Regardless of what age you child is at the time of adoption; infant, toddler or teen, the first year home with your child is a just the beginning of first with your child. You will have a first birthday party, first hug, first Christmas and so forth.
During that first year, it is a learning curve. You will learn your child’s likes and dislikes, strengths and weakness. Days may be filled with nesting, and bonding and attachment. There will be doctors appointments and evaluations, or learning to walk, talk, or read.
Your child may be easy to put to bed, or want to stay up all night. You may pull clothes out of the dryer to find crayons left in pockets or realize your humming the Barney song even when your child is nowhere around.
You will experience great joy, exhaustion, and maybe even some frustration, but as the end of the first twelve months approaches, you think to yourself; “Wow, I can’t believe the year went so fast.” And many of you will realize; “Hey, I’ve got this parenting thing down, let’s do this again!”
Labels: adjusting, Adoption 101, adoption transition, bonding, Domestic Adoption, Holidays, international adoption, Mom's, Parenting, Parenting Teens, Positive Words, Toddler Adoption, Toddlers
