Ds Fact/tidbit: Very tragically, the termination rate of pregnancies with a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome is about 90%. Interestingly enough, when a child is listed for adoption domestically (w/in the US), often there are 30+ families on the list or interested in adopting that child. Ironic it, isn't it?
Ds Blog: http://the-scenic-route-momto6kids.blogspot.com/ This blog chronicles the adoption journeys of my friend, Debbie, and her husband, Jeff as they have given FOUR children w/ Ds a forever home! I'm in awe of how big their hearts are. Pat and I were privileged to meet Jeff in Kiev last December as we were both just starting out our first adoption journey. (We also met the Hansons at the same time. It was funny b/c all three men that night had red/auburn hair. :-)) They adopted 2 cute boys from Jonathan's orphanage in Dec (they have changed A LOT!) and just brought home 2 darling girls about one month ago. They are such a wonderful, precious family. Hop on over and say hi!
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What goes through an adopted child's mind when he is placed in a smallish room (i.e. church nursery in an old church that is somewhat institutional looking) with toys and about 5 or 6 other children (mostly boys) about his same size??? (Remember Elijah was in a grouppa with about 5 or 6 other boys...) My poor baby...I'm not sure what exactly went through his mind, but I saw the behaviors that happened. He started throwing toys, pinching, hitting, etc. Frankly, it was awful. To make matters worse, it was our first meeting of the year of our home schooling group, and I was in the nursery with my three little ones, along with two moms that were new to the group that I had only met once before. I felt absolutely terrible, but they were so very gracious and understanding. I'm deeply grateful for that. I realized that Elijah has not been with this many little children at one time since he was last at the orphanage almost 10 months ago. Break my heart. His behavior was very similar to how he acted when he first got home towards Rachel. (The thwaping on the top of the head was a dead give-away. I haven't seen him do that in a LONG time.) I believe he feels like he needs to establish a "pecking order". So very sad. I want him to have friends and play with the other kids, and I don't want the other kids to be afraid of him.
You can take the child out of the orphanage, but you can't take the orphanage out of the child (at least not for a long time). :-(
Elijah has come SOOO far in 10 months and I am SO very grateful for that. But days like today, I'm reminded of where he spent his first 3 years of his life. I also don't want to use that as an excuse for his behavior either. We are working on it. "Hands to yourself." "Nice touch only." He's a smart kid! We will get there!
What am I going to do in two weeks for our next gathering? Bring a portable DVD player and put in "Baby Signing Times". Hey, don't fault me! LOL It will be something familiar for him and hopefully it will keep him calmed down a bit. I will also pray about it, try to talk to him about it ahead of time, and try to keep my stress level low too. I'll keep you posted!
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