The U of M International Adoption Clinic reviewed today's update and was encouraged by the mobility "Sweeti" still has following her surgery. Her height/weight are still below the normal curve, but continue to be proportionate to her previous measurements, and her head circumference continues to be in the normal range--very good.
In regard to her feet they say:
"As far as the comment that "her feet point in opposite directions when she stands", I'm wondering if she is standing in a wide based stance with her feet pointing somewhat outward. This is a common stance for children just learning to stand up or just learning to walk. By positioning their feet in a bit of an outward stance, they create a wider base on which to balance. Usually, as they start to get more stable, the feet start to rotate into a position in which they point more directly forward instead of outward."
So, hopefully this is a correct assessment and she will not require any orthopedic intervention.
We met with our LSS social worker this afternoon to update our homestudy and it was completely painless. Not much to update!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Sweeti update from Ashraya
Our agency forwarded an update on "Sweeti" from her baby home.
She now weighs 15.6 lbs and is 25.6 inches. This shows some good growth for our tiny girl! She has 4 upper teeth and 2 bottom ones.
They report that her feet point in opposite directions when she stands. We had not heard this before surgery, although orthopedic issues are definitely not foreign to Spina Bifida. We are consulting the International Adoption Clinic at the U of M again to see what they say about this. Her wound from surgery has healed on the inside, but has not on the outside although the stitches have been removed. They are watching this to see if intervention is needed.
Also reported:
"Milestone Development-
"Sweeti" is a sweet child. She laughs when she is played with. After her discharge from the hospital, she always cried to be carried as she had got used to it in the hospital.
"Sweeti" is able to sit by herself.
She is able to bring herself to stand on her own by holding on to some furniture. She tries to walk with support. Otherwise she crawls when she needs to move around.
She climbs onto the mattress that is placed on the floor.
"Sweeti" watches the children around her in the room.
She keeps herself occupied with toys. Sometimes she tries to get another child’s toy. When some other child takes her toy away, she cries.
"Sweeti" vocalizes when played with. She points to things.
"Sweeti" is quite an active child and seems to have recovered well from her surgery."
She now weighs 15.6 lbs and is 25.6 inches. This shows some good growth for our tiny girl! She has 4 upper teeth and 2 bottom ones.
They report that her feet point in opposite directions when she stands. We had not heard this before surgery, although orthopedic issues are definitely not foreign to Spina Bifida. We are consulting the International Adoption Clinic at the U of M again to see what they say about this. Her wound from surgery has healed on the inside, but has not on the outside although the stitches have been removed. They are watching this to see if intervention is needed.
Also reported:
"Milestone Development-
"Sweeti" is a sweet child. She laughs when she is played with. After her discharge from the hospital, she always cried to be carried as she had got used to it in the hospital.
"Sweeti" is able to sit by herself.
She is able to bring herself to stand on her own by holding on to some furniture. She tries to walk with support. Otherwise she crawls when she needs to move around.
She climbs onto the mattress that is placed on the floor.
"Sweeti" watches the children around her in the room.
She keeps herself occupied with toys. Sometimes she tries to get another child’s toy. When some other child takes her toy away, she cries.
"Sweeti" vocalizes when played with. She points to things.
"Sweeti" is quite an active child and seems to have recovered well from her surgery."
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Homestudy Update
Our homestudy update has been scheduled for Thursday, July 17th. The social worker now assigned to our case (our original one got a new position in Minneapolis) from Lutheran Social Service will be coming to our home to make sure that our situation is the same as last summer when our original homestudy was done. This seems to be a LSS policy/MN thing, and our placing agency/India do not seem to require these documents. This time I won't scrub the house and alphabetize my spices. Just kidding about the spices!
Friday, July 11, 2008
Sweeti's Album
Now that we have NOC, we are able to send a photo album of our family to "Sweeti" so that she will be less frightened of us when we go to bring her home. We got this Baby Einstein album at Target, and have filled it with pictures of our family, house, 1 cat, etc. and will mail it off to the agency who will send it to her in India for us. We can't have direct contact with the orphanage, but must go through our agency.
I'm hoping that she'll not only enjoy looking at her "beautiful" family and house, but also get some benefit out of the teether handle and bright colors and designs. I'm sure her exposure to toys that stimulate her are limited.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
NOC and update!
This morning's e-mail:
"Dear Amy and Shawn,
We heard from Ashraya and they received the NOC for "Sweeti" on Monday July 7. They also send an update for you.
Take care, Suzanne
Update: We are very happy to let you know that "Sweeti" is keeping well and is as mobile as she was before the surgery. She crawls around the room and is curious to play. She hates to be put back into her cot and makes her displeasure known quite loud and clear with her crying spells! Otherswise, she is happy to standup on her cot and also on the floor and walks with support."
Now that we have NOC, we will be awaiting our first (of three) court date. We were not expecting NOC until August sometime...so this was a pleasant surprise to get it so quickly. We pray the rest of the process surprises us likewise! (Although, most likely something else will hang up and then this quick NOC will just even out the timeline.) I know, glass half-empty!
The update Ashraya sent was wonderful. We know that her surgery did not likely affect her mobility, and she seems to be developing well. I must say I don't like the thought of her crying in her "cot", but it does make me laugh that we likely have a curious, strong-willed girl on her way.
"Dear Amy and Shawn,
We heard from Ashraya and they received the NOC for "Sweeti" on Monday July 7. They also send an update for you.
Take care, Suzanne
Update: We are very happy to let you know that "Sweeti" is keeping well and is as mobile as she was before the surgery. She crawls around the room and is curious to play. She hates to be put back into her cot and makes her displeasure known quite loud and clear with her crying spells! Otherswise, she is happy to standup on her cot and also on the floor and walks with support."
Now that we have NOC, we will be awaiting our first (of three) court date. We were not expecting NOC until August sometime...so this was a pleasant surprise to get it so quickly. We pray the rest of the process surprises us likewise! (Although, most likely something else will hang up and then this quick NOC will just even out the timeline.) I know, glass half-empty!
The update Ashraya sent was wonderful. We know that her surgery did not likely affect her mobility, and she seems to be developing well. I must say I don't like the thought of her crying in her "cot", but it does make me laugh that we likely have a curious, strong-willed girl on her way.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Occult Spinal Dysraphic Syndromes
Check out these web sites for more information about Sweeti's lipomyelomeningocele diagnosis:
UChicago Fact Sheet
Spina Bifida Association Lipomyelomeningocele Page
Tethered Cord Syndrome Information Page
UChicago Fact Sheet
Spina Bifida Association Lipomyelomeningocele Page
Tethered Cord Syndrome Information Page
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Embassy certification
On July 2, our agency received our certified Power of Attorney document from the Indian Consulate. So, now it seems we're just waiting again. Our home study and background checks need to be renewed annually, so we're going to be seeing the social worker soon. Also, our Federal fingerprinting (USCIS) expires after 15 months, so we will need to go to Fargo again in late summer/Sept to have those redone. Last time our appointment was at 8 am, so we stayed at the Howard Johnson and went swimming the night before.
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