Then: When sitting down (on the floor, highchair, bed) Justin would not lift his arms to indicate that he wanted to be picked up. I had never before seen a child that didn't lift their arms to be picked up! And when we did pick him up, he would giggle as if it was a new and exciting experience for him!
Now: He knows when he wants to be held, and doesn't hesitate to let us know it!
Then: He was terrified of our cat, Skeeter, and would cling tightly to us whenever Skeeter entered the room.
Now: Justin will chase Skeeter across the room trying to catch him (I think now Skeeter is terrified of Justin!)
Then: Justin would cry in fear whenever the vacuum was being used.
Now: He dances with joy when the vacuum comes out of the closet!
Then: He would wake up repeatedly throughout the night, screaming and crying.
Now: Other than some fussing between 10pm and midnight, he has (just recently) been sleeping fairly well at night. (Whew!)
Then: When we would try to rock him and cuddle him to sleep, he would push back, away from us, and once he was laying down in bed on his back, he would be able to fall asleep. It seemed as though (and most likely was true) that he didn't even know how to fall asleep in the embrace of someone's arms.
Now: Finally!!! In just these last couple of weeks, he has been able to fall asleep in my arms as I sing to him and rock him.
Then: When falling asleep, or waking in the middle of the night, the ONLY thing that comforted him was his bottle, and he would cling to it desperately, as if it was the only familiar comfort to him in the world (which, sadly, I'm sure was true for him).
Now: When putting him to bed, or when he wakes at night, our presence, along with a gentle touch and soft song, will comfort him to sleep.
These steps and signs of progress towards a healthy attachment are extremely encouraging to us! These months have been consuming for us, but we are seeing a beautiful bond of love growing between him and us!
