IAC 265 Results

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 265 which was held on November 13, 2013:

1) Greek dossier from March 2007 referred a female child aged 9 years and 8 months

2) Dutch dossier from May 2010 referred a male child aged 4 years and 2 months

3) Dutch dossier from May 2010 referred a male child aged 5 years and 5 months

4) Spanish dossier from May 2010 referred a male child aged 1 year and 9 months

5) French dossier from June 2011 referred a male child aged 6 years and 11 months with features in health status

6) Italian dossier from November 2011 referred twins, male and female, aged 7 years and 6 months

7) Italian dossier from May 2012 referred a male child aged 8 years and 5 months with features in health status

8) Italian dossier from February 2013 referred a female child aged 8 years and 10 months with a family history

9) US dossier from June 2013 referred a female child aged 10 years and 2 months with features in health status

10) Italian dossier from November 2013 referred two waiting children (#2073 & #2079) with profiles on the MOJ site

11) US dossier from November 2013 referred two waiting children (#1701 & #1155) with profiles on the MOJ site

12) US dossier from November 2013 referred a waiting child (#2193) with a profile on the MOJ site

13) US dossier from November 2013 referred a waiting child (#1010) with a profile on the MOJ site

GFDF - One Year In

Rex has now been eating a gluten-free, dairy-free diet for almost a full year.  I am not sure that we’ve seen the intense behavioral impact that some children experience with this diet, but Rex is doing better behaviorally which could be a function of time and maturity and have nothing to do with the diet.  We have been happy with the diet's effects on Rex’s growth and willingness to eat a greater variety of food.

In June 2012 at his medical check-up, Rex was diagnosed with clinical obesity.  Now, you’ve seen the boy and while short and stout, it seemed crazy to us that his weight placed him into that category.  Since starting the GFDF diet Rex’s weight has stabilized and he has gained height.  His current BMI is around 19 which solidly puts him in the normal range.

Rex is still a picky eater because he struggles with textures.  Foods like grapes and carrots go into his mouth where he tries to chew and get them down, but gags on them and then, understandably, spits them out.  Despite these challenges, we have found GFDF options for each meal of the day that work for Rex.

BREAKFAST

Coconut yogurt with granola

Bacon and waffle

Toast with jam/jelly

Go Free Dark Chocolate Trail Mix bar

Greens Vegan Peanut Butter and Dark Chocolate Crisp bar

Homemade fruit smoothie

LUNCH/SNACK

*Most of Rex’s lunches are at school.  I pack his lunch box to cover a morning snack, afternoon snack and the actual lunch, using a mix of these foods throughout the week:

Sandwiches (pbj, salami & cream cheese, hummus, cinnamon raisin bread with cream cheese, garlic and chive cream cheese, cold grilled cheese, Bee’s Knees Dark Chocolate Dreams, chicken pesto)

Tater Tots

Bananas

Chocolate almond pudding

Almonds

Two small cookies per day (about the size of Oreos)

GF Chex and other cereals

Applesauce

Van’s Cranberry Almond bar

Baked potato chips, tortilla chips, or veggie chips

Waffles / pancakes

Homemade muffins

Fresh fruit or vegetable (which he never eats, but sometimes tries with the help of his therapists)

DINNER

Homemade pizza with chicken, artichoke, garlic, and mushrooms

Homemade bagel pizza with ground beef and marinara sauce with hidden veggies

Grilled cheese

Banana avocado dip with rice crackers

Homemade chicken pesto dip with tortilla chips

Mashed potatoes

German potato cakes

Shepherd's pie with hidden veggies

Rex exclusively drinks 100% juices that are diluted with 50% water.  At school, he has begun to accept some plain water.  He prefers a salty snack over a sweet one any day.  On the rare occasions that he asks for dessert, he wants a spoonful of peanut butter or his peanut butter chocolate spread.  It’s hit and miss with soups and casseroles when it comes to Rex.  Sometimes he will eat them, other times not.  

Unfortunately, these dietary changes have not alleviated Rex's chronic and painful constipation which directly affects his behavior.  A few months ago, we got a big lab work-up for him and it turns out that his GI tract is very healthy.  He does not have yeast overgrowth, no bad bacteria, and lots of beneficial flora.  There is no bio-chemical explanation for his constipation.  The one and only thing that anyone can figure at this point is that it is a matter of muscle tone.  Rex had very low muscle tone when we adopted him and while he is much improved in this regard in the muscles that he consciously controls, the muscles of his GI tract may still be weak.  Hence, they do not move waste through his body as they should, causing the constipation.  We have tried many natural remedies, but they only had limited success. Right now, we are back to the evil Miralax of which Rex receives a dose every 60-72 hours.  In-between he takes soluble acacia fiber and an aloe based supplement called Guna Bowel.  We have had wonderful success with this combination so far, helping Rex with regular and much easier bowel movements.  However, we are not keen on making Miralax a long-term "solution" to this problem, so we plan to experiment with OTC laxatives in the new year.

Keeping a GFDF diet at home has been much easier than I anticipated a year ago.  Even when we are out and about, we can usually tie the kids over with a banana and an almond bar.  The most challenging aspect is eating at other people's homes, not to mention restaurants.  We usually have to bring a meal for Rex which is no problem.  However, Rex is very smart about food and he knows that what he is eating is different from everyone else's food.  He recognizes that what others are having may be more appealing to his own taste buds.  For example, we attended a Christmas party last week where the main dish was pizza.  I had packed Rex his favorite pizza which he gladly ate, but he still reached and looked with longing eyes at the cheesy goodness we were enjoying.  Fortunately, he has gotten much better at accepting a no though it's heartbreaking to deny him when it comes to food.

