Beginning to Bond- Baby Steps!

Caleb slept for almost four hours yesterday at his nap time. We ended up waking him up. He woke up with no crying and we had a bottle ready for him. I got to hold him and feed him and he did a great job making eye contact with me. At one point he raised his little index finger and I kissed it. A few seconds later he lifted it again and I kissed it again. This became a "game" and he repeated it again when we gave him his night bottle. It was adorable and a great step towards the long journey of attaching. While he was finishing his bottle, Tom started bouncing a beach ball off my head and we got our first Caleb smiles and giggles. He loved it. From there, we continued to play and have fun. We had Kentucky Fried Chicken for dinner. Caleb put a fry to his mouth but wouldn't try it. He doesn't eat solid food- obviously something we will be working on once we get home. It really was a dream day. We got to skype with Bethany and my Mom and Bethany was so excited she could hardly speak. She told him she loved him and she wanted to share the toys she had in her hand with him. She said, "You have 'Caweb' now so you can come home." Soon, soon!!!
 
We got him ready for bed and he had a bit of a high temp. so we started him on antibiotics just to be sure he's well for all the traveling. He wanted a book Tom had been reading. He took that to bed. We put him in the crib and he just thumbed through the book quietly and fell asleep.
 
We are still waiting for him to wake up this morning and we know it could be a different story today. We are prepared for the worst and keep praying for the best. I know he will grieve and adjust in his own time and way but we are thankful that he seems to like us and want to be around us. It helped that we spent so much time with his caregivers. The orphanage director must have told him 100 times that we are his mom and dad. So at least he knows that she thinks we're safe and good.
 
I haven't uploaded pics from yesterday afternoon yet so I'll leave you with a baby pic with go on the file from his orphanage director.
 
We're about to head to the airport and need to get Caleb up and ready so we'll write to you from Gunagzhou!
 
Keep the prayers and messages coming- they mean so much!

Comments

Hannah said…
Praise the Lord! Praying today will go as smoothly as yesterday. What a sweet angel.
July 4, 2011 at 5:30 PM
~Brinn said…
Praying today goes as well as yesterday! Sending lots of love and prayers your way!
July 4, 2011 at 5:43 PM
Rita and John said…
Sounds like everything is going so well! Hoping the transition continues to be good for all of you.
July 4, 2011 at 8:15 PM
Ashlee said…
Thanks for the updates! It is really amazing watching how God has carried you through these difficult baby steps! Blesssings, blessings, blessings!
July 5, 2011 at 10:13 AM
secondhalfcentury said…
Dear Tom and Katie - we continue to pray for you all. How very wonderful to finally hold him and make him your own. We can't wait to see him in person. Be safe and God Speed! Love Patti and Jerry Cash.
July 5, 2011 at 1:41 PM
Melissa said…
Wonderful news. So glad he is resting well. You are in our prayers.
July 5, 2011 at 4:49 PM
Jessica said…
He is ADORABLE!!!!!! Congrats!
July 5, 2011 at 10:28 PM
Miss Jackson said…
Congratulations!! I LOVE the story about kissing the finger!!! SOOO sweet!!!! XOXO
July 11, 2011 at 12:20 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

It's a Boy!!!!!

Image
We knew all weeked that the new list was coming out on Monday night. I got more and more nervous as we got closer. By Tuesday morning, I was popping the pepto bismal chewables-heartburn which I have only had one other time (at the end of my pregnancy). There was no guarantee we would even receive a referral off the list, but we were hopeful. Tuesday morning I took Bethany to church for mother's morning out, nervously bought soap and 75% of Valentine's conversaion hearts at Target, and then I went to Panera and got a fruit punch. I set up my laptop, put my phone on the table, and nervously surfed the web until I couldn't handle it anymore. The wait was getting to me. I headed out of Panera and spilled my drink all over the place. Smooth one Katie. I got in my car and headed to the beach. Didn't get very far.....my phone rang......."Holt"........ I pulled over and it was THE call! 11:00am on February 22 Caleb became part of our family. We proudly introduce you...
Read more

Happy 16th Birthday Caleb!!

Image
Happy 16th Birthday Caleb!! You are close to 5'5" and still growing. You finished 10th grade, and continued to rock it, excelling in a very challenging set of classes! You passed three more AP classes and several dual enrollment courses as well.  You were in the SAIL (AP Program), AP Capstone Club, Mu Alpha Theta (Math honor society), ASL Honor Society, Science National Honor Society, Beta Club, and marching band. You placed third in the state for the Beta Convention Math Competition. You started a countywide club called BAM (Bay Area Mathematicians).  You are in your 11th year of playing piano and were accepted into the University of Florida International Piano Festival with partial scholarship and the FSU Piano Institute. You chose FSU for the third year. You were part of a masterclass with the Gulf Coast College Professors. You were chosen to perform at the Bay Education Foundation Arts Alive fundraiser dinner.  You were selected as the pianist for the all county band ...
Read more

Happy 17th Birthday Bethany!

Image
  Happy 17th Birthday Bethany!!! You are about 5'2" but really you're like 5'1.5"! Small but mighty! You finished your junior year of high school and are entering your SENIOR YEAR!!! You had a very challenging academic course load but you soared and earned your AP Capstone diploma. You were part of a lot of clubs including one that you started called Kards for Kids that makes cards for kids in the hospital. You are also part of the SAIL program, AP Capstone, Mu Alpha Theta, Tri M, Science National Honor Society, National Honor Society, ASL Honor Society, and Next Gen. You were section leader this year for band and had a solo in the marching show. You earned a superior at district and state solo and ensemble and another superior for a duet at district solo ensemble. You made 2nd chair all county.  You continued to be a part of the Teen Outreach Committee with St. Andrew Bay Estuary. You were selected as one of your school's two nominees for Sunshine State Schol...
Read more