Happy Halloween…A Couple Days Late

My Internet connection has horrible for the past few days so I’m finally posting about K’s home coming on Halloween Day. I also owe a few people emails and hope to be catching up in the next day or so, depending on how well nap times go.

Friday, October 31, 2008: Day 59 in Kostanai

Friday Morning Thoughts

Not able to get on-line this morning, I thought it would be a good time to journal so I would haveve enough energy. Today’s the big day when K finally gets to leave the baby house; the home he’s know since he was just an infant. The caregivers and baby house staff have been wonderful sniffing him at every pass (yes, sniffing) and his positive attitude and disposition seem to reflect the attention he gets as he draws in any passerby with his inquisitive stares and charming smile. With that said, the head caregiver announced yesterday that he was, “ready to go”. K hasn’t been sleeping and has been very fussy this past week. Teething is probably the true reason, but I like to think that it is because he knows it is time to come home.

Halloween is already a day of significance for Doug and I. On October 31st, 2000, we had our first “real date”. After our initial meeting and a chance crossing of paths at Brian Boru’s, Doug invited me to his home in Freeport for a German dinner of sauerkraut, sausage, and spaetzel. Not knowing him very well and being slightly cautious, I called my sister Kerri to tell her where I was going and that, if I didn’t call her in the morning, to send the police.

After a fantastic dinner and a few trick-or-treaters, Doug suggested that we go for a moonlit Halloween walk to the ravine in the woods behind the house to a spot commonly known as the Devil’s Drinking Cup. Although my anxiety level soared at the suggestion of a walk in the woods with someone I didn’t really know on Halloween night to a place called “The Devil’s Drinking Cup”, my reply was, “O.K.”

Off we went into the woods, Doug, myself, and Cujo (actually Kodie, a hefty malamute and former beloved dog). Crossing the yard, we headed for the railroad tracks and walked about 100 yards before taking a sharp right into the woods. This is where I started thinking, “If he is an axe murderer, at least Kerri will know basically where to search for me.” Our path, lit only slightly by the moon and the lantern Doug carried, traversed a small incline followed by steep downward slope into the ravine to what looked to be a small area for teenage parties. We then came out into a large flat area covered by tall pines whose rust colored needles covered the forest floor. Splitting the ravine was healthy stream and at its head was the pool so well named for a hauntingly Halloween hike. It was beautiful, even in the dark, and I was ready for the walk to be done. [Pictures are Kodie with a leaf stuck to the end of his nose and the stream in winter.]

After only a short time tromping around, we climbed back up the hill and headed for home. Relieved that I hadn’t been chopped to pieces in the dark woods of Freeport, ME on Halloween night and having discovered that Doug was a fantastic cook, I decided that our date had been a success. I would definitely go out with this guy again and it would certainly be a Halloween night to remember.

Friday Evening
So here I am on another Halloween that will truly be one to not forget. It is the day our son left the baby home for the final time. My morning began with an 8:30 a.m. pick-up with a stop at a pharmacy for baby formula (Nutrilac) and then to a market for semolina (Cream of Wheat type cereal) and a cake to go along with my gifts for the caretakers. The goodbyes were short and sweet as I ran in to the baby room to kiss the other children one last time (I wish I could take a couple more with me), changed K who was just waking from his morning nap, sorted gifts, and ran around the baby house making deliveries and giving our final farewells. After only about 40 minutes, we jumped back into the car and headed for home.

Although I greatly appreciate all the orphanage has done for our son, and us I was O.K. with a quick departure. For the past week or so, I’ve truly been ready to leave. As this process has moved forward, I’ve become more anxious to experience motherhood full time and to be in control of my son’s daily activities. I’m excited to be able to feed him every meal, change his diapers and sit him on his potty, play without sweating in the overheated baby rooms, put him to bed, and all of the other things that come with the responsibility of a child. It is a blessing and I feel so lucky to be able to finally experience it all.

And, experience it I did. My first full day as a mom went fairly well, I have to say. When we returned to the apartment around 10 a.m. I fed K his bottle that was sent with him from the baby house, we played for a little while; I changed his diaper and then put him down for his first nap.

