28 Hours with Ethan

It’s 8:20 pm here (Wednesday) and Ethan has been with us now for about 28 hours. There have been some glimmers of hope, but overall, it’s been a fairly rough ride so far!

The night went pretty well. Ethan woke up around 3:00 am and we both got up to feed him. He was a little scared, but okay, for the most part.

This morning, we didn’t really want to get up before we had to, so we waited till Ethan got awake, which was around 7:30 am. For the first few minutes, he was in a good mood, but as he got more awake, he cried and screamed again, this time for about 4 hours, minus a 20-30 nap.

A woman (who is here to adopt her second child) in a neighboring room came and knocked on our door shortly after we got up and offered a toy rattle. She said we have “a screamer.” Joleen said, “That was nothing!” (what she heard so far was minor compared to the previous night, as well as what would follow).

While there have been some very rough spots today (he is grieving, after all, and experiencing tremendous fear, naturally), there have also been some glimmers of hope. We’ve ventured out a few times today, carrying him in our Ergo Baby Carrier, which is probably one of the best baby-related investments we’ve made so far, as we’ve taken on a 22 pound baby!

On our first walk, a trip to E-Mart to pick up some supplies, he eventually went to sleep and was out until we returned home, somewhere around an hour later. Since he normally only takes short 20-30 minute naps, we assume he’s pretty exhausted. In fact, he normally goes to sleep between 10:00 and 11:00 pm, but tonight, he went to sleep a few minutes ago (of course, we don’t know what the rest of the night is going to be like).

FYI, Ethan has an interesting diet, at least we think so. He refused to eat much this morning, but for lunch, Joleen fed him rice with dried seaweed mixed in. We’ve been told that rice soup is his main food, which he normally eats about three times a day. He also eats fruit (tangerines and strawberries, etc.). According to the foster mother, he doesn’t “do formula well.”

We’re hoping for a more restful night and a good trip home tomorrow. There could be some more challenges along the way, but we’re hoping these episodes become fewer and further in between! He is certainly living up to his Korean and American names, which mean strong, particularly his lungs!

As you may recall from our post, The Takeaway, we said …

While we believe he will adjust and come to love us, too, the ugly part of this experience will be the period of time it takes Ethan to go from viewing us as kidnappers to viewing us as parents.

We’re still very much in the middle of this process!

But, just a word about the glimmers of hope: there have been times today when Ethan has been happy — smiling, laughing, shaking his head from side to side (which he does when he’s happy). We know he’ll eventually be okay, but right now, we just want to get him home and begin to make that adjustment!

2 thoughts on “28 Hours with Ethan”

  1. Hi Honies,
    I am certainly praying for a safe trip, that everything wil go smoothly for you and Ethan will love the flight and be contented. May he feel your love.
    Love you all three,
    Mother

    Reply
  2. We will pray for safe travel. Especially for Ethan, this has to be the hardest time in his little life, but I have no doubt he will soon know how much he is loved and how great his life is going to be and the transition will start. God is working in all your lives and you will learn from all of these trials. Listen to me, the child phycologist. LOL

    Reply

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