Today we received new updates and photo's of our daughter. She is not in the orphanage like her paperwork said but is actually in foster care with an elderly couple. Her foster mother is 65 years old (in the photo) and has been caring for her from the beginning. The update says that she is tall and thin. She is crawling and standing up with help. She has to hold things very close to her to be able to see them well, as for toys and such. She enjoys playing in the water, and it sounds like she eats quite well but has an upset stomach often. They also let us know that she won't drink water unless her foster mother puts sugar in it, YIKES, and that she sleeps with her foster mother every night. SOOO, I'm guessing she is going to not be very happy with us when we first get her. I'm not sure what to expect but am so happy that she is being taken care of so well. I'm assuming from the paperwork and her pictures that her vision is going to be pretty poor. As you can tell from the photo's she is very light. Her eyes ,I'm assuming, are going to be very light sensitive. They are actually blue (you can't tell in the photo's though) but the whites of her eyes are somewhat pink (at least that is what her update paperwork said) due to the lack of pigment. I'm beginning the process of trying to figure out what steps we should take to have her eyesight checked among other things. I'm nervous and excited about bringing her home. It's completely different than Jaili's adoption process. I know majority of it is me overanalyzing things like normal. I just figure there are going to be alot of things I can't prepare for so I'll get a head start on the things I can. I also worry about people teasing and staring at her, comparing her and Jaili and just in general raising her to be a strong, independent, intelligent woman. When you have to wait several months and just stare at your child's picture before you get to hold her you tend to obsess alot about things. I tend to think worst case scenario with everything. I know once we are home and in our routine it won't be a big deal. The important thing that I don't lose sight of is that God has meant for her to be our daughter. We love her already and it doesn't matter what worries or fears I have. It's not about me or any of us. It's about her and I know Shane, Jaili and I cannot wait to bring her home.
Just as a side note: I wrote all of this late last night and was crazy tired and apparently in MAY DAY mode. I know you parents of children with albinism are reading this and laughing ( I totally appreciate that : ) ) So now that I'm awake and thinking right...I need to add that We are so excited for our beautiful baby girl. I'm not wigged out about the sight thing anymore. Just can't wait to get to hold and play with and love on our new daughter
And off the topic, the name may be changing yet again...We arn't sure if she's an Eliana.
Just as a side note: I wrote all of this late last night and was crazy tired and apparently in MAY DAY mode. I know you parents of children with albinism are reading this and laughing ( I totally appreciate that : ) ) So now that I'm awake and thinking right...I need to add that We are so excited for our beautiful baby girl. I'm not wigged out about the sight thing anymore. Just can't wait to get to hold and play with and love on our new daughter
And off the topic, the name may be changing yet again...We arn't sure if she's an Eliana.
8 comments:
She's adorable!
The whites of her eyes shouldn't be pink at all. The blue appears red around the edges of her iris because of lack of pigment. My daughter's are the same way, but you'll only see it in certain lights (which is why you see it in your daughter's photos).
She appears to have some pigment in her hair and a nice bruise on her forehead! :0) Cheeky has scars on her forehead. I think they're from leaning too close to things and banging herself in the head. Either that, or they're from falling into things when she was learning to walk.
As for people making fun of your darling girl. Why would they? She's beautiful. Cheeky gets lots of looks, but she was gawked at in China, so what she deals with here is minor.
I think as long as we treat our kids like they are normal, lovely girls, there is nothing the world can throw at them that they won't be able to handle.
Do you have a pediatric eye doctor? That will be the first step in assessing her vision once you bring her home.
Congratulations on the updates. She really is a darling girl.
Hey your allowed to have your feelings and express them on your blog. I don't know about everyone else but I had those same fears on top of that we also had a unknown about her mentally. She has the same coloring as Mattilyn. Mattilyn had pink eyes in all the photos but in eal life has the most beautiful blue eyes. They were on the pink side when we first got her but with in days they became that beautiful ice blue. Also not to put a negative in your plans but dont expect to know how much they can see just because you take them in for an eye exam. I took Matti in to a specialist who deals with Albinism and because she had no communication she could not tell them what she can see. They will dialate the eye see that they are missing something back there. See if they see any refractive errors (near or far sighted) Matti was neither and then they will say yes looks like she is oca1a and will probally be legally blind. You wont know till she can speak and name objects. Just a heads up. Cant wait to see you holden that baby. You say she is tall. Did they say how tall? Matti is tall. Another reason people say she must not be all Chinese.. Grrr
Great Update! I think it's normal for Moms to want to prepare for their children. I think once you get her over here it'll be much better! There are so many different things they are doing for sight these days and treatments for skin...she'll do great. Plus if you are allowed to dye her hair, that could be a fun bonding thing for you and Jaili to do with her so you all have highlights. :)
Just had to comment. Our youngest biological daughter has Albinism! She is such a blessing (as you know!) and I love watching her blossom every day.
It's so awesome that you andyour husband are adopting children with Albinism!! They are so very special. =)
Congratulations on your daughter! I found you on the Fuzhou yahoo group, and I was wondering how old she is. One thing I also wanted to add is that our daughter (adopted from Fuzhou SWI in 2003) was in fostercare, and also slept with her foster parents. It took a few years for her to sleep alone, and since about 5 years old, she no longer woke up at night. But we worked it out in our own way, and never feel guilty about what you decide...God has your back:) Best regards! Dawn
Oh I forgot to mention how much I love the color of her hair. My Mattilyn has simular color. I just love it. It is so fun to play with and its like shes a star or something when we go out cause we get all kinds of comments. I have never had a mean comment yet. Its mainly Where she get the prety blond hair? Well God gave it to her. Mattilyns hair is getting long now but know that buzz cut of your daughters is gonna take a while to grow. It's so hard to grow all those layers out. Grr I can't wait to see your baby with some hair. Cause it's really gonna be pretty.. Blond hair blue eyed Chinese girl. Beautiful combination:)
Yeah for updates! Don't they make your heart just soar! I remember looking at those pic's again and again trying to soak up every little detail of how they had changed since the last pic's.
I blog hopped onto your site- hope you don't mind if I follow along. I have a soft spot for these little beauties as I am mom to twin boys w/ albinism adopted from China as well. (the loves of my life!!!!!)
Life w/ them is so much fun- and the amazing thing is after all the wondering and worrying about their eyesight before bringing them home, now we hardly think of it. They are just little boys.
The only thing day to day that we deal w/ is sunglasses and hats. My current worries right now are: who is going to climb onto the table and fall off or who is jumping on the dog- just normal kid stuff!
Jennifer (mom to Z and H)
Hey girl any news?
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