Bella, Post Adoption: Month 3

Another month has passed with our sweet littlest lady and in keeping with last month, this was a busy one! Honestly, because our Bella is a bit of a mystery, we are examining her from head to toe and addressing needs as they arise. To be totally transparent, I have yet to leave an appointment without need for follow-up or treatment or a new referral. While it can be overwhelming (see: my emotional breakdown a couple weeks ago), I am so, so thankful that Bels is getting all she needs to achieve her potential. She is the most resilient, determined, joyful little girl I have ever known, and it is a privilege to be her momma. For now, we take things one day at a time and continue to watch our littlest girl shine! Also, I do think things will calm down once we get all these appointments and referrals and surgeries and treatments out of the way; so, each appointment we complete means we are one step closer to being done with them! 

Any.way. Let me dive right in to what our beautiful Bella is up to now that we've been her lucky, lucky family for three whole months!: 

Language. Bella has learned more signs ("open"; "please") and her receptive language is just rocking! She understands SO much of what we say, and does a great job of following commands (e.g., "Bring Momma the fish"; "Put the ball in the cup"). She also mimics (some) sounds, has learned to make two animal sounds (snake and lion :) ), and is starting to learn body parts. Further, we are working on oromotor strength in therapy, as her tongue has such low tone. We now use a specialized straw cup that forces her to use her mouth correctly when sipping, and she has been doing a GREAT job with it! And get this: after her spinal surgery (more on that in a minute), she decided to start showing off some of the words she can say. We were sitting in our hospital room several hours after the surgery and she started saying things she has never said before: "Eggs," "Bread," "More," and even attempting to say "Delicious!" We were floored! We hope and pray we'll hear more words soon, but for now, we just talk to her all the time and encourage any attempt she makes and then celebrate like crazy when she succeeds. Go Bella! 

Motor. I cannot even describe how much stronger Bella has gotten over the last three months! She has gone from not being able to climb a single stair to easily climbing all 16 of our steep stairs. Her favorite, though, is sliding back down on her tummy. :) And last week, she was sitting on my legs when she suddenly pushed herself up to standing and remained upright for a good second or two - this is big for her!!! And actually, she did this multiple times again, just yesterday. Bella also now has bilateral AFOs (ankle-foot orthotics) to help with her severe over-pronation. She has gotten really used to them now, and we are hopeful this will help to strengthen her muscles so that she can walk independently and correctly. Her fine motor skills are also improving and she has been tolerating all her weekly therapies really well. She works SO hard and we are so proud of her!

A week ago, Bella had surgery on her spinal cord. She has "Tethered Cord Syndrome." My hub and I suspected it after discovering that she had a sacral dimple while we were in China, which is often an underlying symptom. It had never been documented in any of her medical files - we'll never know if this was deliberately or was not recognized. Nonetheless, having a tethered cord was one of those things we checked "yes" to when filling out the Medical Conditions Checklist at the very beginning of our adoption journey (aka, the specific needs we felt confident we would be able to tackle head on, as a family :). Our suspicions about TCS were confirmed following an MRI of her spine several weeks ago. So, Bels underwent surgery to de-tether her cord, which her neurosurgeon confirmed was "very abnormal" once he was able to see it while operating. This may sound strange, but knowing it was so abnormal was actually good news, as we are hopeful she will gain more sensation and muscle strength now that her abnormal cord has been de-tethered. So, while we are having to take two weeks off from physical therapy, we are hopeful that she will quickly re-gain the skills she had acquired and continue to reach, and surpass, the goals we have set! You've got this, Bella! 

Cognitive. Our girl is a smart cookie! She has a great memory and picks up on things very quickly and remembers things she has only seen a time or two! She is very observant and is constantly studying the world around her, taking it all in and trying to mimic what she sees. We can't wait to see where life takes our beautiful little lady!

Sleeping. I hesitate to write this (again), but our girl is such a great sleeper, which is such an answered prayer. So many sweet kiddos who are adopted have a terrible time sleeping - there are very often night terrors and tantrums and looooong screaming sessions, all due to trauma. But, praise Jesus, our girl goes to sleep with a smile on her face and almost always wakes up the same way. We are so grateful that she sleeps so peacefully (knock on wood). 

Eating. Bels still loves to eat, especially if carbs are involved! She is not a big fan of fruits, and only some vegetables, but homegirl loves some carbs and loves some meats. And eggs? Good gracious. This sweet baby will eat four scrambled eggs in one sitting. She also loves her almond milk and water. AND she even feasted on something ice cold this month - a Chick-Fil-A cookies and cream milkshake - ha! Looks like no one can resist the delicousness that is a CFA milkshake. :) Multiple people (like, at least 10) have commented over the last week about how much she's grown over the last month! Grow, Bella, grow! :)

Attaching. We have seen the greatest gains in attachment this month! From the beginning, she has been very attached to her Daddy, big siblings, and I, thank the Lord. This girl just adores her family (feeling's mutual, I assure you). BUT this month, I was able to leave her in the care of another while she was awake. This was HUGE for her. It meant she felt safe and secure enough to know that everything was okay and that Momma would be coming back. I know it helped having her siblings with her. <3 She has also done a really good job of interacting with her therapists. Actually, sometimes she does better when I'm not in the room, which means I am spying through the crack of the door #stalkermom :) 

Out and About/Playing. Life marches on and so do the Lu Crew. This month, we visited family out of town and had family in town; we hit up our town's Fall Frolic and spent time with friends, one of our favorite evenings being at the Chinese Lantern Festival. This girl just rolls with it all. And, she is doing well in achieving another of our therapy goals, which is purposeful playing. When Bella first came home, her play basically consisted of banging objects together. Now, she loves to zoom cars around and play with shape sorters and pretend to talk on the phone. She hugs her babies and plays the piano and listens to books being read. She brushes her hair and her teeth (followed by some extra brushing by her momma) and looooves to jam to music. She is so fun!

Etc. Let's see. Also, over the last month, we received Bella's official "Certificate of Citizenship" in the mail. She also now has a social security number. Hooray! Additionally, she continues to smooch my cheeks approximately 347 times a day and is the best little hugger. She lets other people hold her and loves to play outside. We have several more medical/health issues on the agenda we hope to knock out by the end of the year; so, the rest of 2017 promises to continue being super busy as our persistence to give Bels everything she needs to achieve her potential is still in full swing. We continue to be busy and tired, overwhelmed and overjoyed. Mostly? Happy beyond belief that we get to spend our life with this precious girl by our side.

Happy 3 months post-Gotcha Day, baby girl. We love you with all our hearts! AND Happy First Halloween, darlin'. Bring on the sweets! <3