Sleeping

Our boy continues to do amazingly well.  He is adjusting to everything.  Most of the time this makes me extremely happy, but other times it makes me sad.  He is growing up so fast!!  I can't believe we have been together for over a month.  Sometimes I find myself wondering why time didn't go this fast when we were waiting for him, but really it seems like that was forever ago now.

I find myself so worried about different adjustments he has to make and how he will handle them.  And God continues to show me that he is in control.  And He is still doing supernatural things on this journey.

Just like the co-sleeping arrangement. 

When we got home, I thought "how are we going to move him to his own bed?  It is just never going to happen without a huge fight and lots of tears."  I was so anxious about it.  I fretted over it for a long time.  I can't even believe how easy the transition was.

Before I get in to that story, I wanted to say some things about co-sleeping.  It has come to my attention that there are very strong opinions on this subject.  To be completely honest, I never saw myself co-sleeping with my child and if I had given birth to a child I probably would not do it.  However, with this transition we felt it was completely necessary for bonding and boy were we right.  Our nights and mornings are just so sweet with him and having him in our bed made it even better for all of us.  We always knew we wanted to stop it though.  We feel it is important for him to be independent and not need us to be there beside him every minute (including in bed).  We also feel like we needed our own bed for our relationship.

Back to how we transitioned.  After talking to our social worker we decided we would try to move him to his own bed after he had been with us a month.  I have read other blogs about adoptive parents transitioning and everyone did it at different times, so we decided to consult our social worker.  After reading some articles about transitioning I decided we should start him out on our floor.  We did that on a Thursday night.  It was way harder for me than for him.  I cried all night and didn't get any sleep...while he slept great.  I KNOW I was meant to adopt a four year old and I'm very happy about getting him at this age.  However, I did miss out on those first years when I would have been able to hold him and swaddle him all day long.  Those nights he was in my bed were the best.  He fell asleep almost every night with his little fingers entwined in mine (I still get teary just thinking about it) and he would wake up and kiss me all over my face.  I understand why some people never move their kids out of their rooms, but I didn't want this to be about me and my feelings.  All of a sudden though...I lost my baby when he went to the floor.  He, on the other hand, handled it like a champ.  So we were going to try to move him to HIS bed that Monday night.  Like I said, I was WORRIED!!!!  I told people to pray and they were worried too.  I didn't want him to feel like I was abandoning him or that we didn't want him to be near us.  So God did a miracle for me...seriously...a miracle.  This NEVER happens and my social worker was shocked...

He told us Sunday afternoon that he wanted to sleep in his bed!!!  Can you believe it?  He made the decision himself!!!  I don't know if it was the fact that he finally noticed that he had airplanes on his sheets or that since we had been spending more time in the room (that was a strategic plan) he decided it was awesome to have HIS OWN ROOM.  Or maybe he just got to that point where he knew we would always be there for him.  All I know is that it was a complete God thing.  That night he still felt the same way and he hasn't looked back since.  I don't know if you truly understand how this was a miracle and how supernatural this was...just trust me.  When you take a child away from everything he has known for three years, the smallest thing can make him feel terrified and insecure.  There is just such a thin line between making him feel secure and making him experience new things.  I continue to rely on God to guide me in when to push him and when to hold back.

So here are some pictures.

This is just a comparison...his old pillow (the one on top) and his new pillow.

Here he is!  In his OWN bed!!

Here he is with "Goodnight Moon".  He has it memorized now and loves to "read" it to us.

And just so you don't think everything is perfect around our house...here is a tantrum!!  Remember, he is four, and we experience lots of whining and tantrums!!

Here he is saying "NO!  I don't want my picture made!"

Here is the fall out.

Here is the rolling.



So there you go.  Our journey is not without obstacles, but God is teaching us new things with each one.  Thanks again for all your prayers and support. 

Katie