So much has happened in 1 month it is hard to believe it has only been a month since we stepped off the plane in Charlotte with Sofie.
The month has been full and some days I feel exhausted. It seems the theme around here is 2 days forward 1 day back. Slowly we are making progress. Sofie tends to have a couple good days then a terrible day and then we start the cycle all over (each time we are little better). Sofie's diagnosis of
Eosinophilic_esophagitis has rocked our world . We are left with more food allergies than ever imaginable (milk, oat, beef, peanut, string bean, white and sweet potato, apple, almond, garlic, mustard, turkey, mustard, pea, vanilla, sunflower). I am not sure I buy into all that since the test is riddled with false positives. I have a feeling some of the foods were just new and her immune system was stimulated. Anyway there are a few foods that I know she does not tolerate (milk, soy, egg, oat, sweet potato) and the rest I am just unsure about. She is using a supplement called neocate (aka liquid gold) to help get some extra calories, protein, fat, that is hypoallergenic and she seem to tolerate that well (does not tolerate the taste). She is drinking much better with little coughing and choking!!!! It seems the medication is working, now just to fine tune the diet.
Aside from the medical problems she seems to be happy and looks so much healthier than a month ago. I think her weight is still around 22 pounds but her skin has a healthier glow, her hair looks better, and her cheeks have filled out some. I promise some pictures once I find my camera cord!!! Her gross motor skills are coming along. She could hardly walk the day we picked her up and now she can almost jump unassisted and can jump holding our hands. She loves the trampoline, and being outside. She will reluctantly climb the ladder to the play set but still needs some help. Each day her balance is a little better and she moves more naturally (there is still an element of baby walking and spastic arm movements). She is soaking in her busy brothers and sisters and imitating their every move as much as possible. I even caught her feeding The Frog Princess a bottle and putting her on the toy potty. We have honestly not worked too much with other stuff just because she has been so sick and our mornings have been spent at the doctor. She is also soaking in English and is getting pretty good at following many directions. Her vocabulary mostly consists of Bulgarian mumbo jumbo and Mama and No said about a million times each day!!!!! She loves music has so much fun watching The Fresh Beat Band and Yo Gaba Gaba! Bath time is very close to enjoyable with a baby freak out every once in while just to remind us this it is still new for her. She will lay on belly in the bath and kick and is slowly starting to move around the tub exploring.
Life is still hard, it is still stressful, and it is still chaotic. We have not "settled" into a routine but we are making progress. Things are a little more manageable each day until a terrible day sets in and I want to scream!!!!! We are working towards a "normal". I am limiting my blog posting since having 3 busy kids was hard enough but 4 kids and medical issues just leaves me time to cover the basics (sometimes the basics are not even covered). I will try to update monthly on Sofie's progress.
When I look into Sofie's eyes there is still a broken child, deprived of the things that make children grown both physically and mentally. She is slowly healing both physically and mentally. It will take time and progress is often followed by regression. You can tell she wants to heal and has amazing resilience in the face of many hurdles!!! Adoption is no joke, it is hard, it is in trenches. In the beginning you are given unreciprocated love and lots of hard work, sweat, and tears. Then the smile comes or the reaching to you for a hug or comfort and it reminds me it is worth it!!!!!!
Thanks to everyone for all the support!!!!!