For now, we will continue on the GFDF path with an attempt to get more supplements into Rex's diet in 2014.  Wish us luck!

IAC 264 Results

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 264 which was held on November 6, 2013:

1) French dossier from September 2010 referred twins, male and female, aged 7 years and 1 month

2) French dossier from October 2010 referred a female child aged 7 years and 8 months

3) Italian dossier from October 2011 referred a male child aged 7 years and 8 months

4) Italian dossier from April 2013 referred a female child aged 8 years and 10 months with features in health status

5) US dossier from October 2013 referred two waiting children (#1324 & #1931) with profiles on the MOJ site

Pay It Forward November & December

There were so many great causes to support in recent weeks that we had to spread our Pay It Forward funds a little thinner to reach more families in need.

First, we gave $10 to the Rieben Family who is bringing home three more boys from Bulgaria.  You can find out how to support them by visiting their blog.

Next, I contributed $20 to help a single mom get therapy for her newly adopted daughter from Bulgaria.    This older child is struggling more than anticipated with grief, loss, and difficult memories which need to be addressed through very specific therapy.  You can find out more and help here.

Our neighbors and friends, the Stolz Family, have decided to bring home another older boy with Down Syndrome.  This is their seventh special needs adoption.  I put $10 into their fundraising account here.

The Sutton Family is also adopting another child from Bulgaria.  You can help them via their blog.  I covered the $10 spot in their fundraiser.

And, my last ten bucks went to a little boy who is on my heart.  Neal is waiting for a family.  Please remember that there are two fundraisers still going on to grow his agency grant fund:

http://martiniadoptionroad.blogspot.com/2013/12/nuggets-for-neal-book-sale.html

http://martiniadoptionroad.blogspot.com/2013/11/nuggets-for-neal-stocking-stuffers-for.html

We are trying to have Neal's grant fund reach $1000 by 12/31/13.  We are only $250 away from this goal.  Please consider making a donation to help us meet this milestone.  If you have any questions, feel free to email me at viviane 8 at yahoo dot com.

For more information about Neal, contact waitingchild@hopscotchadoptions.org.

Caught Green-Handed

Instead of taking her nap today, Emilia decided she would spruce up her room a little bit... by decorating her bed sheet and frame:

I always enjoy the natural tones she chooses for her art work:

When I stripped the bed and walked the sheet over to the washer, Emilia got very excited.  She made me stop, so she could admire and explain her masterpiece, "Dot, dot, dot," she said and pointed, a big smile on her green-streaked face.

All of this, of course, happened three days on the heels of me telling Emilia's OT that she is not able to open markers on her own yet.  Note to self: remove markers from kids' bedroom.

IAC 263 Results

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 263 which was held on October 30, 2013:

1) Dutch dossier from March 2010 referred a female child aged 2 years and 2 months

2) Luxembourg dossier from April 2010 referred a male child aged 1 year and 4 months

3) Dutch dossier from May 2010 referred a female child aged 1 year and 9 months with features in health status

4) Italian dossier from August 2011 referred a male child aged 7 years and 9 months

5) Italian dossier from October 2011 referred a female child aged 6 years and 7 months with features in health status

6) French dossier from February 2012 referred two brothers aged 3 years and 1 month & 1 year and 8 months with features in health status

7) US dossier from September 2012 referred a waiting child (#1856) with a profile on the MOJ site

8) French dossier from February 2013 referred a female child aged 9 years and 11 months

9) Danish dossier from May 2013 referred a male child aged 2 years and 2 months with features in health status

10) Italian dossier from August 2013 referred a male child aged 9 years and 6 months with features in health status

11) US dossier from October 2013 referred two waiting children (#1353 & #1979) with profiles on the MOJ site

12) Italian dossier from October 2013 referred a waiting child (#2133) with a profile on the MOJ site

13) US dossier from October 2013 referred a waiting child (#2087) with a profile on the MOJ site

14) US dossier from October 2013 referred a waiting child (#2053) with a profile on the MOJ site

15) Italian dossier from October 2013 referred two waiting children (#2056 & #2057) with profiles on the MOJ site

16) US dossier from October 2013 referred two waiting children (#711 & #1925) with profiles on the MOJ site

17) US dossier from October 2013 referred a waiting child (#1920) with a profile on the MOJ site

18) US dossier from October 2013 referred a waiting child (#2076) with a profile on the MOJ site

19) US dossier from October 2013 referred a waiting child (#1047) with a profile on the MOJ site

Nuggets For Neal - Book Sale

Another adoptive mom who believes in Neal and understands that he needs a family has graciously offered to help me raise funds through selling a book she has written.  All profits from any sales will go directly to Neal's grant fund.

The book is called Tree of Life.  It's available for $12.00 here or $9.99 as a Kindle edition via Amazon.



"Connect the dots" from Genesis to Revelation!
This book is unique in that it's not just filled with Bible stories, but it is THE story of the Bible--unified, and continuous, in chronological order, from the book of Genesis, through the book of Revelation. Readers will get the big picture of God's plan of salvation for mankind!  This book is a great accompaniment to the Bible, and will help readers gain more insight into the Word of God. 
 Free audio book download included with purchase! 

Also available: The Tree of Life Curriculum Guide:
Download Free Curriculum Guide 
Over 500 activities & questions to help readers gain a deeper understanding of the scriptures!

You can purchase the Kindle edition of the book directly from Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Tree-Life-Garden-Jerusalem-ebook/dp/B00GFVE90A/ref=tmm_kin_title_popover?ie=UTF8&qid=1385358150&sr=8-2

Please email me at viviane 8 at yahoo dot com if you have any questions.