Life has Changed!

We've been home almost 2 weeks now, and we're all getting settled into the routines of our new life.  Jonas is doing so well.  I'm amazed at how quickly he's adapted to all the recent changes in his life.  His whole world was shaken around and turned upside down, and you would never know it.  He is such a happy baby.  

His attachment to us continues to grow stronger.  He loves people, and usually puts on quite a show for any audience he has. :) But sometimes he doesn't like to be held by other people for very long. During the first week at home he had quite a few sleepless nights where he would wake up every hour or two.  It often seemed worse after we were around other people for an extended time.  We put a nightlight in his room, switched him to a gentle formula, and started giving him a little cereal before bed.  All of those things have seemed to help, but I think the biggest help is that he is beginning to feel more and more secure.  He's trusting us more and realizing that we're not going anywhere.  Ray and I have both been off work on family leave, and it's been really good for us as a family.

Other than the obvious, I thought I'd share some of the changes we've noticed since we've been home.

Changes for Jonas:

-He used to help hold his bottle, but he doesn't do that anymore.  Why hold your bottle when you have your very own 2 people to do it for you?

-When we got him he was eating mostly formula and had just started eating some "porridge".  Now he eats 3 meals a day plus formula.  So far we've introduced rice cereal, baby oatmeal, carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, peas, and avocado.  They've all been big hits, and so far no allergies.  He loves to eat!  

-We introduced a sippy cup with water during meal time.  Mostly, he likes to bang it on his tray, but he's starting to lift it up to drink from it.  If we put formula in it he makes us hold it though!  Funny kid.

-He's started to bear some weight on his legs when we hold him up.  He didn't do that at all a couple of weeks ago.

-He's tolerating "tummy time" for longer periods of time now.

-We can coax him to roll from his tummy to his back by arching a toy over his head.

-He can sit for longer periods of time without support.

-He lets us put him down and entertains himself for longer.  While we had him in Ethiopia and our first week home, this was a big no.  I think it was all about developing that trust with us. 

Changes for Mommy and Daddy:

-Waking up at 8am is like what sleeping in until 10am used to be.  

-We find ourselves referring to each other as mommy and daddy when we talk.  "Daddy, will you get another bottle ready?", etc.  I know, we're cheesy. 

-Sometimes we go to bed at 8:30 or 9pm.

-My definition of a clean house has changed dramatically.

-Our laundry has increased dramatically.

-All our outings are carefully planned around nap times and meal times.  It takes a lot longer to get out of the house than it used to!

-We have a new dictator in the house, named Jonas.  He's such a cute dictator!

That's all for now.  We found out something really cool about his Ethiopian name.  I'll write about that later.  I'll also post some pictures of life at home at some point.