Homesick

[marydell]

We've been 5 nights away from home with baby Charlie so far...we're staying at my brother's place in Bloomington, Indiana, and we have a bedroom, study, and bath mostly to ourselves, and my wonderful sister-in-law is helping with the baby, the laundry, and the bottle-cleaning. So it's the lap of luxury, as road trips go, but we still wish we could go home. Paperwork has to go from our lawyer in Indy, to the secretary of state in Indy, over to the IL secretary of state in Springfield, and back again to Indy, before the interstate compact that allows us to leave will be done. This is partly because during the early phase of a domestic adoption, you are actually fostering the child; the adoption is not finalized until you have had some followup visits from your social worker(s).

We miss our kitty, our fishies, our couch, our garden, and our Tivo. I miss my rice cooker and Mike misses his grill. Charlie's a very easy baby which gives us more time to sit around wishing we were home painting his room (currently a girly lavender) or babyproofing the house.

Soon enough, I guess. We may have another week in-state, if the compact isn't done before the holiday. But tomorrow we're headed up to the north end of the state where my parents, godparents, and one of my best girlfriends live. So that will be a good change of scene for the three of us, but it's going to be tough to be so close to home--2 hours away--and not able to go.

Of course, either of us could take a day to go home, check on things there, and relax a bit, while the other one stays in-state with Charlie. But of course neither of us is willing to be parted from him!

Comments

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

I know you must be itching to establish a routine. Still, after years of waiting and trying, a few days of bureaucratic waiting shouldn't be too bad (I hope!). How does motherhood feel? And how much sleep are you getting?

[marydell.livejournal.com]

Motherhood feels mostly good, but still fairly guilt-ridden because the grief of his birth parents is still very much on our minds. That's the deal with adoption, though--it's always a tragedy on some level, and we're the beneficiaries. As we get more into the routine of taking care of him, and as he becomes more responsive, some of that ambivalence is fading, thank goodness.

We're getting a decent amount of sleep, actually--he's a good little sleeper and he's formula-fed, which makes for longer intervals between feedings. He's a very easy baby thus far, and he doesn't mind sleeping in his car seat, which is all we have for him at the moment!

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

That sounds good so far. He's going to find his crib and bedroom a change, then, and take some time getting used to them. That may be a bit of a trauma for him and for you.

I wish I could say something about the guilt, it's got to be a bear to deal with. You're giving him your love, and that's the important thing. He's your child.

[serge-lj.livejournal.com]

Your icon looks like you don't need a Master of Hypnotism to put you to sleep.

[marydell.livejournal.com]

Nope, although I do love Dr. Strange!

[serge-lj.livejournal.com]

Same here. I'm not sure why attempts at giving him an ongoing seriies always fail.

[marydell.livejournal.com]

I think he's like Marzipan...yummy for a treat, but not something you want to have for dinner. They never work out a good story framework for him to be the protagonist, because whenever they put him on stage, he's doing something Big and TransDimensional.

[serge-lj.livejournal.com]

Yes, by the Vapors of Valtorr! What he needs is someone like Neil Gaiman. It's not going to happen, but one can dream. ("You rang?" - "Go away, Nightmare.")