week was that we found out that Diego is now 24 lb-4 ounces and confirmed he is 32 inches long!!! He has gained 4 pounds in 5 months home!! He went from 5th to 25th percentile for weight and from 12th to 36th percentile for height! I know people will still make "kind" remarks about how "tinny" he is, but I don't care, dynamite comes in small packages and my dynamite is strong and rocks!

Something I noticed these past days is that with being sick, Diego felt more vulnerable and even fearful/more sensitive. He woke up the first day during his nap, called me, I got into the room and he was siting "waiting for me". Once he saw me he laid down and went back to sleep right away. Also I bumped his chin a tinny bit while siting him in his high chair, and he looked at me in shock, and his eyes started to get watery... I told him it was an accident and I was sorry and he seemed OK then... He also wants to be carried more and wants to hold my hand more to walk... My little boy, he spent a lot of time in Russia being sick and I get the feeling people were not too compassionate or nice when they took care of him... Even tough it's so sad to see Diego not feeling great, I hope Diego will see how much we care and love him and this will bring him one step closer to be attached to us...

Attachment... A lot of families have posted about this topic this week... So I won't, but in a month, at Diego's 6 months Gotcha Day I will give you a somewhat detailed update on how things have improved in the attachment area, measures we took and more areas of work... Bloggers like Adrianne's and Melissa's, who continued their blogs after more than a year of bringing their sons home, are some of the examples that keep me posting, even when it is just couple of times per month...

Now, I have a confession to make... Today is 5 months since Gotcha Day. I know that it may seem too long for this, but for few weeks now I see myself laughing at and with my boy when he is toddling around, exploring everything, imitating every simple thing Mark or I do, and I can not stop saying "I love you Diego"!! And I totally mean it! I have to admit that I loved being his mother since the judge granted the petition to adopt him, and since I met him I cared for him and wanted the best for him, but at the same time once we came home it was hard to LOVE a little person who I didn't know well... But now (well, since few weeks now) I feel we have a relationship, I know of his likes and dislikes, and together we are exploring and findings new things to enjoy as a family and bond... And I think (I am actually almost sure) he can read and sense how I feel now about him.... And as "The connected child" book said (I am reading this book now - EXCELLENT BOOK): "Let Genuine Appreciation Shine Through"! Once a kid can tell whether or not you enjoy being with him, love, and respect him, he can carry into positive interactions and build a relationship!

We met with the social worker today for the first post placement report. The meeting was very positive and she made a lot of remarks about how cute looking, smart, happy, and in the process of attaching to us Diego seemed like!!! I haven't downloaded the pics for this month from the camera, but these are few of the pics we will include in the report (we will include 8 pics, but you have already seen few of them).