Hello All,
Chris mentioned on Facebook the other day that adoption was not for the feint of heart and today was another testament to that. We got our girl....and as I sit here and type, I am truly heartbroken and worried. She is SO SO tiny.....she looks and acts like a 6 month old, and she is 4 years old. When they brought her in, the sheer lack of size was intimidating and heartwrenching. To say she is delayed, in every way, is a massive understatement. I am not proud of my reaction-shear fear-but my amazing husband was ever the rock. How he keeps his cool, sense of humor, and focus in EVERY situation, I will NEVER know. But, he has been amazing. We have both shed many tears, some happy and some very sad, but we went up to our room, put our praise music on, laid hands on our baby girl, and PRAYED like never before. So that's what I am asking you to do today: PRAY!!!!!! Please put her on every prayer chain you can think of, and pray that God will touch and heal her mind, body, and spirit. They said that she won't eat solids...well, we had her less than 5 minutes and she was eating some puffs that we brought her. They just didn't feed her!! They just didn't feed her!!!!!! Every single thing I brought her to wear, mostly 18 months to 2T, simply falls off....her tiny shoes, some of them 3's, fall off....so we will get a small amout of things here in this province, then we will get more in Goungzhou. We need a stroller, we need different formula, she won't drink what we brought her. Beth Stueve, if you are reading this, please leave me a message and help me figure out what to feed her, they said she drinks a certain formula here..should we go buy that until we can get home? We gave her a bath...Chris will post the picture....it was not the picture I had in my mind. Please also pray for peace for me......I almost had a panic attack those first few hours.....this is awful......We layered her clothes up, and she is now asleep in her crib...which reminds me....we need a crib ASAP! There is NO WAY she can sleep in her toddler bed, and I think she needs her own bed.....We have a mattress, so just the crib, and hopefully not for more than a year or so. We gave her some carrots, and some came out of her nose....so the palate is definately open but I have not been able to bring myslef to look in there yet. Her teeth are black and she grinds her teeth almost non-stop. Friends and family.....I'm pretty sure God sent us here to save her life. Why us? I'll never know. I can't put into words my emotions today. Too many...We have the four most amazing kids at home....I pray that they understand that we HAD to go get her.....it really was life or death.....I may call on many of you to help me, and for me that's sometimes hard, but this is not about me, this is about Claire, and right now she and I both need our support team. Pray friends! Pray for healing for our sweet girl, pray for clarity and sound mind for me, for strength for Chris as he is having to be so strong right now, pray for our health as this is so hard and this area is simply filthy.....I'm quite content to stay in this hotel until we leave for Goungzhou....thank you so much, and here are a few pics of today....
Crying out to Him tonight,
Chris and Leslie
P.S. she truly is beautiful :-)
Leslie and Chris,
ReplyDeleteShe is so incredibly beautiful! I am so glad that you finally have her in your hands. I am positive that the reason you were chosen as her parents is because you can do this. It is only going to get better for sweet Claire from this point forward. I am praying for all of you, and I can't wait to see and hear about all the wonderful things Claire starts to do with the love of a family!
ohhhhhh sweet friends she is beautiful!!!! Her tiny face is simpliy Stunningly gorgeous!!! I love you both and please know she will have all she needs here at home so do what you can there and we will take care of things here. I have a crib you can have i will bring it to mimi on tuesday. We also will get sweet pea a few clothes and then we will shop for her when you get home please send me an e-mail with size recomendations. I love you soo much girl hang in there!!! Praying For Gods Mercy for your sweet Claire!!
ReplyDeleteI am praying for you guys to have wisdom, knowledge and for sweet Claire to drink her formula. So glad to see you guys with her.
ReplyDeleteYou can do this. I know it is hard. The Lord will equip you with everything you need to parent Claire.
ReplyDeleteShe is just beautiful! I was so upset, I had to work this weekend and was not able to get on yesterday to see her. But now I do and I am so excited. I know it is hard to get a baby when you were expecting a toddler. I still have that bouncy seat if you need it.
I am praying for you right now! I know that God will equip you to walk the road that is before you! As for formula, ask your guide to find out what kind she drank and buy it. You can switch to our formula later. We bought extra to bring home with us and weaned our daughter off of it once we got home.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all we are praying for you and your little girl. My baby was 3 and half when we adopted her and just about as tiny. She was bordering on failure to thrive and now just over a year later is a healthy little girl. She is still some what delayed in gross motor and very delayed in speech but we are getting therapy and she is developing. A HUGE word of advice though. you do NOT need a stroller, you NEED to be baby wearing her. She NEEDs that for bonding. The motion is also good for gross motor. I recommend babyhawk mei tai or Ergo. In the mean time you can get a similar type carrier in Guangzhou. Until she develops more strength wear her on your front facing you (also good for eye contact). Seriously. do NOT use a stroller. This precious child NEEDS to be in constant contact with one of you!
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