Joel David, our precious (and unexpected!) gift from God!
Joel arrived on July 9 at 11:34 PM, 6 pounds and 13 ounces and twenty and a half inches long.
Joel's siblings approve of him, for the most part. Esther decided yesterday to start a journal about him. She titled it the "Joel Love Book," and her first entry read, "He is cute and a little bit annoying but I love him." Daniel has gotten some great pictures (of course!). Both kids have enjoyed playing with him, though I'm sure both of them wish I spent less time feeding him and more time doing things with them!
And, of course, Tim and I are in love. Tim has dubbed him "Joel Joy." So far he is a contented baby who spends much of his awake time looking quietly around and only cries if he is hungry, getting his diaper changed, or doesn't feel good...or if we try to lay him down! Daniel commented today on how much less he cries than the babies in the orphanage, and I pointed out that they were not held all the time like Joel is. After two adoptions, it is poignant to experience "Attachment, Plan A" with this child. Even in his first few hours of life Joel seemed to know the difference between me and others. He could be fussing or upset from some procedure that had been done on him, but he would calm down immediately when he was given back to me, and was content to just lie next to me. I'm used to having to earn that kind of trust from my children. (Well, I suppose carrying him around inside me for nine months counts towards earning trust, but it feels like I just met him.) And I was surprised how comfortable I felt handling him. I've always felt awkward with other people's newborns and I expected to feel the same with my own, but I feel very much at ease with him. It's hard to imagine that instinctive bond being broken for Daniel and Esther when they were just around Joel's age. Whoever described adoption as "a redemptive response to a tragedy" had it right.
But meanwhile, I'm thankful that it is within our ability to love and care for this little one. And we are treasuring his newborn-baby-ness: his expressive little face (especially a certain ferocious pout), the way he smiles secretly in his sleep when he has a full tummy, the way he grunts and squirms his way over to one of us and snuggles right into our side to sleep if we lay him down on our bed, the way he lies quietly and looks all around. We are blessed!
