Adoptive Family Bonding - Sleeping Beauty

For those of you that are familiar with adoption, you will know that the adopted child often times does not (at least initially) like to snuggle. They are not used to that closeness and attachment to another person. The first signs of attachment that we looked for with Madeline were eye contact with us. But spontaneous affection was also very important to obtain. Those signs of attachment mentioned above came quickly but it probably took a year before Madeline allowed us to cradle her like a baby . And to fall asleep with us holding her??? Out of the question!

As you can see from the picture, the other day, Madeline fell asleep as I cradled her. And yesterday, we snuggled together on the couch and napped together. These might seem like everyday occurrences with birth mothers but for adoptive parents they are heart-warming, tear-jerking milestones of our family's journey. I feel blessed to not only have Madeline attached and bonded to us in this way but also to not take these "small acts" for granted.