Home two weeks...

So now that we're home two weeks we are settling in to a routine. Of course now Jack is out of school so that changes things a bit -- but hey what's life at our house without change ;)

Tyler is doing amazingly well. He is adjusting and happy. He has appropriate reactions to things -- cries when hungry or uncomfortable, looks to be held and gets our attention with smiles and coos. He loves Jack and Morgan and is really becoming attached to mommy and daddy too. He loves to play and is practicing blowing raspberries and trying so hard to make consonant sounds! He has certainly found his voice this week!

He is rolling both ways, and loves tummy time. Tummy time is a favorite for the entire family! He gets his head up high and can keep that position for a while before getting tired. He can sit propped with both hands and is gaining a lot of strength in his trunk! When he first came home he was quite floppy and although he had excellent head control, he prefered to rest against us almost always...now he squirms and kicks his legs, and reaches out to us or for toys. He has come a long way already!

He is eating very well and just last night we had a small realization. His BM's were still yucky, his belly still distended, and he was spitting up a lot too. We were waiting on his stool cultures last week and thankfully they came back A-OK! So no bacterial infections, parasites, etc., but then why were his BM's sooo yucky (mucousy, watery, etc.)? I remembered reading a long time ago that Ethiopian (and other African) children tend to be lactose intolerant. Jason made the suggestion that perhaps we try soy formula...so he ran to Wal-Mart and picked up Parents Choice Soy -- and we gave him his first all soy bottle this morning. By the 3rd bottle today his BM's were NORMAL, NO spitting up, and NO huge belly! So, I think we found our culprit! He was not tolerating his formula and tolerates Soy extremely well so far. We may never know if it was a true lactose intolerance or what exactly it was but for now we'll stick to Soy and after his first birthday we'll slowly introduce dairy (yogurt, cheese, etc.) and go from there.

We were looking at pictures from when I first walked through the door with Tyler and realized he looked so scared and confused for the first few days! He would retract his shoulders and scowl quite a bit -- and that has completely disappeared now that he's been with me for 3 weeks and home with the family for 2 weeks. Now Tyler is just so happy and content (even with weeks of tummy issues!!) and he is showing his trust in us and we are falling for him pretty hard too ;)