Meeting Mekonen For the First Time!

The first time we met our precious baby boy is an experience I will never forget. I have tried a few different times to sit down and express the mo

ment we finally met face to face, skin to skin but I

can't seem to find the words. I wrote this lett

er the night after we me

t our babe.

Friday

08.21.09

Dear Mekonen,

Today was the day!!! The day we finally met you face to face! It was everything I thought it would be. We got in about 10:30pm and got a good night's sleep (mommy with the aid of a sleeping pill. haha). We got up and got ourselves ready and waited for Gail (the agency director) to come pick us up. It seemed like a dream! I couldn't believe this was actually happening. We drove the short distance from the Ritmo Guest House where we stayed, to the Layla House where you have been for the past 6 months. The butterflies in my stomach were going crazy!! We couldn't get there fast enough! As we arrived at the Layla House, Gail honked the horn when we arrived at the big blue doors I had seen so often in pictures, and couldn't wait to see in person. The guards opened the door and we piled out of the van. We saw the painting of the Winnie the Pooh on the doorway that led to the baby rooms. We had seen this doorway in so many pictures. We walked through the doorway, across a little courtyard and entered the toddler room where we took off our shoes. Then they told us you were in the next room to the right. We walked in and there you were... sitting in a pink bumbo. You were dressed in a blue one piece outfit with a yellow giraffe on it. The first time I laid eyes on you, you were very wide-eyed, happy, and curious. I am so glad you didn't cry when I picked you up. I had waited so long to hold you. One of the nannies handed you to me. You were all wet and she was going to change you first. But I said no, I didn't care. I just wanted to hold you. It was perfect,. So sweet. Daddy let me hold you first and he videod. I was choking back tears as Gail put you in my arms. I was hugging you and kissing you and just couldn't believe it was you! You were looking up at me with so much curiosity. After snuggles with mommy I handed you to daddy. You were staring up at daddy and patting at his face. It was so cute. After all our first hugs and kisses, one of the nannies changed you. We took turns carrying you around and holding you while we played with the toddlers and took pictures. Gail came back and gave us a very quick tour of some of the other baby rooms. We got a quick glance at Sosina, the little girl of our friends Donovan and Julie. It was pouring rain when we left, so I put daddy's coat over you as I walked out to the van to go back to the Ritmo Guest House. You were fast asleep since I fed you a bottle in the toddler room before we left. As soon as we got you back to the guest house, we got some boiling water from the kitchen and added some cold water from the tub to give you a bath. We sat you in a pink baby bathtub and you seemed confused and curious all at the same time. We scrubbed you all clean and we were cracking up laughing the whole time at how cute you were and how slippery you were. It took two of us to give you a bath! :) We fed you some rice cereal and it was so cute. You were very new to this and it was getting everywhere. You played with us for a bit in the guest house living room and then fell asleep for a nap. At the beginning of the day, you wouldn't put much weight on your legs. But by the end of the day, you were putting weight on your legs and standing up while mommy held your fingers. This made you smile and smile. You didn't make any noises or cry the first day. By the end of the day you were also making better and better eye contact. After dinner and a bottle we put you in the Beco carrier and walked you back to Wanna. Our plan was to have you with us all day and then take you back to Layla to sleep. We wanted as few transitions for you as possible. However, this was harder than I thought it would be. I walked into your baby room at the orphanage and the nannies were feeding other babies so I had to lay you down by all your friends on the floor. You didn't seem to mind one bit, but mommy sure did. I cried and cried as we left. I just knew you were supposed to be with me. I'm not sure I can do that again. After we dropped you off, daddy and I went to the Fatum market to buy bread and fruit and came back to the Guest House and got ready for bed. We cannot wait to see you tomorrow morning!
Love,

Mommy(That first night that we brought him back to the orphanage to sleep was the last night we did that. I just couldn't leave him again. We kept him at the guest house with us the whole time and it was the best).

I will continue to post about our trip in-between snuggling and playing with my sweet boy, and changing lots of poopy diapers! Ethiopia was the most incredible experience. I can't wait to share it with you! Stay tuned!

(We have video of the first time we met Mekonen, as well lots of other fun videos, but the file is really big and won't upload to our blog. Does anyone know how to fix it?)