Hello to all,
Sorry for not blogging since being home, but it has been quite an adjustment for both Isabell and me. Because of all the changing of places, flights, car rides, etc. she has had a hard time with sleep as she does not know where she is or was upon waking. Therefore, when she is asleep I am falling out myself. It is true if you don't sleep when they do you don't get any rest. But luckily she is now getting in some 10 and 11 hours shifts overnight and that is helping both of us.
We went up to UAB to visit the clinic and have her assessed. So far all the feed back is she is fine. Because of a lack of stimulation in the orphanage she is developmentally delayed which is common. So even though chronologically she is 17 months, developmentally she is about 9 months old and intellectually about 12 month. As I mentioned, this is quite common for children from orphanages, so now we will be getting the proper therapy she needs to get caught up with children her own age. This will take some time, but that is ok.
Regarding her cleft palette, we also visited a plastic surgeon (one of the best) at UAB yesterday and he will repair her bilateral CP. The surgery will be done on January 28th in Birmingham. This will be good timing as it gives us more time to build our bond, a routine and her self confidence in her new surroundings and me.
While up in Birmingham, we went to visit Sandra Grace, who came home from China about a month before Isabell. She was in the hospital recovering from the same surgery and seemed to be doing very well. This gave me great confidence that it will go well for us too. (Please keep Isabell in your prayers for the surgery as it will be rough, but it will help her so much.)
Other than that, I am learning to get up at 5 a.m. to do bottles and laundry (ok, for those who know me don't laugh:-). My home has clutter and stacks everywhere and that drives me crazy, but I will get a system down eventually. Of course, it does not help that I packed up 1/2 of China and brought it back to xmas. Shopping was very fun over there!
Enjoy the new pics! Happy Holidays and I will continue to post with pics and updates to keep folks up to date on her progress.
P.S. Did I mention she is precious and I love her!!!!
3 comments:
Hi Martha, Grandmary, and Isabell,
So glad to her all is going just as expected and the trip to UAB did not yield any surprises. Isabell just gets more precious by the day. Several of our family members have asked about the beautiful girl in Cole's pictures from the trip- always makes me smile and say it was Isabell! Hope you have a wonderful holiday season, and we will be keeping y'all in mind during the upcoming surgery.
Hilarious! I figured motherhood would be a piece of cake for you since you managed a bunch of babies at NPI -- especially me! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Or as the Chinese say "Kung Hei Fat Choy!"
It was great seeing you in b'ham! Thanks for coming by the room. Can you believe that the balloon is still flying in Sandra Grace's bedroom? She has decided to hold the string each night as we rock & try to get calm for bedtime...what will I do when the helium finally gives out?
SG had the sleep issue for a couple of weeks after we got home from China & then again after coming home from the hospital...so be ready to go without sleep again for a while ;-)
Happy New Year!
D & SG
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