Saturday, July 18, 2009

More photos...and your questions answered!

We are happy to report that we've had a good couple days -- Tae is feeling more and more comfortable with us, and he is continuing to be more comfortable exploring his new surroundings. And we are completely smitten with him -- he's a delight, even when he's not! He's had less crying episodes, and usually they're related to teething. And as new parents who have prepared so long for this day, even the crying (mostly!)seems like music to our ears. Tae has already poured loads of joy into his parents' and grandparents' hearts. Here are some more photos of our Beautiful Star, and your questions answered below:
Tae stealing grandpa's glasses:
Tae "helping" daddy build the backyard deck:
In emails and conversations we've had great questions from people about Tae, and since we thought others might be wondering too we decided to post answers here:

Name
We've decided to keep Tae as his first name, and we're deciding on a middle name. We'll keep Schofield (my last name) as a second middle name and Isensee as his last name, but we're still deciding on a first middle name, whether the rest of his Korean name (Tae Gyu) or an American name.

Walking?
In one photo on our last post, it looked like Tae was walking. He's not quite walking yet - but it won't be long! He can pull himself up and use the furniture to walk a few steps. We assume that he'll be walking by his first birthday (August 31).

Sleeping
We've decided for the time being to co-sleep with Tae on a futon mattress on the floor of his room. He co-slept with his foster mom (the norm in Korea) and has never been in a crib, so we decided that now is not the time to start when he's going through so much transition otherwise. Nighttime is the hardest for Tae, when he's most aware of his foster mom's absence, so being able to comfort and quiet him immediately has been so helpful. Plus, like every baby, he truly looks like an angel when he's sleeping.

Last night he was in bed over 12 hours, but up two short times and one long one...though I (Jana) did end up getting 8 hours of sleep...a nice treat.


Skin
Tae has very light skin -- even the director of the Holt agency in Korea said he looked "white." However, just like Caucasians, Koreans have many variations in skin tone, and both of Tae's birthparents were full Korean. His skin may turn darker as he grows, but for now we actually have similar skin tones as him.

Caring for him
Until he's feeling more bonded with both of us, we're not having others (even the patient grandparents!) hold/feed/bathe/change him yet, and we're still sticking close to home so that he's not overwhelmed by too much more newness. He's played on the floor with grandparents and a couple others, but for now we're doing all we can to ensure he feels fully comfortable with his new parents before enlarging his world even more. We are so grateful for the remarkable steps in his comfort level he's made in the past few days, but we still have a journey ahead of all of us. Yet it's one we're walking with joy!

Many thanks for your thoughts and prayers! We'll post again in a few days.

7 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness what a beautiful baby boy! I love following all the events in his young life and seeing the wonderful pictures of Tae, his parents and his grandparents!!! Bev and Deb will love your blogs! Love, Ann

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a cute little munchkin you guys have there! You have been in my thoughts and prayers so much the past few weeks, it's good to now see the three of you home and settling in.
    Peace, Kjersten

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you for sharing your joy with us all. Your stories are delightful, and Tae's smiles and expressions say so much. He truly shines like a star. You're in our prayers :)
    Blessings:
    Lauren (plus the Sittel parents!)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thank you for sharing your joy!
    Love and Blessings,
    Debi WG

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have been following your journey every day with much joy and delight. It is the first thing I check every morning. I even took the time to figure out how to "blog" and get my picture into your friend photo album. I am so happy for you and am glad things are going so well. I love all of your smiles!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yeah God! Yeah Tae!
    He's a cruzin' dude who'll soon be walkin'!
    Glad I can visit virtually. Hope to visit face to face in Aug or September -- or whenever you say.
    Let the Blessings flow!
    Marj

    ReplyDelete
  7. So much fun to read your blog and see all those pictures! I thought I'd be spending more time on the internet while I was recuperating, but somehow this little machine is very draining and my eyes don't want to have to focus for long periods of time, so I'm just now getting caught up on things. It sounds like life is just wonderful in the Schofield/Isensee household! Teething is absolutely exhausting, so it's not quite fair that you have to tackle that right away, but I'm sure there's not much that you complain about these days :) I'm so glad to be able to follow things on your blog. Thanks for all your kind messages and prayers. We are doing fine here. My mom and I take turns having good/bad days, but overall things are moving forward. I'll probably be up here at least another week. Keep posting those adorable pictures! I can't wait to meet Tae in person!

    Lots of love to your family,
    Joan

    ReplyDelete