Rocky Start

We're still sleepwalking. The jet lag is pretty awful. We've had only a couple hours of sleep the past two nights. Owen Loc is really struggling with his new environment, so many new faces, and his own jet lag. The first night home was tough, but last night he pulled an all-nighter of terrified screaming with some sleep but only on our laps, plus a 3 a.m. binge-eating session.

I know we're asking a lot of the little guy, and we've probably overdone it with introducing him to his new family, but we've also come to hypothesize that he's terrified of the dark. Our hotel room in Phan Thiet was all teak and poorly lit, and he was frightened every time we set foot in there. He did much better in Saigon and Hanoi. Here at home, it's a lot darker than the hotel rooms we were staying in with all the city ambient light. Last night, he was screaming and signaling to me to take him outside, and when I opened the blinds to show him it was nighttime and not a good idea, he visibly flinched at the dark.

So tonight we tried putting him to bed with all the lights on in his room, instead of just a nightlight, and he didn't go into convulsions when his head hit the pillow. Of course, that was only 15 minutes ago. Last night, we got a whole 20 minutes out of him sleeping in his room before we had to give up and take turns holding him while he slept.

So, we're dead tired but having fun. Thanks to the required classes we had to take before adopting and all the reading we've done, and all the other adoptive families we've met who shared their own homecoming tales with us, we were prepared for rough days. In many ways, it's better than we expected, because when he's rested and well-fed (and his appetite is definitely improving), he's a complete joy. He's a very happy, very active little boy who will run into my arms and give me a kiss. He loves playing in the water, and taking toys or blocks out of a container and putting them back in. Tonight he helped me put all the bottles that had accumulated into the recycle bin. He's even getting used to the car seat, and he spent a good portion of today without shoes on -- a major accomplishment, since shoes are one of his comfort items.

Ray uploaded all of his photos today -- all 1500 of them. We promise we'll do some editing before sharing the link. There are some great ones there that really capture what Vietnam is like.

While I happy to be drinking drinks with ice again, and I had a cheeseburger on the grill last night that tasted like heaven, I am missing the food in Vietnam. It's just amazing.

I'm hoping for an easier night and a happier day tomorrow. We're being patient and trying to help Owen through this rough time. We get enough smiles from him to get us through this patch.