Bella, Post Adoption: Month 7

This is kind of an oddly-timed update, as today is the 28th but Bella's Gotcha Day was on the 31st; so, I usually write these updates on the 31st (or on the 30th if there isn't a 31st in the month). Well, today is the last day of February, hence why the update is being shared today! An update on our amazing girl as we celebrate seven months of being Forever Family:

Language. Well, we finally got some definitive answers about Bella's hearing after many, many months of specialist visits, scans, and evaluations. We now know that Bella's small right cochlear (auditory) nerve is causing her hearing loss. Hers is a mild loss, and only for the right ear, and only for high frequencies (i.e., often those sounds at the ends of words; more difficulty detecting female voices; certain sounds, such as /s/ and /sh/), but it requires a hearing aid nonetheless, so that her speech development will continue to progress. Getting her hearing aid will require a few additional appointments as we assess her hearing one more time and then have her ear measured, an ear mold created, etc. This is in process as we speak under the expertise and care of our awesome audiologist. 

One of our goals for this month was for Bella to begin initiating more requests - letting us know what she needs/wants rather than us having to ask her every time. And she is making good progress with this, including asking for more snacks, asking for her water, asking to play, etc. Good job, Bellaboo! 

Motor. I honestly feel like, developmentally, there haven't been huge noteworthy changes in Bella's motor skills this month. Our girl is definitely getting stronger by the day but she is also very timid when it comes to trying new things and very stubborn when it comes to attempting things she's not confident in. That being said, she took a single step at the start of the month, but weeks later, she still won't take more than one step at a time. And she won't even always take a step when asked. I am really hoping that she'll start taking more and more steps consistently and consecutively. It is hard not to feel defeated and frustrated at times. But we are doing all we can and trust me when I say I am praying so hard about this. 

I wrote that paragraph on Sunday evening because things had stalled with Bella's gross motor skills, and I was feeling really down and really frustrated. We have been working so, so hard with Bella on her motor skills for seven months, and I was starting to feel defeated. On Monday morning, I prayed, yet again, for God to please help our girl walk. I was in tears, begging and pleading for Him to help her make this developmental leap. 

That night, Monday, February 26, 2018, our girl walked. Not just a single step. She walked, again and again, from her daddy to me, from me to her daddy, as we scooted further and further apart. 

I wish you could have seen her face the first time she walked. She was ecstatic. I started crying. Her daddy started cheering. It was one of the most amazing, proudest moments of my life. We continued practicing over and over, and she continued to be completely amazed with herself, over and over. The next (yesterday) morning, she showed her new skills off to our physical therapist, and then to our early interventionist, over and over again.

Thank you, Jesus, for helping our girl learn to walk, not in our timing, but in Yours. We are so much more appreciative of every single step she takes, of every hour of therapy it took to get here, of every healthcare professional who helped to heal her body so that she could take these steps. Our girl started walking this month, and onward, we will march. <3 

Cognition. I have said it all along: our girl is a smart cookie! She learns quickly and easily remembers what she learns. One thing that has been so fun to watch is Bella's acquisition of colors.  She received this awesome color-matching toy for Christmas. Initially, she couldn't match the colors at all. She would put the colored discs on any given colored peg, not attempting to correspond them by matching the colors. But now? The girl quickly and easily puts the discs exactly where they belong! And then, this smart girl, just to mess with me at times, will purposefully mismatch the colors, then look at me, smile, and correct herself. It's like she's saying, "Ha! Fooled you, Mom!" She is also doing an awesome job doing puzzles by herself, and we are so proud of her!

 

Attaching. I feel like a broken record, so this will be the last time I will include "Attachment" as a category in these updates. Bella knows we are hers. We know she is ours. She can separate from us easily and without tears and know we are always coming back. She will play with siblings and grandparents and therapists, even when her daddy or I are in the room (instead of just sticking close to us). She is a full-fledged member of the Lu Crew, and she knows it. <3 

Out and About/Playing. This was a special month for our family, as it was the first we celebrated Chinese New Year. We gathered with several other families who have adopted sweet kiddos from China and celebrated the Chinese culture together. It is undoubtedly one of my new favorite days of the year. 

As per usual, there were also plenty of extracurricular practices and games that Bella accompanied us to; there were Sundays at church; there was lots of outside fun - Bella even learned to love ice cream! Home girl could not get enough!

She celebrated her first Valentine's Day and we Lu Ladies had our first official girl's night in - a spa night! We also gathered with friends on a warm, beautiful night and went swimming in their (heated) pool. Bels could not have loved it more! She just laughed and splashed and floated for over an hour. And when it was finally time to get out of the pool, she quickly signed and asked for "More! More!" Safe to say, we'll be having plenty of fun days at our neighborhood pool this summer!

Etc. We had several other important appointments this month for Bella. First, for the first time ever, we had an appointment and finally heard the words, "Everything looks good!" It had taken over six months for us to hear those beautiful words. Every other appointment we have had since we brought Bella home has resulted in the identification of a new concern, the need for a new referral, a new intervention, a new request for follow-up. So, when we finally heard, "Her vision is normal!" I started crying. Praise the Lord! 

We have several important appointments coming up in March, including meeting with a pediatric rheumatologist, meeting our new developmental pediatrician, and having speech, occupational, and physical therapy evaluations completed by our public school system to determine Bels' eligibility for a specialized preschool program. And of course, we'll have several appointments with our audiologist to get Bella's hearing aid, in addition to maintaining our weekly therapy load. Whew! I know we'll be ready for Spring Break when it finally arrives - ha! 

Bella Elizabeth, you amaze us every day and make us so very proud. We thank God for you and can't wait to stand alongside you as you use your beautiful life to move mountains. We love you with all our hearts, sweet girl. On to Month 8 we go!