Cocooning: What Keeps Mama Sane

Several people have asked for an update on how "cocooning" has gone for us (for more information, check back at this post about why we're cocooning and this post which explains a little more about how that's going to work for us).

We have been home three weeks, and Israel has been in our arms for four. This past week was our best week as far as attachment progress goes,  but it was filled with doctors, so it was also hard too.

Since the beginning of our arrival at home, I realized that this cocooning business is not as easy as I thought it would be. Six weeks to three months is the time frame that our agency recommends for cocooning, and after about three days I felt like the walls were closing in on our house and I was desperate for some adult interaction when Will was gone! Trust me, I LOVED having all the time with Israel, but I am very used to being out and about and with lots of people (I had weekly meetings with college students and lots of friend time before he came home). Our days involve lots of snuggles, hours of baby wearing (he naps on me, remember?), and kisses - because this kid is so incredibly kissable!!!

So what has worked for me: taking lots of walks. Seriously, every day (sometimes multiple times a day) I get out of the house with Israel in our stroller (which faces me- its a Graco Flip It and he can make eye contact with me the whole walk). I get exercise, we get some air and I get out of the house. WIN WIN WIN. Twice I have gone with a friend on a walk with Israel strapped in his stroller facing me, and that has gone over pretty well. Israel still doesn't really look at strangers (a great thing!) so walking with another person hasn't seemed to contradict our cocooning plan because they aren't really giving him attention and he isn't focusing on anyone but me.

Another thing that has helped: Sonic Happy Hour. I am not kidding. God bless Sonic for their 1/2 priced drinks from 2-4, because I am there multiple times a week. I tell myself I'm just helping Israel get accustomed to his car seat, but really the caffeine and the mini outing really help me a lot.

Having a general "schedule" has helped. Israel's napping routine has continued to evolve, but we have certain things set in stone: lunch, our walk, daddy coming home for lunch and when he gets off work. We try to play really hard in between naps - in the backyard, on the porch, practicing tummy time, etc.

Mommy outings. One Friday I met two other young moms, Beth and Brittany (whose husbands are also on staff at our church), and we had a kid-free lunch where we talked about life and it was so good for all of us. I have been so grateful for these ladies since I met them last June, but now in this season I'm even more thankful for them! We're going to try to make our Friday lunches a more regular occurrance since our husbands all have off days on Friday and can watch our kids.

Being sneaky. Ok, this one just applies to today. Today I went to church for the first time! Israel and I showed up 15 minutes late, I strapped him in the Ergo and we went to church in the "cafe" downstairs. I met Brittany, who has a little one that still needs to be close by, and we listened to the sermon through the speakers together. It was so refreshing to be in church and to worship with another person! Also, Israel stayed in the Ergo the whole time, fell asleep almost as soon as we got there and had a glorious 1 hour nap there. When he was almost awake we got in the car and headed home. He didn't meet anyone new, only a handful of people even knew we were there, and I got to go to church!!!!! I'm so thankful that my friend Brittany could share that time today and I look forward to being sneaky again sometime :).

Nighttime dinners. Again, this only happened once but it was so fun! Our church has set up meals being delivered to us for the first month we're home, and one night our friends were on the schedule to deliver a meal to us. We asked them to just come later after Israel was asleep so they could stay and eat it with us and we could have adult friend time! It was nice catching up with them and chatting about their future adoption process (they are starting the process this summer and I'M SO EXCITED for them!).

In the next few weeks we will begin to introduce Israel to his extended family and a few more close friends. I'll update more on that process when we get there :). I have to remind myself that cocooning is JUST a season. There will be a time when we can go out and about like "normal" and I'm sure I'll miss this season of staying in and just learning about each other. For now though, I am actually really thankful that I get to be selfish with his snuggles and kisses. I don't know when I'll be ready to pass him around because when he's sleeping or sitting on the floor I just want to scoop him up and hold and kiss him again! Will and I fight over his affection and its just the two of us :).

Lastly, I want to say thanks for stopping by! It means so much to me that so many people have taken the time to read our blog and follow our story. Several people have told us recently that they have been praying for us and have been "silent" followers of our blog. We are humbled to be able to tell our story and hope that God gets all the glory- because He is the author of it, and we are just grateful that we get to be Israel's parents!