Her Heart Condition

Monday was Karissa's appointment with the pediatric cardiologist at Children's Hospital.  The technician took an echocardiogram of her heart.  It is basically a 2D ultrasound of her heart.  The doctor was able to see the hole and measured it.  He said her condition is called Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA).  All fetuses in the womb has a Ductus Arteriosus, a hole in the heart where oxygen rich blood can bypass the lung to get to the body.  This is because fetuses does not need to breath through the lungs.  But when the baby is born and starts to breath on her own, this hole should close.  Karissa's hole measures 1.5 mm, which is 50% smaller than what was reported to us from China.  This is great news!  That means it is closing up on its own.  The cardiologist said that we have nothing to worry about and there is a 85% chance that it will completely closed on its own.  So for now all we have to do is monitor it.  If it doesn't close in a couple of years, then he would recommend surgery. 

What a relieve this is.  We praise God for His healing hands upon Karissa.  Hebron and I felt strongly that the Lord called us to adopt a child with a medical condition.  God, in His infinte wisdom, knows what we can and cannot handle.  So He gave us a child with a very minor condition.  He used her heart condition to speed up the adoption process for us.  If we did not step out in faith, even though we were nervous about the unknown, and pursue a child with a medical condition, we would still be waiting.  Choosing to adopt a child with a medical condition was not what I orignally intended to do, so I was reluctant at the beginning.  After we proceeded with this decision, I was still a bit scared.  Everytime those fears surfaced, I felt God telling me to have faith and trust in Him.  Now that I can see the entire picture, I realized that everything was part of God's plan.  His plan is always the best.

Eating Battle

Why does eating have to be a battle for all my children?  Many adopted children from China eat really well.  But not Karissa.  I am not sure what is going on with her.  For about a month now, she has been moody during meal time.  In China, she ate everything and drank everything we gave her.  After over coming jet-lap in the US, she ate alot too.  So I know she has the capacity to eat.  Something changed and she is not eating much at all.  She does not like jar baby food, so my mom and I have been making fresh baby food for her.  It's so frustrating when she doesn't eat.  Many people say she will eat when she is hungry.  Well, that is not completely true.  She refuses to eat so we will do what she wants.  After skipping a meal, I know she is hungry, but she gets moody.  She wants a toy to play with when she eats.  And because we want her to eat, we give it to her.  Then she would throw it down on the ground and wants us to pick it up.  If we don't pick it up, she won't open her mouth.  So we pick it up and she takes a bite.  Then she would throw it down again and refuses to eat until we get the toy.  We also tried not giving her a toy.  She would be soo grumpy and frustrated that she will wave her arms around to prevent us from feeding her and of course her mouth is shut.  Ahhhhh......so frustrating.  One of my pet peeve is feeding children who do not want to eat.  Both of the boys were bad eaters.  They didn't want to eat and when they do eat, they didn't eat much.  But at least they are not moody. 

Karissa does not know how to chew yet, so she can't eat table food as a full meal.  Making baby food for her is a lot of work.  Cooking meat and vegetable and blending it takes a long time.  But I don't mind making it if she actually eats.  I just don't know what to do with her.  I am anxious and nervous every meal time.  I really cannot tolerate moody children.  If she is moody and does not want to eat, then maybe I just shouldn't feed her.  But on the other hand, I want her to eat very badly.  So part of me want to give in and pick up the toy everytime she drops it so she will eat.  But emotionally, I know I won't be able to keep it up.  Both Hebron and I are totally frustrated and don't know what to do.  If you had the same experience and tried something with your kids that works, please let us know.

Birth Announcement

We are finally getting around to sending out birth annoucement/our annual family update.   It's been such a adventure filled year that we want to dedicate this year's update to praising God and thanking Him for His love and provision.  At the beginning of our adoption journey, we were filled with anxiety and fear.  Now looking back, we can see that God was with us every step we took.   If you still did not receive our newsletter update and want one, please send us an email.  We might have gotten the wrong address or some how missed it.