New Minister of Justice In Bulgaria

After last month's elections in Bulgaria, a new Minister of Justice was appointed this week. Her name is Diana Kovacheva. You can read a little about her here: http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=134440.

The Ministry of Justice is the government entity in Bulgaria that accepts and registers dossiers of prospective adoptive parents from other countries, issues referrals for international adoption, and signs off on legal paperwork before adoption cases can be sent to the courts for the official adoption ruling and decree.

Two new Deputy Justice Ministers have also taken office. One of them will replace Daniela Masheva who, to my understanding, was heavily involved with IA at the MOJ. You can read more on this topic here: http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=135079.

These changes are not expected to have a negative impact on international adoptions from Bulgaria.

Rex - Nineteen Weeks Home

Today marks nineteen weeks home and twenty-one weeks out of the orphanage for Rex. The last two weeks have still been quite a challenge with him, presenting a mix of terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days and then wonderful days where Rex has been happy and relaxed, open to learning and loving.

Developmentally, we have seen an increase in Rex’s use of sign language, especially for the word eat. He’s also doing a lot of babbling with intonation, for example, at times it sounds like he is asking a question in a language I don’t know. He also has learned how to turn buttons on toys (fortunately not doorknobs yet), improved his pincer grip very much, and also walks much smoother from one surface to another. No more stopping to go up and down from the hardwood floor to the exercise mat at OT, for instance. He’s doing a lot of climbing with the help of his step stool and balancing on top of mattresses and couches. This is great exercise for his muscles and equilibrium, so we are happy to see it. Rex wants to go upstairs a lot now, too, in an effort to expand his territory of exploration. One day I had left my toothbrush loaded with toothpaste on the master bath sink and when I came back to finish, I found Rex attempting to brush his own teeth with it. I guess this means he gets daddy's nightly efforts at dental hygiene. Rex still really dislikes fine motor tasks and gives me a hard time when I make him do them anyway.

(I know I am biased beyond reason, but I think he's gorgeous.)

Rex and Emilia continue to get to know each other and to figure out what this siblinghood might be about. They have now shared the same space at the same time or used the same toy together on occasion. I am not talking about interactive play, but they might both sit there and listen to the same musical toy or both lounge on the trampoline simultaneously. And they imitate each other’s sounds: one coughs and so will the other, one laughs and the other will join in. There have been times in the car where it sounded like a very animated conversation was happening in the back seat which makes Craig and me smile.

I also want to tell you about our nap time, but it’s so special to me that I plan to devote an entire entry to the topic soon. For now, I’ll just say that I think Rex is well attached to both of us. He is terribly jealous of Emilia when she receives any attention from HIS daddy and he demands his bedtime story and snuggle time with Craig every single night. Rex frequently checks back with me now when we are at therapy sessions and gives me wonderful eye contact at home. I have been able to sneak a few kisses on the lips from him and he lets me hold and rub his hands when we sit together. And he lets me place his hands on my face now and gently move them around. Remember, this is the child who would crane away from hugs, kisses and other physical contact and not allow anyone to touch his face or hands. But love!

Parenting a child with many special needs is really hard and I am exhausted at the end of the day, but I cannot imagine Rex not being here with us and I shudder to think what would have happened to him had he stayed at the orphanage. He is my love through and through, more and more each day.

Mommy CSI

I came onto the crime scene this afternoon and found some trace that was left on the floor by one of two possible scoundrels who'd been playing in the pantry.

I started my investigation and quickly found the culprit covered in evidence hiding out on the deck.
Does he look like he's at least a little bit sorry for his misdemeanor?

No More Milk

This morning Emilia had her appointment with the feeding team at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. They confirmed what I had already suspected: that Emilia has a moderate allergy to milk. This means no more cow’s milk, no more traditional yogurt, no more oh so delicious butter in her diet, at least for now. I had actually already stopped giving her most dairy on Friday and her BMs per day dropped from six or more to two or less. Since then she also has been able to sleep through the night like an angel, no tossing and turning, no whimpering, crying and random sounds, and no wee hour play time.

The problem is that Emilia does not eat enough calories per day and does not drink enough liquid. The feeding team would like her to have 800-900 calories daily to gain weight and drink 24 ounces of liquid. The last week or so she has been eating between 400-600 calories per day, including drinking Pediasure to the tune of about 6 to 8 ounces only. Now, her purees are still pretty liquidy and do provide some hydration, but I was still worried.

I knew Pediasure would no longer be an option for us because it contains milk ingredients, so we have been given two similar products to test which are soy based. They have a lot of calories and vitamins/minerals. I doubt Emilia will be drinking 24 ounces of anything any time soon, but I am going to try. Plus, I am supposed to continue to offer her light purees. Wish me luck!

