Do you know this?

There are approximately 18000 parents registered with CARA, while the number of children in the Government's adoption pool is less 1800.

Sunday, July 15, 2007

My child's incredible story (# 3)


A memorable trip for bringing Akhil Ramachandran home

By Ganga Gopalkrishnan

The crispy breeze on the morning of April 20th said it all. Our six long years of wait is almost over. We were filled with exhilarating joy, thrilling emotions and overwhelming anxiety about the first meeting with our son. Our hearts were heavy with gratification and unfulfilled emotions of being parents.

We reached India on the 22nd and went to see our son on the same day. We reached the nursery around 2:00PM. It was naptime for the kids. We met our son in the last room. He was sleeping on his tummy. We waited for an hour near his crib for him to wake up. When he woke up, he gave us the most beautiful smile in the world. We felt as if he knew us for ages.

After an emotional ceremony, we were to bring him home. On the way home, he sat in our lap like a wet cat on a rainy day. His wheezing provided us the initial rhythms of our lives together. Nature was shedding joyous tears in the background, giving a warm welcome home for Akhil with the typical summer rain. He seems to be a little bit uncomfortable sleeping in the cradle position in the car, but once grandma sang a beautiful song in Raag Neelambari (meant for lullabies), he slept peacefully in our arms. We first went to mom’s home where grandpa was to celebrate his 60th birthday. Grandpa got the best birthday present ever. Akhil was welcomed with traditional Arti by his grandparents, great uncle, uncles, aunt and cousin. He was little bit confused seeing so many people and being the center of attention in his mid-night sleep. He did not cry even a bit throughout the evening. We were expecting and were prepared for a huge breakdown. To quote our family friend "It is not a surprise that Akhil came to you without any problem. Child always knows parents. It is fate."

The next two days was partying time as well as medicine time. He already had severe chest congestion and wheezing when we picked him up. We had the first appointment with the pediatrician; she gave antibiotics and other medicines and that did the trick - he bounced back in a day. He had fun with his uncles, aunts and cousins, but he made sure mom was with him all the time. He understood the second day who mom and dad were.

Now it was time for dad to get back to work. He felt sad when dad left and was searching for him for a day or so and was saying/ showing the actions dad taught him. The next two weeks were the bonding time with mom and family. The first two days after dad left, he wanted to go out and was clinging to mom all the time (maybe he felt insecure or was missing his dad really badly). After two days he was falling into a routine for food, sleep, evening walks, visit to the temple etc…He started playing more with his cousin, learned to share and trade toys. After one week of honeymooning with his cousin, Akhil started to fight with him for toys, they both started to imitate how the other one cried, started competition to get grandma’s attention. The day we boarded the plane to US, he was thrilled to make the journey but started missing his cousin and grandma.

It is one month today that we came home. He is a bundle of energy and joy and keeps both of us on our toes. Life has changed us forever and we feel blessed to have him with us.

Akhil and mom share lots of traits together, don’t know how God made this match. We both love music and want to listen to classical music every morning. Mom is a dancer and son has started dancing to rhythmic music. We went for a live classical dance performance in India and that is the only place he sat without any disturbance. Mom and son are light sleepers and get up early in the morning. Both are sensitive to temperature differences and get allergies really fast. Both have sensitive stomach and love spicy/crunchy food. Both of us are indoor persons; love to read books, dislike watching TV, movies, and like evening walks . . . more to be discovered.
Together we are exploring this wonderful journey of family.

No comments: