…is settling in. We are still having some sleep issues, but we checked the Korean adoption message boards and it seems to be a common issue. Jaden will go to sleep for a couple of hours at a time, but no more. We transitioned him pretty easily from our bed (for the time we were in Korea, and the first few nights at home) to the pack-n-play by getting him to take his naps in the pack-n-play (thank you, Grandma!)… so now we have the pack-n-play in our room at night. He goes to sleep there, but wakes up frequently looking for us. If he doesn’t see us fairly readily, he goes into a panic. He has had night terrors a few times – where he (seems to wake up and) starts screaming, but he’s not really awake, which makes it harder to calm him because he won’t open his eyes. Luckily this has only happened twice – it is very scary when it does.
There are so many things going on, so we’re really just guessing at the reasons. He’s teething, so that could be waking him up. We all had jet lag, so maybe that’s it. The nights and days in Korea are opposite what we have here because of the time difference, so that might have something to do with it. He’s had some stomach problems in the past few days, so maybe that’s it. Then again, maybe he’s just being a normal 9 month old and waking up regularly during the night like he’s supposed to. It is hard to tell.
Then again, much of the information I’ve read on other blogs and adoption lists indicates that most Korean families co-sleep (meaning the babies sleep with the parents until they’re ready to sleep in their own room). I’m not 100% sure this is true – but if that’s the case then it could also explain a lot. Our paperwork from the agency says that Jaden would fall asleep with the foster-father, or the foster-mother – so we think that he may have had someone in the room with him at all times. The papers never said whether they would leave him to sleep solo after he fell asleep. I doubt it. He really does seem to need someone there at night when he wakes up, or he gets panicky.
The sleep issues have taken its toll on us – and especially me – I am now sick. I started antibiotics today so hopefully by tomorrow I’ll feel much better. I am really hoping Jaden doesn’t get sick too. I’m sure it won’t help him get into a regular sleep pattern if he does!
Other than that, things are going really, really well. When Jaden came to us he was pretty much on 100% formula. They gave us 2 cans of his formula, which is supposed to last about 3 weeks, but Jaden was going through it much more quickly. We introduced some stage 2 baby foods (which also helped him sleep) so now he’s down to 30 oz or less of formula a day. Our terrific sources (thank you Krissy, Jodi, and Aunt Terry!!) tell us that is closer to the ‘norm.’ He love sweet potatoes and squash, but oddly he hates rice cereal. I say it is odd because the one thing they gave him in Korea (aside from formula) was seaweed soup with a little ‘very soft rice’ in it. Unfortunately Gerber doesn’t make seaweed soup, and I am clueless. So we’re doing oatmeal.
We ended up at the doctor’s office thinking he had an ear infection because of the way he was pulling on his ears – like he wanted to yank them off. No infection. Just a strange affinity to pulling on his ears. We’re thinking maybe the teething is the culprit.
He gained some weight since we picked him up – he was 22 lbs 9 oz (with potentially wet diaper on) at the docs office yesterday. The doctor assured us this was okay – he said it is hard to overfeed or underfeed a baby – just follow his cues. So we just feed him until he doesn’t want any more. He recognizes the word ‘more’ – if you say ‘more’ while feeding him he opens his mouth for the spoon as long as he’s still hungry. It’s pretty funny. Then again maybe it’s just that I’m his mommy that I find it adorable.
I could go on… but I’ll save it for another day. I have to go check on hubby to see how it is going getting the little one to sleep.
Before I go – I wanted to thank you for all the comments – I wish I could answer everyone individually but if I started that now, I’d never finish, nor would I be able to blog ever again. Well, at least not for a few years, anyway. I do read every comment, and appreciate all the advice, and also that you’re enjoying the pictures!