Lastly, Emilia has a pretty significant iron deficiency, so we have been prescribed a liquid iron supplement to see if her iron levels will come up. There’s a possibility that they might not in which case her doctors already know the reason which is genetic and of no concern at this time.

I am glad that after a month of guessing and experimenting, we are finally finding some answers for our little girl. Everyone please send her good thoughts to increase her calorie and liquid intake in the next days and weeks.

Welcome Home

Two wonderful little boys adopted from Bulgaria moved onto our street this weekend:

Can't wait to meet them when they have settled in a little bit.

IAC 200 Results

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 200 which was held on 11/11/11:

1) Spanish dossier from December 2008 referred a female child, aged 2 years and 10 months

2) French dossier from December 2008 referred a male child, aged 1 year and 10 months

3) French dossier from December 2008 referred a female child, aged 3 years and 9 months

4) Canadian dossier from January 2009 referred a female child, aged 4 years and 8 months

5) U.S. dossier from August 2009 referred a female child aged 5 years and 7 months with features in health status

6) U.S. dossier from August 2010 referred a female child, aged 3 years 9 months with features in health status and data on family history

7) Swedish dossier from November 2009 referred a male child, aged 2 years with features in health status and data on family history

8) French dossier from March 2010 referred a waiting child (#1655) with a profile on the MOJ site

9) Italian dossier from July 2010 referred a male child, aged 5 years and 8 months with features in health status

10) Italian dossier from July 2011 referred a male child, aged 9 years and 2 months

11) Italian dossier from August 2011 referred a male child, aged 9 years 7 months

12) Italian dossier from October 2011 referred a male child, aged 9 years and 5 months

13) Italian dossier from October 2011 referred a male child, aged 9 years and 1 month

A Rough Day

Well, today was a hard day and I figure I should memorialize one of those, too, for the kids to read when they are older, so here goes.

Emilia and I got up at 5:20 this morning, not because we really had to but because she was ready. No big deal, I don’t mind getting up early. The guys got up around 6 and by 7 am we were on the road to Cincinnati Children’s. Rex hadn’t eaten breakfast, but that’s not uncommon on these early mornings. I didn’t give Emilia anything to eat because we wanted her to poop at the hospital for a fecal fat study. The stool has to be less than an hour old when it reaches the lab. Since she poops like clock-work after every meal and then some, we figured we’d feed her there and then simply wait for her to produce the sample.

Craig dropped Rex and me off at OT and headed to the lab where Emilia needed additional bloodwork, too. We were slated to meet again around 9:15 at the Rubinstein Library which is part of CCHMC. Rex had a tough OT session with some tears as his therapist was really pushing the fine motor activities. Then we unexpectedly waited for over an hour for Craig and Emilia. I was able to entertain Rex with a snack and some games for a while, but eventually he got fussy and I had to hold him and smile politely at the passers-by who wondered while my child was screaming. When Craig and Emilia finally came, I learned that despite eating her entire breakfast, Emilia decided not to poop this morning, so we set out for home with only partially accomplished medical tasks. As we pulled into our driveway, Rex began to vomit. I had no idea such a tiny body could bring so much food back up. It was gross and incredible at the same time. I don’t have to go into the details of cleaning up a pukey toddler, car seat and car… I am sure you know.

After two hours at home in which the kids neither rested nor ate, we headed back out to our first ophthalmologist visit. Emilia did very well there and her eyes are most likely fine, but Rex lost it during the exam. He screamed and kicked and wanted nothing to do with any of it. His eyes had to be dilated twice because they are so dark. The doctor was super nice about it all and tried to do her best. She suspects that something might be wrong with Rex’s left eye, but she wants to see him again in six weeks, hopefully in a more cooperative mood. If the symptoms persist, he may have to go for an MRI, but I won’t worry about that yet.

The eye exams took two hours, so we decided to get carry-out for dinner. Made a quick stop at Whole Foods and a nearby restaurant and returned home. Since we’ve walked into the door, Emilia has pooped three times and Rex has found a new place to climb unassisted:

Now, just in case you think this day was all bad, it wasn’t. They never are. Some highlights included: a delicious dinner I didn’t have to cook, free toys (wooden puzzle and peg board) to keep forever from the Rubinstein Library, December temps in the high 40s, a real hug from Rex after his eye exam, and spending the whole day with my awesome husband. If we can squeeze in an episode of Dexter tonight after the kids go to sleep, I’ll even call it a good day ;).