Well, at about 7 last night, we tried to give Thomas a bottle, and he REFUSED.  He cried and grieved and played the sad peekaboo.  He is (thank heavens) a great sleeper, and only woke once.  When I tried to give the bottle, he REFUSED again and slept until morning.  He still REFUSED to eat, and played and cried sadly.  I went to breakfast with Elizabeth and then Matt went with Ginny. While they were gone, Thomas and I had a little showdown.  It had been 14 hours since he had any liquid or formula.  I finally pinned his little arms and stuck the bottle in.  After a few seconds he started swallowing, and after a few more he started the chewing thing that he does (babies with cleft palates can't suck).  He downed almost the whole bottle.  This is a big deal because it was the first time he'd let me hold him and the bottle during feeding, instead of laying flat and holding the bottle himself.  Also, he gazed into my eyes.  Good signs. We got ready for a family grocery store trip, but Thomas went back to sleep.  Matt and Ginny went without us, and when Thomas woke up we had a few more milestones.  It wasn't time for formula yet, but I poured some of E's green Hawaiian Punch into a DIFFERENT bottle, and after dribbling a little into Thomas's mouth, he grabbed the bottle and drank it.  So, first time for a new flavor, and for a cleft bottle.  And he let me hold him. Then we played with his stacking cups a little, and he knocked them down a few times.  He held a cup in each hand and managed to pass a cup from one hand to the other. His grief is so deep, though.  He seems weaker than he did when we got him.  He is sleeping so much today.  There is a lot of crying between moments of fun.  His little arms and legs are so weak, and his core muscles are very weak.  I guess grief, extra activity, and crying really wear a baby out.  Just sitting up is hard work for him right now.  When we hold him, he doesn't hold back, or curl his legs around us- just limp.   No sign of crawling, no bearing weight on his legs.  No interest in solid food.   At least he seems to be back to eating a little formula.... and he sleeps so far.... And it took 2 hours to write this blog.... aaahh, babyhood.

more little details October 31, 2011 order prints He's letting Baba (Matt) hold him for a bottle now. Gansu is a very beautiful place.  The mountains are HUGE like the Alps.  Bigger than any I've seen in the US.  The view from the airplane was fabulous. Lanzhou is a huge city, but between the airport and the city, there are mountian caves that are obviously homes.  The Yellow River runs right through this city. We are trying strange Chinese candy from the shopping trip- very fun!