Monday, April 21, 2008

We Made It Home!!





We made it home to the airport Saturday night at 11:36 p.m. We then had a two and a half hour drive home. We were so happy to pull in the driveway. Our little man managed to only sleep an hour and 45 minutes on the 11 hour flight and then ran us ragged for a 6 hour layover in Atlanta before finally sleeping on the 1 hour 44 minute flight to Dulles. He only threw a few "I'm almost two, cutting all my molars and I am independant" fits on the plane. Sorry to anyone sitting near us!!!

Since we have been home he has pushed his limits, tried everything and purposely goes for anything we have previously said "no" too.

He is sleeping fairly well, although not nearly long enough. He is wakingi n the middle of the night and crying very dramatically. He will go right back to sleep when I rock him but as soon as I set him down, he cries again. I spent an hour and a half getting him back to sleep this morning at 4:45 a.m. Then I had to wake the little bugger up at 8:30 because he was sound asleep!! Go figure. He's napping now, so I am trying to get laundry done and a few other things.

In the world of attachment - things are going well. He finds our eyes constantly and he knows his mama and papa. My sister Cat came over last night and I was giving D a bath and when I lifted him out I put him in Aunt Cat's arms with his towel and he immediately turned and reached for me. It was most precious.

He does have an appointment with the pediatrician tomorrow as he has a rash on his face which started when we picked him up from the baby home and has gone through phases of getting better then worse. We think it is a form of dermatits and stress triggers the rash. It seems to get worse after he cries, and when he gets hot, but we don't think it is a heat rash. Hopefully it is something we can remedy quickly.

19 comments:

Patti said...

I'm so glad you're home! We also had a similar rash issue with Alex, and it was worse when he was stressed and crying a lot, with friction from his clothes and diaper. We went to our dr. and have been putting a 50/50 mix of 1%cortisone cream and Aveeno Moisturizing Cream on in the morning and also right before bed. And then we put the moisturizer on two additional times. It really helped his dermatitis clear up over the past week and a half. I know you probably want to take him to your doctor, but just wanted to let you know that Alex's cleared up, if it's something similar. Welcome home and congratulations to the new mommy and daddy!

ana said...

So happy to hear that you're home! I know it was an exhausting and stressful journey.

As far as the sleeping goes, maybe he has jet lag? I don't know what time Eli's body will think it is when we finally get home tomorrow night.

Hope the doctor's visit goes well.

Lakeshore Cottage Living said...

He is just gorgeous! Don't worry, it just takes time for them to adjust to the new time changes and surroundings. I just want to know one thing.....is the cute little room and bathroom still neat and tidy? I bet not- it looks like he is already enjoying his new toys. I just love his blue eyes! What an absolute doll! Glad to know you made it home safe and sound- a forever family!

Joel and Clarion said...

We're glad to hear that you're home safe. Blessings as you get settled and continue bonding with your son. We look forward to hearing how things progress. Take care!

Shane & Marie said...

I'm so glad to hear that you are home. I know the feeling all to well of finally pulling in your driveway. Isn't amazing how much energy they seem to have on the long flights home when we are dragging?!? I hope his sleep gets better. It's hard chasing after a toddler all day with lack of sleep.

Sira said...

Happy you are home and sounds like you had the same kind of plane ride we did- only we had Vlad to Moscow- Moscow to NY and NY to Myrtle Beach. ha~

His sleeping should get better. Sounds like you are all doing good.

Rachel- he really is a beautiful child!!!!

Amy said...

Glad to hear that you arrived home safely. Sounds like D is adjusting to his new surroundings. I agree he still may be jet lagged. Good luck with the ped. Keep us posted when you have a "free" moment. ;) Enjoy this time bonding as a family.

Anonymous said...

Welcome Home!! I'm glad you had a safe trip. I bet your little one is enjoying his new room and surroundings. Good Luck with the doctors appt tommorrow.
Kathleen

Becky and Keith said...

Welcome home! I can't believe you had such a long layover - you poor thing! Looks like Daniel is enjoying a new toy, huh? He is such a handsome little guy. Can't wait to hear more about your time together!

Joy said...

I am so glad that your got home safey. I bet he loves his new bathroom. I think the change in time zones must be so hard for the little ones.
Welcome home!!
Joy

Jane and Jim said...

Welcome back! I'm glad everything went so smoothly!! heehee.
You all look like the perfect family!
Congrats again~
Jane

Michael, Carrie, and S said...

Congrats on getting home safely! That is wonderful that he is attaching to you all so quickly! I hope you can figure out what is causing his rash and that it clears up quickly! Enjoy your first week home! :)

Chris said...

Simply Awesome! Welcome home!

The sleep patterns should settle down after you all adjust to the time change. Our girls tested us a lot when we first came home, and things noticeably improved when we stopped saying no and started redirecting. You'll probably have some rough spots at first, but things do get easier as you get into a new routine.

Congrats Mommy and Daddy!

the Horvaths said...

Wow, sounds like everything is mostly good. The sleep will come around, I hope sooner than later. Good luck at the doctor visit. Congratulations on being home and the successful attachment signs.

Anonymous said...

Wow he looks like Parker in that baseball onsie! I had to do a double take! LOL Hope your day is going well. I don't want to call and bother you but let me know if you need me for anything tomorrow!
Love you!
Amber

Adrienne, Another Ordinary Miracle said...

I'm so happy to hear you made it home safely! I can empathize with the long flight with an unhappy baby boy!! Owen was also into EVERYthing when we came home. I know it was good to set boundaries, but it was hard for me to remember sometimes that everything was so new and interesting to him that he just wanted to explore! I ended up putting things away for a while (until he was able to keep from touching them all the time) and put barriers in front of things he shouldn't play with and also took some knobs off a chest he kept opening! We would also say "no touch" and/or what worked better was "that's not a toy" and take him immediately to a toy to play with saying "Here's a toy. Play with your ___. Yea!" (etc) and get him engaged in something else. If he wouldn't stay away from things, I made him stay in the baby carrier a while. I found he often just needed to be held and given attention when he wasn't playing with appropriate toys. He still does this when he gets bored or is in a new place to explore but responds very well with just a little holding and redirection (after being redirected doesn't work successfully).

For D's face... Owen also had a face rash! He was allergic to our kisses!!! Everytime we kissed his cheeks, his skin broke out in red bumps. We used Balmex jelly at first but have found that Eucerin Aquaphor Baby Ointment works best for his skin (to keep the rash away) and also for his nostrils when his nose gets dry and bleeds a little. We put the ointment on his face everyday at naptime and bedtime, and his skin is so pretty now! Just an idea :)

As for sleep, Owen had the hardest time adjusting too. He was up for 3 hours at a time sometimes, especially when teething. It's so good D wants you to be there with him when he wakes up--we had to teach Owen to cry for us! He may also be testing to see if he can count on you to come to him when he needs you which is a big step toward healthy attachment. Good for you for sticking it out and going to comfort him! It gets better with time.

Again, D is absolutely adorable, and you 3 look so happy together! I am SO happy for you to finally have him at home!!!! Thank you for posting for us!!

Valerie said...

Hi Rachel and Troy! Congratulations and welcome home! It is so wonderful to see that our "8 Doctor Medical" friends have completed the process and are now a forever family!!

Our court date was postponed and we are now traveling on May 16th. We'll be back in L.A. on May 30th (with any luck)!

Valerie

Ryan and Amy said...

YEAH - you're home!! Daniel is absolutely adorable! Sounds like a ruff ride home - I am so glad you made it!

junglemama said...

Yeah! I'm so glad you made it home safely. The sleeping should get better in a couple of weeks.