4th week pics: first bath!

His first try at a "sling" which turned out to be a little big for him at the time. I went with the "Mobi wrap" after this...it's like an ace bandage that wraps all around your torso along with the little one tucked up inside as well. What a great way of staying close, yet having a little independence to get things done around the house! Thanks, Anne!

I can't stop kissing him!

His first bath! We used this "wearable blanket" that ties around my neck and folds under him so that I can lift him out of the tub along with me and not worry about him being too slippery for my grasp. The best way for the tub experience I've found is to get in the tub with him and prop him up on a little sling. He seemed to like the water although he wasn't too excited about the soap and water on his head... Thanks Jackie!!

All clean!

3rd week uncertainty...

Henry is not so sure of the loving bunny that seems to love him so much!

Help me!

3rd week bliss and balance in the household!

What precious moments these are - ones to remember forever!

Castor (our girl kitty) is adjusting pretty well. She's happy being closeby but doesn't need to be on my lap all the time to be comforted.... 

Pollux, however, does need reassurance and lots of it. He's not fond of the "bubble" I need around me now because of the baby being on my lap...he was much happier when it was only Castor that he could bully for  my laptime. I do notice that he is much happier now, though, because I'm home now and not spending the day away from the house. That will be the comfort he gets at this time!

3rd week pics - full of curiosity!

What a delight!

Look at how small he is in a regular 3 mo-6 mo old onesie!!

I love his toothless smile! It shows his contentment and his nature. He's such a good baby - crying only when he needs something and giving off so much joy and love that I'm still so overwhelmed at the thought of him.

Even at this tiny age, he seemed to want to take in everything around him. At minutes old, he was noticing my dangling earrings and my eyebrows. At 3 weeks old, he's now even able to take in a bit of light in the corner of the room and see what's happening over there!

Dad's first Father's Day!

Look how tiny Henry is in Daddy's arms!

Henry and I gave Jonathan a picture in a "Dad frame", a talking book with some of his little noises in it, and some yummy brownies with popcorn on top!

Welcome to fatherhood, Jonathan. You're the best dad in the world!

10th day celebration!

 

While the whole adoption process was amazing and smooth, I was still holding my breath until the 10 days after Henry's birth were up. In Virginia, the birth-mother has 10 days to change her mind and take the baby back. In our experience, the birth-mother was truly an incredibly strong woman who told us quite a lot in the hospital that she was resolved in her decision and wouldn't change her mind...but you never know... At 5pm on the

Day 10 celebration! 6-14-11

In Virginia, adoptive families have to wait for the 10th day at 5:00pm after the day of birth for the birthmother to not want to change her mind. We were blessed with that 5pm time to come and go without any incidences. Carrie kept trying to reassure me in the hospital that she wouldn't want to change her mind and she did seem pretty resolute, but I didn't trust it until those 10 days were over. She was an amazingly strong person who I really enjoyed getting to know. We will both be indebted to her for life for helping us create our family. I hope I show the level of strength she showed us in those few weeks of knowing her. Thank you Carrie!

We got out some nice Russian champagne and toasted to the start of our new family!

What a little tiny bundle of joy!

The balloon is for our neighbors to know our happy news also! I waited to put it outside the door until this DAY 10 came and went. I must admit, I did sweat it a bit during those 10 days!

What a perfect celebration with leftover cake from our shower and champagne with raspberries and blueberries (blue for boy!) 

June 13th Baby Shower at TCS

What an overwhelming experience! I didn't bring Henry, but I brought a slideshow of pictures and a board with printed pictures for my teacher-friends to see what a great experience our adoption process was so far.

Very yummy potluck foods - my favorite!

Everything was just sooo cute and sooo small, I was overwhelmed! :)

Debbie Petzrick and Debbie Koth (on the end next to my mother) were to the two hostesses with the mostestes (?!) They put this all together and it was very special for me to have so many people attend. We ate, I shared a little of our experience infront of the group about the adoption process in the hospital, then Debbie Koth read a passage from the Bible and we had a group prayer. What an afternoon filled with love it was! Thank you TCS friends!

Here are the images projected up on the wall from a thumb drive full of pictures!

So many lovely friends came!

I loved every minute of it!

2nd week - loves the food!

As much as he loves food right now, it'll be hard to imagine what our fridge will look like when he's a teenager! Can you believe this little bottle holds only 2 ounces, and that his little stomach couldn't hold more than that before we had to burp him? It's such a tiny bottle and this little outfit is for "preemies" and has room to spare!

2nd week picture - what bliss!

I'm discovering how completely "out there" babies' emotions are. As we know, they don't hold anything back...I think this picture shows true contentment. I think we'll have other raw emotions of not-so-happy moments also as he gets more verbal!, but I'm cherishing these moments of true bliss!

1 week old!

 

What an accomplishment to reach one week without too many scares!...but what an adjustment it is! I'm still floating on air at this point, but at least I'm over the nervousness of many 'firsts'...

Precious moments...

I'm still in the most enjoyable bonding time with him as he falls asleep on me. There's so many books that try and tell you what to do and not do...one of them being that you should put the baby in the crib at the same time every night while he's still awake so he can self-soothe and put himself to sleep... I agree with that and do it sometimes, but more often than not, he ends up like this at the end of the night. I'm thinking I only have a limited amount of time that he'll want to do this, and it just feels like the right thing for me to do. That being said, he is an amazing sleeper! At 2-1/2 months, he started sleeping from 8 or 9 at night until 7 or 7:30 in the morning without crying to be rescued. So, I think since he's soooo good about sleeping, that I can be a little lenient in this area.

He really is amazing! What a blessing!

Tiny head and hands

Still can't imagine what his life will be like when he grows up. I think back to this time, and remember the awe at this little creation and want so much for him. Among them are things I hope we can enjoy together like music and the arts, taking nature walks, enjoying yummy foods and growing in his faith in our church. Then there's things I want for him, like for him to enjoy his childhood, to have great relationships along the way, then to discover what his passions are and follow those dreams in life. But the most important thing is that he will love and want to serve God in his own way and to be a happy person.

Daddy time

My favorite thing to do is to have all three of us together and watch in amazement at what little Henry is doing next. I can't believe he's in our lives yet. I thank God every day. What a God, to give me this wonderful man to be my husband, and now to allow me to raise this beautiful boy. My cup runneth over.

Pure joy!

Hard to imagine life as wonderful as this. He shows such joy and it filters out to everyone who sees him. The favorite noises in this first week were the drinking sounds. He didn't cry very much - only when he was in need of the normal necessities...he still amazes us as to how little crying he does and how much joy he produces.

Tiny toes!

It's difficult to imagine to tiny features. That's my thumb and pinky fingernail which is about as big as his big toe! I know we'll look back and enjoy these pics with awe even more than we are now!

Displaced kitties!

Our kitties needed lots of reassurance at the beginning, and they are still not completely used to being #2 in the house yet...:)

First day at home-day 3!

Going home!

We had lots of tears driving home from the hospital. What an emotional experience...more to come after going home!

A good swaddle is the secret when they're this small!

Sooo small!

Hard to believe he was only 6 lbs!

Think he'll be a tenor or a bass?

day two-already so expressive!

 

              Smiling already!                      Is this coy look something to look for in the near future?!

Our first evening holding little one!

 

        Proud and relieved Papa!!                                  Proud and ecstatic Mama!!