Bonding Day 8: Fatherhood so far…or how I learned to love baby vomit
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Today officially marks the halfway point of our bonding period with Gabriel. Eight more days of this and then we head to court to officially file for his adoption. It’s been an exciting adventure, and the time is just flying by.
I never really understood what it was like to be a father until now. There is an immense responsibility in it as this helpless little baby boy is putting his trust in me to take care of him. It’s both exciting and overwhelming at the same time. “Am I going to be a good father” type of thoughts keeps going through my head.
There is a considerable difference from the baby I first met over a week ago. He no longer is afraid of me, rather he welcomes me with a smile that could melt an iceberg. He allows me to comfort him when he’s hurt, scared or upset. Sometimes, if he’s really hungry, or I’m lucky, he even lets me feed him.
Fatherhood doesn’t seem so bad…even when I’m covered in baby vomit.
Bonding Day 09
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Today is Valentine’s Day in Kazakhstan. Turns out Gabriel is mommy’s valentine and he showered mommy in little baby hugs, kisses and vomit. Unfortunately, Gabriel has been very fussy with his eating as we found out this morning when this caregiver brought out his porridge for us to feed him. She said that he would not eat and we would have to try to make him eat his breakfast. Usually they leave the afternoon feeding to us, so we were some what concerned.
So Gen picked up Gabriel and tried to feed him. He started crying right off the bat and would not stop. We got to about halfway through his bowl when our translator suggested we stop. She suggested we try a different type of porridge, which she would bring in tomorrow. Aina said that her daughter was the exact same way, so when she changed her food around, she would eat all her food. So Gen gave Gabriel some juice, cleaned him up and we relaxed with him for the rest of the morning session.
When we came back for the afternoon, Gabriel still would not have anything to do with eating. He was crying and would not open his mouth for us to feed him. We stopped halfway through his bowl and gave him some juice. Gabriel’s teething was also getting worse as he would not stop sticking his fingers in his mouth. He was not a happy camper. After 45 minutes of feeding, we surrendered. We only had a few minutes left before his caretaker would come for him. Gen asked me to play the piano with him to try to get him to cheer up. He was a like a switch, he instantly pounded on the keys and his smile was back. It worked. We ended our visit in good spirits.
We celebrated Valentine’s at the Alehouse Pub with Eric and Kami. Pizza and beer for Valentine’s Day, certainly a first for this holiday. As usual, company was great and food was pretty good. Gen and Kami even got straws for their beer and we weren’t charged for them.
Happy Valentine’s Day to All!
