Connecting

What a day makes in bonding and attachment. We arrived home at 5:40 a.m. on Thursday morning and having been dealing with jet lag. Hugh has been happy during the day but crying unconsolably at night. Sadly, he wouldn't let me comfort him. He would cry "oopa" which means I am afraid. Our China guide shared with us that the nannies would scare the children into sleeping by telling them if they didn't fall asleep, the big bad wolf would come and eat them. She said it is a common custom in China, to scare children to sleep. He did great during the day but the minute we mentioned bedtime, he would get this look of terror on his face and shake his head no. We had to force it a few times because we all need sleep! Well last night, Kai had fallen asleep early, Bei was keeping busy and Dan, Hugh and I hung out on our deck. We had music playing and we all danced a little bit. Several days ago, I downloaded a voice translation app, so that Hugh and I could speak to one another. We used the translation app to tell him that we were going to be his forever mom and dad. He would never have to go back to the orphanage. That we loved him. He thought he was smart and beautiful. We were so happy that he was our son. We told him he didn't have to be scared to go to bed. That we would keep him safe. I swear I saw the lightbulb go on in his brain. When we went to bed that night, he gave me kisses, laid down next to me and fell fast asleep. He slept through the night and was a happy, silly boy! He is just a joy! Now, tonight a day later he struggled a little more but we didn't have that down time with him to reassure him. But he sought comfort from Dan and he fell asleep in Dan's arms. We are learning what works for him. He is fitting into our family perfectly! He is a sweet, sweet little boy!