What a difference a year makes! The scared,shaking 15 pound frail little baby we brought home has miraculously turned in to an extremely active, talkative toddler who has a zest for life that I wish I could bottle up and sell. I would be a millionaire. He is a sweet and loving child who will steal your heart in a skinny minute. The majority of days he is smiling and happy. If he is not than something is wrong. It takes a lot to keep to get this kid down. He is one tough little cookie. Yes he is still little. Sometimes I think his smallness is his best attribute though. It makes him tougher, work harder and much more determined to keep up with the older kids. He knows how to holds his own. In Bryant's case the saying holds true that "big things come in small packages." In a year the progress Bryant has made is incredible. Don't get me wrong it has come with constant work from me, Jeff, grandparents, his speech therapist, early interventionist, preschool teachers and most importantly his sisters. We don't let Bryant slack. We push him to his potential and we don't give up on him. Some of his favorite phrases now are "Ho Ho bring choo choo" "Spider man pow pow" "I wanna go school" " I want Mimi, Sissy, Mae Mae" "Ho Ho be nice" He is obsessed with everything Christmas just like his Daddy, aka Chevy Chase. The girl's magic elves returned this year and Santa sent Bryant one too. His name is Boris the Russian elf. At first Bryant said "Don't like." But now he has a love/hate relationship as he and the girls wake up every morning searching for the elves wondering what magic happened when they were sleeping. Gotta love being a kid at Christmas time. And for some more laughs the girls have taught him "Gotta go go get my hair bow" Then he runs to grab the hair brush and bow as they chuckle. At preschool he says everything is yellow and of course pink. Starting to think he may needs some more male interaction.
This time last year I remember nervously thinking "How is this going to work once we arrive home? Will the girls accept him? Yikes Heather, four kids really. Can you do this?" It is incredible because this been the easy part in some regard. The girls have accepted him as their brother from the minute they laid eyes on him. They have never once treated him differently than they do each other. He fits right in to our family so much that none of us or our family members really even remembers he is adopted. It seems he has always been around. As for the having four kids, after the initial adjustment it hasn't been all that bad. Jeff and I have made sacrifices and altered our lives in order to accommodate our clan. Some days are harder than others. Don't get me wrong it is crazy chaos around our house but I wouldn't have it any other way.
The hard part has been dealing with Bryant's feeding and growth issues. It has been a constant battle in which I have lost many days. His GI doctor ordered a study to test his acid reflux levels. This PH probe study indicated he had significant acid reflux and needed a surgery where the top of his stomach was wrapped around his esophagus to prevent him from refluxing. Two weeks ago today Bryant underwent a Nissen fundoplication surgery and a G-tube placement to treat his reflux and growth failure. It was a big surgery but thanks to our awesome doctors and nurses things went very well. Once they got in surgery they discovered Bryant's stomach was attached to his diaphram and he had great deal of inflammation. Which helped verify for me and Jeff that Bryant needed this surgery and that he truly has had abdominal pain as we suspected. The surgeon lowered his stomach, wrapped it around his esophagus and placed a feeding tube. When my baby woke up he was pitiful. I am usually the strong one during medical procedures but Bryant was in a lot of pain and so sad. It just about killed me to see him this way. The first 24 hours he was on morphine and did not utter a word, just cried. It was awful. By day two he was feeling much better and by day three he was playing in the hospital playroom. Amazing child. We spent four days in the hospital. We even left a day early since he was doing so well. During the hospital, stay he and I became extremely close. Jeff says we are stuck together like glue. He is so right. We are now feeding Bryant at night through a feeding tube. So far he is tolerating the feedings very well. During the day we are hoping he will continue to eat some. It has been a journey but hopefully this will make Bryant feel better and get the nutrients his brain and body need to grow.
On top of that Sara Kathryn had ear surgery five days before Bryant. It was her second attempt to patch a hole in her ear drum. We are praying it worked. We find out on the 18th. She did great with the surgery. Macie celebrated her 6th birthday with a big birthday party with her buddies. Jeff started his new job and things are going very well. A big month it has been in our house.
Through all of the chaos, drama, medical issues, hospital stays, sleepless nights, worries and struggles this year Bryant has taught me about unconditional love. God loves us unconditionally and we should do the same. We say it but sometimes we don't live it. Bryant has not been an "easy" child to parent but my love for him is unconditional. As with Jeff and the girls, it will remain the same regardless of circumstances and it will remain strong. Bryant has taught me determination and perseverance in tough times. He has taught me to see the best in people regardless of their circumstances or where they came from. He has taught me that God is in control not me, at all times. He has taught me to love with my whole heart.
Tonight to mark our first anniversary home Jeff and I are watching the video of us at the airport returning home with Bryant. This will be our first time seeing the video. It will be a tear jerker. A wonderful way to celebrate our anniversary.
Jeff and I one year ago fell in love with a tiny little boy from Russia but little did we know how much love he had to give us and how much he would better our lives. As I put him to bed tonight he gave me a kiss and said "love you so much" and I told him "I love you more."
One year home
One year ago today Bryant met his sisters
No comments:
Post a Comment