"Gotcha Box"

A few of you have asked what my "gotcha box" is so I thought I'd give a short definition. During the home study process, one of the topics that Annette and I discussed was the transition time for the babies.

Annette was pleased that I have traveld a lot because she said a huge part of the bonding process includes making the babies feel at home whle keeping some of the familar around them. She even said that some Chinese orphanages smell very stongly of urine so the suggestion is that rather than completely cleaning the baby up and giving him/her that Johnson and Johnson's smell, the adoptive parent should consider pinning a small piece of their cloth diaper to the pajamas so that they can be comforted by the familiar smell. The suggestion is to ween them off of the old and gently introduce them to the new. That, I thought, was so counter American culture. Most of us including me would equate good parenting with cleaning them up and rescuing themfrom the less than fragrant odor.

Annette explained that not only will the smells be new but their entire world will be new. The feel of their clothing, their beds, there blankets, the arms of their new parent, the lighting in the house, the basic surroundings, etc... I was amazed at the thought of how this little one might feel in the first couple of weeks in America, in California, at home!!!

So, Annette told me about many adoptive parents keeping good records of the "gotcha date" which is the day that the child(ren) come home. She suggested collecting things from Russia while there and also collecting items during the process of the adoption. These things are what will be put in my "gotcha box". The box will be brought out once a year and little by little I'll introduce them to the world that used to be all they knew. I want them to appreciate their roots and the culture from which they came. I hope to one day when they are older take them back to visit. We shall see if that dream comes to fruition.

So, that's the "gotcha box". First, I will gently ease them into not missing Russia too much and then I will teach them little by little to appreciate the beauty of the culture in which they were born.