How is James??

I haven't been very good about blogging specifically about JAMES in the time since he moved in. I've posted photos of him (privately) and included him in our family posts in general but I haven't really just done a post about HIM and how he's doing. So... here you go!

James has had so many big changes in his life since moving in about 10 weeks ago. He's gained 5 siblings (he had 2 foster brothers ages 9 mos and 20 mos before so he was used to some kids). He now has a different sleeping, eating, playing, and traveling situation. He has a daddy. He's been given expectations to follow. He's got role models showing him how to do things. He has competition to do things!

James' foster situation was great! He was very well taken care of and was loved and treasured by his foster mom and "big sister" since he was just a few months old. Some of the HUGE differences between having James come in and having brought Micah and Emma home are that he is medically very 'secure'. It was a matter of transferring his doctors not in finding out what was going on. He also learned appropriate bonding and for us it was a 'transfer' in that bond, not establishing what a parent was and teaching him how to love. He has that one down :). James also was used to school and playing with other kids, so teaching him how to play wasn't an issue.

It has been a wonderful 10 weeks, and James really fits right in here as if he's been here forever. We are all so proud of him for all the adjustments he's done SO WELL with and all the new things he's doing!

The 'quickest' accomplishment James made was that he learned to hold his bottle by himself :). I was kindof glad that he didn't hold it on his own when he came to us, because that gave us some good snuggle time! James has some DEEP and soulful eyes! He would sit and drink and look right into our eyes the entire time we fed him. And yet, with six little people, we knew that he not only needed to learn to do it for the sake of developmental reasons, but also for the sake of sanity within our home :). And so... within a week of being here James was holding his own bottle with a reclined seat (initially with a 'prop' under his elbows too) and now is holding it up without being reclined much at all!

Another big thing that James has recently accomplished is... WALKING! He's doing so well now! About 90% of the time he is up and on his feet, though often with reminders to do so. He's still pretty wobbly and he prefers to crawl, but he has gone from "taking steps" to being a full fledged walker :). And, has even made a few 'great escapes' with this new found freedom and headed toward the road rather than the car when we are all headed out the door.

James has done great with the new boundaries and new freedoms, and we are so blessed by his smile and his bright blue eyes :). He will mimic any and everything we do or say, though he isn't actually talking much of anything yet. He signs quite a few things and is picking up on those quickly. He will probably do great with talking and signing very quickly... but one thing at a time :) He's working really hard on some gross motor skills right now and once he's more secure with those, I'm sure he'll start in on the next thing!

Also, James is taking all of his calories through the bottle now! We haven't had to use his Mic-key tube at all and he is maintaining if not gaining weight. He still has some major reflux incidences... he will give back a good 5-6 oz out of 8-10 that he drinks in one sitting on occasion. He will sometimes also go to 'burp' and bring up everything. In spite of that he's still a healthy weight so we are happy with that! We've also had a tough time getting him in with the GI doctor here, which doesn't help. His appointment was made in June and couldn't be scheduled before NOVEMBER! Annoying, but we've done everything we can and that's all we can get. If he has issues before then the pediatrician will have to deal with it (and she already had to refill his meds) or if it's an emergency we'll have to go to the ER. Hopefully we can deal with it all until we can have him seen!

Overall, the transition has been great! James is loving and very 'easygoing' around the house. He prefers to be with Michael and I, but in the last 3 weeks we've started leaving him in the nursery during church for 1 hour/week and he's done fine there too. He has stayed a little with our regular babysitter and with each set of grandparents so Mike and I can go out for a little alone time (generally after the kids are in bed).

We have been blessed by James' great start in a good home, and we are looking forward to having his foster mom and sister come over to celebrate his birthday next weekend!

I'm sure there's more that I could share because I could generally talk all day about any of my kids, but, I must run, time for blood work...