The Heart Of The Matter

When we adopted Emilia, we knew that her primary physical special need was a congenital heart defect. This was a condition to which we had expressed openness in our paperwork and something she shares in common with her youngest cousin. Today we had our first appointment with cardiology at Cincinnati Children's and all went well. Emilia's VSD is very small and her EKG is normal. She shows no signs of heart failure or breathing problems. We were told repeatedly to treat her like a normal child with no restrictions and no medications and to return in six months for a check-up and echo under sedation. They just want to be sure they are not missing anything. Her prognosis is very good.

At today's appointment, Emilia was also weighed and measured. I had been anxious for this information because I wanted to know if removing dairy from her diet and providing her with healthy, nutrient-rich foods was making a difference. Emilia weighed in at 8.53 kg (18.8 lbs) which is up 13 ounces from her last weigh in with the feeding team on 12/20. This means in three weeks' time, Emilia has gained nearly a whole pound. She also measured 74.2 cm (29.2 in) which is up 1.3 cm from 72.9 at the International Adoption Center on 12/7. I am thrilled to see her make such progress. It's very rewarding for me as I am constantly contemplating her diet and trying to make it as delicious and nutritious as possible.

Emilia - Seven Weeks Home

Emilia has now been home with us for seven weeks. I can hardly believe it. Time is flying by.

The last two weeks have brought major dietary changes for Emilia has I have removed all dairy from her meals. She now eats larger portions and more calories overall. Most days she even hits the target 800-900 calories suggested by the feeding team. Her bowel movements have reduced to 1-2 per day and she does get enough liquid (even if she only drinks about 8 ounces) to have three or four full diapers per day. Her sleeping at night is improved. She is much calmer and quieter now. I imagine it’s because her tummy is not hurting. She’s also taking her prescription iron supplement every night. I can’t wait for her to be weighed which should be on Tuesday. Craig and I do both feel that’s she’s growing, including her hair. I had to cut her bangs this week which she did not like, but it turned out okay. The hair on the back of her head is quite long, but you could never tell because it’s so curly:

Emilia continues to be very reluctant to do any structured learning. She sits on my lap to look at books or flashcards now, but she outright refuses to experiment with crayons, blocks, play dough, etc. Don’t get me wrong, she is a busy little girl and exploring on her own from morning to night. She loves to push her cart through the house, plays her xylophone several times a day, manipulates any small object she can find in her hands, has fun with the bead maze, the tambourine, and the beach ball. She also loves to climb. Any object or person larger than herself is something she attempts to scale. And yes, she’s made it onto the kitchen table via her highchair already. She’s like a little monkey. She’s not too keen on imitating sounds from Craig and me, but she always imitates Rex’s noises, so we know she can do it and is just choosing to ignore her parents. She is keeping up her Bulgarian words and uses them, but hasn’t added any English ones yet.

Bonding has been going very well. Emilia makes wonderful eye contact and looks to us for comfort now when she is hurt or upset. She snuggles her head into our shoulders when we carry her and wraps her arms around us, too. She smiles at us when she sees us and is beginning to respond to her new name.

Rex and Emilia continue to grow more interactive. I don’t know why, but especially in the evenings when it’s bath time and we are all getting ready for bed, those two are having tons of fun. Rex runs around and acts silly and Emilia follows him and laughs at him. She loves to watch him and seems to think he’s the bee’s knees. Rex has gotten much better at sharing my time and attention with his sister, but he’s still very protective of his daddy. Fortunately, Emilia is very forgiving in this department yet. The kids still parallel play, sometimes with the same toy.

All in all, things are going well. I can look back even a month from now and feel so much better about where our family is mentally, physically and emotionally these days and how we are melding together.

H2O Here We Go

Tonight it finally happened, the magical moment we waited and worked for over more than five months. Our son who used to kick and scream bloody murder at bath time, who needed to be washed as quickly as possible with as little water as possible, who was too scared to even go near a neighbor’s kiddie pool last summer, who would not stick his hands under a faucet or into a water bucket, who clearly had severe sensory if not traumatic issues with water… SAT DOWN IN THE TUB AND PLAYED.

Of course, I cried. And I laughed. And, as always, my heart swelled with pride and joy over this child who is simply coming around to life in his own time and his own way. He amazes us every day.

"Mariah" - Will Someone Please Go For Her?!

