The New Normal

We’re looking for it. The search for it has been the main reason things have been quiet here on the blog for a couple of days. A few days in a row where Alexander thinks his naptime is bedtime and vice versa have left us with a sleepy little guy who still wakes up entirely too early. Last night, though, he slept through the night, like he had been doing when we were in China.

Back on the other side of the planet, we were amazed at how well he slept. The first night, we were able to get more than six hours of sleep, and we only got that little because we were both kind of freaking out that there was a little person in the room who was depending on us in an extraordinary way. Back in the Western Hemisphere, since Kathleen and I can push through the jet lag and he can’t, it took him a little longer than it did us to make the 13-hour shift. The kid can sleep anywhere, it seems, so he slept pretty well on plane. He was still firmly on China time when we got back, so he really slept a nap when it was actually nighttime. And if that guy isn’t sleeping, well, yeah, neither are we.

It seems we’re finding our new normal. I’ve taken this entire week off work, and will be working from home more than usual in the coming weeks. We’re using this time to figure out what works for him and for us. So far so good.

Still Alive

This was a triumph. I’m making a note here: huge success! It’s hard to overstate my satisfaction.

Well, we’re back in our home. Kathleen is feeding Alexander, and the cats are being cautiously curious. Jimmy John’s is waiting in the fridge. I don’t think we’ll get any unpacking done to speak of tonight. It’ll be a win if we can bathe the guy, frankly.

Tomorrow will be his first day in the USA with mostly conscious parents.

Speaking of Harmony…

This morning, after our final official paperwork, we got back to the hotel and have been holed up ever since. We’re planning on doing some touring tomorrow, so the plan has been to get some quality bonding in today. It’s gone mostly well, especially since we’ve figured out The Secret of the Bottle™.

Still, keeping him entertained is a bit of a challenge. We could probably rock him to sleep anytime, but we know that will bite us overnight. After his dinnertime feeding, we decided to give him a bath. He needed it, but it was also just an activity. Afterwards, Kathleen put him in a sleeper and she made the executive decision to throw some music on. I didn’t want too high energy, but something he might at least notice. I queued up Barenaked Ladies’ Gordon, and with just a hint of encouragement from Kathleen, he started bouncing around and waving his arms and smiling.

So yeah, BNL FTW.IMG_0980

The Harmonious Period

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I present to you, Alexander Thomas Kelly!

He enjoyed the car ride back to the hotel.IMG_0959

He liked his time in the baby carrier.IMG_0961

But you know what he doesn’t like? Eating and sleeping. Hates those. We’re figuring things out, but it’s certainly no easier than we expected. I foresee a long night and some difficult days, but we’re doing our best to welcome him into our family. Please keep all three of us in your prayers.

Goodbye, Beijing!

Greetings from Tiayuan, Shanxi, China! Our flight from Beijing was only about an hour, but it departed about two hours late. No worries. I just played more Plants vs Zombies.

We’re settling into our room, and preparing baby stuff. Extra change of clothes, a few diapers, etc. It seems all the lights and plugs are controlled by a Byzantine combination of various switches, but we at least got some water boiling.

Tomorrow, we meet our son, but today we met Bill, our guide from here on out. Bill works for our agency and comes with quite a reputation. He is a seasoned veteran of Chinese adoption. We really enjoyed our time with our Beijing guide, Chen, who left us with a gift for Alexander: a set of chop sticks emblazoned with a dragon, since Alexander was born in the year of the dragon. Now we’re looking forward to getting to know Bill.

We have a large room, but it seems much smaller, since there is also a crib in here. Seeing that as we walked in was striking. Oh yes, this is happening.

Here are a few random photos we took today.

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The lobby of our hotel in Beijing

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Ready for our ride back to the airport

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Our flight was delayed, but our spirits stayed high.

 

On time

Just a few more minutes until we’re stuck in a plane for half a day. We had a great surprise visitor at the airport this morning- Ken, one of the adopting dads from our agency stopped by to say hello and wish us well at our gate. In a just a few hours, the world is going to be a smaller place!