Thursday, February 9, 2012

Day 25: Letting their hair down

Before Brad left for the States, we wondered if I would be treated differently by the institution staff once it was just me. Most of the workers are women and they tended to be very formal around Brad. We would be ushered into our tiny visitation room and the door would be closed. We were never allowed to see any of the other kids.

Today, everyone just let their hair down. No one escorted me to the room, and the door was left open. There were groups of teenage-ish boys who would stop by the doorway and day hi to me. There were lots of little boys being wheeled to different rooms in wheel chairs. Just lots of hustle and bustle and activity that we are normally not allowed to see. While I was visiting with Jacob several new nannies popped in. I think they just wanted to see me. :) When I was leaving a completely new nanny that I had never seen before came to get him for lunch. She actually looked like she was the lunch lady.

I was worried that Jacob might not like having just Mama visiting him with out Daddy since Daddy is so much for animated and fun. I have loved seeing Brad be the first man in Jacob's life. There have been other women who have cared for him, but Brad is most likely the first man. He loves to be tossed around and given rides on Brad's shoulders. Today was different for sure without Daddy...we both missed him. It was a very sweet visit though. After eating his snack, Jacob and I just played and sat calmly together. He got a little anxious in the middle of the visit and I scooped him up and pretended to drop him. He loved this game!! He would just belly laugh. I would have done it all day, but he is one heavy little guy to toss around.

He is getting more and more comfortable with me as each day goes by. Usually he plays and we try to encourage him to play with us and not just near us. Today was a lot more of a victory with this. We did a repeat of the wipes in the ziplock game, but we also played cars for a minute and he let me hold him in my lap and "read" to him from a Ukrainian story book. He sat and looked at books for a long time today. It is obvious that someone in the baby house used to read to him. He turns each page and looks at it before moving on.

I am wanting to start the countdown to when I can get him out of the institution but right now I am not sure how they count the days for the waiting period. Do they start with the court day? Are weekends included? What about the time it takes to get his passport? Lots of unknowns right now. I am just hoping that it flies by and that we are both home before we know it.

1 comment:

Missy said...

So happy Sara that you got to experience the nannies and staff "letting there hair down." It is amazing how relaxed they become when it's just one, not to mention just one woman. I sometimes forget that my husband did not get to see and experience all the sights that I did by staying. It's so hard to stay but you will have many cherished memories that only you and Jacob will share. Your doing a great job Sara!