Doctor's Visit

Yesterday we spent 3-1/2 hours at the doctor. We visited the International Adoption Clinic at the U of M. Although it was a long morning, it was worth the time.

During our visit we discussed each of the children in depth including their medical history and concerns we have for them. We also had a developmental evaluation done of each child. They think that Liliana's age is right on at 18 months. But, to our surprise, they believe that Michael really is 2-1/2 or maybe 3. We were shocked at this discovery because we thought for sure he was 3-1/2. They are going to do a follow-up visit in 6 months and complete the same developmental evaluation. At that time, they will make a "final decision" on his age and we will complete the re-adoption process in Minnesota which will allow us to officially change their names and birth dates, if necessary. We also have the option to have an x-ray done on Michael's hand at the 6 month visit to determine more accurately what his age is.

They took height and weight measurements of both kids. If Michael is 2-1/2, he is right on for his height, weight, and head size. Liliana, on the other hand, is a little peanut. She didn't even make the chart on height and weight - that is how small she is. Her head, however, is right on. This was a really good sign according to the doctor. It means that her brain development is right on track and we shouldn't have any cognitive concerns for her.

We learned at our visit that we need to have an even more strict schedule. This was kind of a bummer to hear for me. The kids are doing really well, but having a hard time with going to sleep at nap and bed times. The doctor said with an even stricter schedule, they will attach better, whine less, and go to sleep easier. She recommended that the events that lead up to and follow bed time or a nap should be the exact same everyday and close to the same time. That means practically the entire day is scheduled. I plan to make a picture schedule for the kids to look at. I also started letting Michael sleep with this little pillow that I usually sleep with at night. Since I've slept with it every night for the past several years, it really smells a lot like me. He has responded well to that.

In addition to a strict schedule, we were encouraged to not allow friends or family to hug or touch our kid without our permission. They also said that Matt and I should continue being the sole people to feed, bathroom, wash, put to bed, etc our kids... anything that "meets the child's needs" should be done by us alone.

We also learned that kids that are adopted from orphanages often have sensory issues. Michael does not appear to have any right now, but Liliana does for sure. Especially when it comes to food. We are going to be working on introducing one new food to her each meal that is served with one familiar food. We also were told to change the color and shape of foods that she enjoys so she gets used to eating more colorful and differently shaped foods. We are also going to be enjoying some messy play in the weeks to come. We have the noodle bin, pudding, and shaving cream as ideas. As much as I hate mess, I am excited to watch the kids play with these messy items. I know Michael will have a blast. I can already see Liliana ... trying to get the pudding off her hands immediately.

One other thing we will be working on with Liliana is having her crawl. She needs to build up her upper body and core strength and crawling will do the trick. We'll see how she likes that!

The kids both had to have blood drawn and Michael had something injected into his arm to test for TB. They did great. Michael wowed everyone... he didn't cry, whine, or anything. In fact, he watched as they put the needle in his skin ... something I can't even do! We enrolled Liliana in a nutrition study at the U so they had to draw extra blood from her. They took 7 viles or something like that. She had numbing cream on her arms, but they couldn't find a vein in those areas, so they had to take it from her hand. Considering that she could feel the pinch of the needle for what seemed like 10 minutes, she did great. She cried a little, but I was amazed at how well she did.

Overall the visit was good and we got some good information. We will get the results to all the blood tests next week. I am anxious to hear what they find out.