Updates

Gee, does anyone think I should see a doctor- lol? That was the overwhelming consensus to last Saturday's post. I heard you. I made an appointment. I go next Monday. I'll keep you posted.

Onto more interesting things... How about an update on Sammy Davis Jr.? He just had his nine month check-up (at almost 10 months. See? I told you I'm behind in everything). He currently weighs in at 15 lbs., 13 0z., and is now 26 inches tall. That puts him in the THIRD percentile for weight, and he just now made it onto the chart for height, so he's now at the third percentile there, too. His head circumference, however, is in the 25 percentile... My little bobblehead. He's wearing mostly 6-9 month sized clothes right now, for anyone out there who may be adopting and trying to figure out what sizes to buy. When we first got to Majuro, he probably would have fit into 3-6 months if we would have had them, but we made due with our 6-9 months stuff.

Beyond the boring stats, he's really doing great. It's as if he's always known us. The attaching and bonding processes have seemingly been a breeze, leaving me to wonder how I could be so lucky.

He's eating well, but isn't showing much interest in a sippy cup yet. He has two teeth on bottom, none yet on top. He's crawling and into everything. He can pull himself up to stand, walk with help, and stand alone for a few seconds (if we help him get his balance first). I predict he will be walking within the next 6 weeks. He loves his walker and bouncer and really loves to smack things- the walls, his toys, the dog, my face... He shakes his head "No" when he's about to do something he knows he shouldn't. Then he goes right ahead and does it anyway. He can say Dada (his favorite), Mama (mostly when he's upset and I'm supposed to come to his rescue), Hi, Uh-oh, dog ("daw") and he can bark like a dog ("wuh"). He also says Baba alot. His foster parents say they taught him this because it means Daddy. We use baba at home for bottle and Bubba or Bubby for brother, so we don't really know to whom or what, if anything, Baba refers. It could just be gibberish. Evan is sure he's tried to say "Evan." I dunno about that one.

He's a really happy little dude. Loves attention, of course, and certainly gets it. He rarely cries because he doesn't have to. Any little peep causes someone to come running. Aye yi yi. He's going to be so spoiled later on, but the kids just adore him. Even the older boys. Alex and Mike carry him around (when they're home) just as much as the little ones do. Evan thinks he's Sam's mommy. It's great to have the help from so many people, though.

He's still not sleeping all that great. It's hit and miss. I think he is getting better, though, and closer to sleeping all night without our "help." We try, if we can, to leave him in his little bed and give him his pacifier for comfort. Sometimes this works, sometimes not. We only bring him into bed with us if he's been up so many times that we're tired of getting up.

Lately, Darrell has been sleeping with Sam in our family room- with Darrell in the recliner and Sam in his little portable crib- to let me get some sleep. Last night, I got a little more sleep than I have been getting, but I seem to wake up every couple hours, no matter how exhausted I feel. Once I wake up, it can sometimes take hours to get back to sleep. So... Life has become a series of short naps, it seems. Not very restful, but hopefully the doctor will have some answers next Monday.

Thank you so much, you guys, for all the feedback, and support the other day. I truly appreciate all the help and advice. Some of you even emailed me personally with your phone numbers, which just blew me away. I was touched. And I don't like to use that phrase often. To say "I was/am touched," these days, has a somewhat naughty connotation, does it not? Anyway, I'm very blessed to have such good cyber buddies (and IRL friends, too- Love you!).