The Slow Process of Settling

We're getting there, slowly but surely!

Well, it has been an adventure. I can hardly believe we're all still alive. But we are making progress! In the beginning, we could see such a huge difference in G's behavior from week to week that it was almost stunning to look back and compare. For example, in the first week, us taking too long to get his milk caused major meltdowns, but in the second week, we could say, "Hang on, I need to finish this and then I'll get your milk," and he could tolerate it. Now that we've had him for 1.5 months, the changes are not so fast as they used to be.

Changes coming slower is actually a good thing, because it means we're seeing more of the "real" G, instead of the traumatized G. The things that changed fast were the things that were being caused by his sense of immediate danger that was brought on by the adoption. So it's good he doesn't feel immediate danger in the same way anymore. But it does mean that the problems we are seeing now, although they're less severe, are not likely to go away in a just a week or two. For example, he has a hard time focusing on finishing his milk so that he can play. That's not going to change in just a couple of days.

But we are making it! He's sleeping better and learning how to play with our toys, we're a lot more on top of his eating needs and we're even seeing improvement in his gross motor skills and speech. So I think we might be slowly seeing the end of the chaos stage. Not that it's not hectic anymore. But it seems to have moved down a few notches. Also the girls are doing better and seem less overwhelmed. We've even found time lately to do fun things like the art project above and reading aloud. (The Railway Children is our current read if you're wondering.) I think we're all pretty relieved to feel just the slightest bit more normal!