MADONNA & CHILD BONDING

Madonna with son David has a detailed plan for the next few weeks.

BY BILL ZWECKER Sun-Times Columnist

After all the months of wrangling and haggling over the adoption of new daughter Mercy from Malawi, Madonna has mapped out a very careful plan for the next few weeks.

A source very close to the superstar tells me the entertainer plans "to spend a lot of quiet, nurturing, private time with Mercy in England" in order to bond with her and "equally important … have her bond with and start to get to know her siblings." Madonna has three other children: Lourdes, 12; Rocco, 8, and David, 3 (who also came from Malawi).

In addition, perhaps not surprisingly, Madonna is bringing in a battery of physicians and early development experts to evaluate Mercy and provide information to her new mother to better help the 3-year-old's assimilation into a world far different than what she's known.

"Not only will Mercy be learning to live in a new country, with totally different customs, but she's also being thrust into a very rarified world of privilege. … Though at her young age, all of that will not be as apparent as it will be a couple of years from now, if not sooner," added the source. "She'll be lucky, however, as she will have plenty of older brothers and sisters who will clue her in to what it means to be Madonna's child."

Source: http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/zwecker/1634217,CST-FTR-zp23.article