I don't know why, but I feel strongly compelled to advocate for this little girl again. She is seven years old and lives in one of the two countries from which our kids came. She has spina bifida and is wheelchair-bound. She also is under the care of a nephrologist for some kidney problems. That said, Mariah is an absolutely gorgeous girl, vibrant and beautiful. She speaks two languages, one of them English. She is bright, charming, and kind. She enjoys school and eagerly completes her homework each day. Mariah has been living in a small, private orphanage with a great ratio of caregivers to children. This place is more like a home and Mariah would likely transition smoothly into a family and make a wonderful daughter. For more information, including video, contact info@hopscotchadoptions.org.

Everyone who comes to my blog for information about IAC meetings or because you are a regular follower, please spread the word about this special little girl. Post a link on your own blogs, tweet it, write it onto your Facebook walls. It will only take a minute. Let's find a family for Mariah.

IAC 202 Results

The following referrals were issued in IAC session 202 which was held on 11/25/11:

1) French dossier from January 2009 referred a female child aged 1 year and 10 months

2) Italian dossier from June 2009 referred a female child aged 7 years and 1 month

3) French dossier from October 2010 referred a female child aged 8 years and 10 months

4) Italian dossier from February 2011 referred a male child aged 3 years 8 months with features in health status

5) Italian dossier from August 2011 referred a waiting child (#1130) with a profile on the MOJ site

6) Italian dossier from November 2011 referred three waiting children (#1706, #1707, #1709) with profiles on the MOJ site

7) U.S. dossier from November 2011 referred four waiting children (#1142, #372, #493, #544) with profiles on the MOJ site

8) U.S. dossier from November 2011 referred a waiting child (#953 ) with a profile on the MOJ site

9) Swedish dossier from November 2011 referred a waiting child (#1371 ) with a profile on the MOJ site

Rex - Twenty-One Weeks Home

Today marks twenty-one weeks home and twenty-three weeks out of the orphanage for Rex and boy, has he made those last two weeks count.

After a developmental hiatus since about Thanksgiving, Rex started making new strides again right around Christmas. I already shared with you one of his biggest accomplishments which is that he can now climb down our 14 stairs unassisted. He also started standing in the bathtub with water in it (as opposed to standing in the dry tub while we washed him from a bucket) and now he is sitting down in the water, too. He does not yet stay seated for very long, but he tries again and again throughout his bath. When he does overcome his fears and sits, he has a huge look of pride and happiness on his face.

A few days ago we converted Rex’s crib into a toddler bed and he made the transition with no problems. He’s been sleeping very well through the night in his new set-up and he is also adjusting to lying down in his bed awake, having daddy read his bedtime story, then cuddling and falling asleep with daddy sitting beside him. Previously, he would fall asleep in our bed after hearing his story. We are just so impressed with Rex's ability to handle change these days. He really has come a long way in this area.

Rex is also making good improvements with turn-taking using a preferred toy or during a preferred activity, with holding our hands while we walk in public, and with letting us know when he is hungry. He is really taking to using the sign for eat now. We do still experience tantrums and incidents of auto-aggression, but Rex is much more easily redirected and calmed now. Sometimes he is even able to stop himself and find a better solution on his own or by reaching out to us. We know that he spent long periods of time at the orphanage raging and hurting himself with little or no intervention, so it’s a difficult habit to break.

I have been reading to Emilia and suddenly Rex has become a bit more interested in books beyond his beloved night-time story. They don’t hold his interest for more than three or four pages, but at least he is looking at the pages now and paying a bit of attention. He also can focus on two to three flashcards in a row when I show them to him. Again, I think this is something he sees his little sister do and he imitates. It might also be too early to declare, but we have heard a first complete and clear word from Rex twice now. And no, it’s no mama or daddy, it’s bubble. I am not holding my breath that he is really verbalizing purposefully, but just letting you know that as always, my little guy is trying hard.

Lastly, Rex appears to be in a growth spurt. He has outgrown several items of clothing lately and I have had to replace them with 3Ts. His feet even got too big for the shoes he’s worn since July and he's in a size 5 Pampers though it doesn't seem to handle his girth much better than the size 4. Rex is eating like a horse these days and is always interested when sister is having her meals, too.

Go Rex, you’re amazing!

Look Who's Walking Now

Down the stairs that is...

When we accepted Rex’s referral back in 2010, we did not know of many of his special needs as they were not yet diagnosed or even obvious. However, there were certain issues we were prepared to accept. For example, our IA doctor had told us that she wasn’t sure that Rex would ever sit, crawl, stand, or walk and that he might remain immobile. We decided we could handle it if this were to be true. When we picked up Rex in July 2011 he had just learned how to walk and since then has made many strides in his gross motor development. He rang 2011 out on a very high note by learning how to do this:

I am insanely proud and fiercely protective of this amazing son of mine who does everything in his own perfect time.