I don’t have a Pack n’ Play or crib so I did the best with what I do have: a large drawer from the bottom of the couch that was easily removed and placed in the bedroom. With the extra blankets and sheets I have in the apartment, I fixed up a nice cozy little bed that just fits our quickly growing boy. He slept from 11 a.m. until 12:45 p.m. when I finally woke him for his lunch.

While he slept I tried to figure out not only his napping and eating schedule but also what he usually eats at each given time. Although I had a rough idea of this information, I didn’t get the full translation until this morning. I also spent some time trying to figure out how to use the Avent bottles I bought at the TSUM and made sure that they weren’t toxic in any way via some quick Internet research. (I fear plastics!)

NOTE: Here are two great sites for toxicity information as well as other baby stuff: The Soft Landing Blog– http://thesoftlanding.wordpress.com/ and Safe Mama at http://safemama.com.

My two hours of dicing and mincing meat yesterday morning paid off as K hungrily ate all of his lunch. After his meal, I decided that we needed some fresh air and that it was a good time for a walk. The weather was gorgeous today. We’ve really been lucky with how warm it has been this fall. Taking advantage of what probably won’t last too much longer; we walked all through the park by our apartment as well as its perimeter to extend our journey. We ended up at the baby store at the TSUM mall where I purchased a couple more nipples for the two baby bottles I have and a potty.

How proud was I when the first time I sat K on the potty, directly after our walk, he made a deposit that would have been quite a messy diaper to change. After this big event, it was time for his afternoon nap. I rocked him for a couple minutes and then put him down in his little bed. Although still awake, but definitely tired, he flipped around until he was comfortable and fell asleep within 10 minutes.

He only slept for about a half hour this time but I have a feeling that he woke up because he was hungry. For some reason, I don’t think he got his full breakfast at the baby house this morning and lunch hadn’t been enough. When I fed him his afternoon bottle, he sucked it down in record time. Seemingly upset because it was empty, I fed him some mashed banana (his first) and he hungrily ate that as well.

This seemed to satisfy him and we spent some time playing on the rug, looking out the window, and other things that I can’t remember but I’m sure were very entertaining. He started to get cranky and tired around 6 p.m. so I thought, because his earlier nap was so short, he might take another short one before his evening bottle and bedtime. Just as I put him down the phone rang and some friends asked if it was a good time. I happily welcomed the company and so did K. I also figured that less sleep at that point would mean more sleep later.

After about 2 minutes of hesitation, K warmed up quickly to C and J. He really seemed a little unsure at first but soon turned on his charm and was babbling and smiling with them and completely oblivious to me. It was great and the visit was fun! (Thanks to them for taking our picture together, too.)

While they visited, I fed him his final bottle and got him ready for bed as soon as they left. It was now about 8 p.m. and he was tired but fighting sleep. I held him for a few minutes and then, like before, put him to bed while he was still awake. The partiers were at their loudest in the courtyard so I stayed and rubbed him for a couple minutes and then just left the room. Once again, after about 5 or 10 minutes he was fast asleep.

All in all, the day went smoothly except for one little thing; K seems to have a slight case of separation anxiety. He doesn’t want me out of his sight and if I happen to turn the corner to go into the kitchen for just a second, he’ll begin to cry. I’m sure this will pass as it has been a really big day for him, but it will be something that we’ll have to work on a little bit so that he knows I’m not completely gone just because he can’t see me. After all, he’s very used to having a lot of people around all of the time. On another note, he’s addicted to the T.V., already. I had turned it on while he was napping for some background noise and when he woke up and saw it his eyes were glued.

Day one is down and we’ll be on to day two before we know it. Tomorrow will be the first FULL day starting with the wake up call at whenever it will be. At the baby house, K has an 11 p.m. feeding and their day begins at 6 a.m. I’m hoping the he at least sleeps through the night and isn’t looking for an evening bottle. However, I’m ready. The bottle is full, the pan has water in it for heating, and if he’s up for it, then so am I. But for now, I’m heading to bed and hoping I don’t wake him up. It is finally quiet in the courtyard and I’m looking forward to at least a little bit of sleep. Das Zaftra…until tomorrow!