Sweet Sounds

Some may not admit it, but I honestly believe that the scariest part of being an adoptive parent (other than the birth-parents reconsidering, during the waiting period) is the possibility of not making a bond with your child. I blame the Lifetime Movie Network, Dr. Phil and Opera for this scare. They rarely make movies of adoptive families that are perfectly happy, or they next to never have guests that were adopted and have gone on to become a successful member of society. Why? They exist! Hundreds of us are Adoption Success Stories!

But before I knew we were going to be a "success Story" I was worried about the same exact things! (Again because I was watching A LOT of Daytime T.V.) I read the books, I asked opinions, I slept with blankets that we would put in the crib, I wrote in journals, I lived on "Google" seeing what others said, I prayed, and prayed, and prayed!

Then I walked into the hospital room and held MY son. The bond was instant. He laid his head on my chest and closed his eyes. Not one cry, not one stiffening, not one concern. His little hand reached up and took hold of my necklace and still to this day when he is sleepy and we are cuddling he grabs onto that necklace. It was obvious that we were bonded.

As he got a little older, little things reconfirmed that fact for me. And most of them were very small. Like when he was learning to walk and his little hands were holing onto my finger. Or when he was learning to run and fell and he reached out to me for comfort and laid his head on my shoulder. The time he was shooting hoops at the "Big Hoop" and made it,then scanned the room to find me to make sure I was watching him and waited for me to clap and say Good Job until he would try again (even though there were at least twenty other people cheering him on). And even the first couple of moments after getting up from a nap and he just wants to sit on my lap and cuddle. One of my favorites happened right after this picture was taken. When Day crawled over to Brian and planted a kiss on his cheek and wrapped his tiny arms around his neck.

So, Yes I would say that those movies and all those talk shows are only showing a very small percentage of the adoption world. All that is needed for that bond to take place is unconditional love!