Post Adoption- 8 & 9 months!

This week marks 9 months home with our girl! I completely skipped last month’s post adoption update, so there is so much to tell you about what’s been going on with our sweet Lila Mei!

We went on an East Texas road trip to see Trey’s dad, which included lots of fun and french fries on the road (Lila Mei loves her some fries)!

Recent activities include watching big sister and big brother at gymnastics (she can’t wait until May when she can go too!), spaghetti love, eating Chloe’s birthday cake, and fun with play dough!

During spring break, we decided to go ahead with potty training! She was ready, and she is a rock star! She got lots of prizes for going on the potty, and now accidents are few and far between- she has done amazing with it!

We’ve also had lots going on at home- she loves books, loves her doggy (she sleeps with him every night!), her friend Mei, and yes, she loves breathing treatments! We had a scary situation with RSV in February, and since then she’s had breathing treatments and is now on inhalers to help her breathe (more on this later).

We also had lots of adventures during spring break! We took Lila to her first movie, went to the park, and of course had Tex-Mex and cheeseburgers (she’s a fan of both)!

Lila is still loving school, so that has been a huge blessing for both of us! After school is one of her favorite times of the day- she loves going to pick up Chloe and Jack, and her “fan club” is always around wanting to play with her! One day recently we went to the vet, and he had a little desk there that his kids used to do their homework on. Lila climbed right up in it and loved it- it was just her size! The next day the vet called and wanted us to have the desk! So, there she is pictured above sitting in the desk with her new pencils. So sweet of our vet!! The last picture above is Lila rooting on her Aggies in the Sweet 16!

We had a fun first Easter with Lila Mei last weekend! She LOVED hunting eggs and got the hang of it quickly! Her favorite thing to do is open them and then try to eat the candy right away!

We spent Easter afternoon with my sisters and their families. It was so much fun and Lila Mei loved being around her cousins!

Overall, Lila Mei has changed so much the last two months! Her language has improved and she is saying so many words now. We’ve always been concerned with her eating/swallowing- she’s been in food therapy since August- but since the RSV scare, her breathing has continued to worry us and her therapist. There have been many times where her lips, fingers, and toes turn purpleish and she wheezes while breathing. These “episodes” were happening more, so we decided to talk to the doctor and her speech therapist about trying to figure out what is going on. Our doctor put her on a daily inhaler and a rescue inhaler for these episodes, and today we did a swallow study to see if she was possibly aspirating her food or drink, which could play a part in her breathing issues. Long story short, they did see that she was “penetrating” and her swallow muscles are not working like they should, so we will see a therapist and start a few different treatments to try to “wake up” those muscles and get them working better. In the mean time, she can’t drink out of anything except a coffee stirrer/juice box straw, or we have to use a thickener to make her milk or water thick before she can drink it with a regular straw. She also has to be 100% monitored when eating or drinking because of possible aspiration. It is crazy because I feel like we’ve known since China that she has had issues with swallowing/breathing, but it was still surprising today to see the monitor and have the radiologist tell me what all is going on in her little body. Sweet girl did so good through the whole thing, and I am so thankful for that since she usually HATES doctors and screams the entire time. She LOVED the barium drink because that girl loves everything!

We also have appointments next week to transition her to a new speech therapy setting since she is turning 3 in May. They will reassess her so I will be anxious to hear where they think she is as far as speech development. She has come so far since June 29th, but I know we still have a long way to go.

Attachment-wise things are great. She really has opened up to us and is starting to trust us more and more. She is such a love bug- always giving hugs and kisses and wants to be held all of the time, which are all great signs of attachment. She also LOVES Chloe and Jack and always wants to be with them. She gets sad when I drop her off at school, and although it is sad to see her so upset, I know that means she knows I’m her momma! Our reunions after school are always filled with lots of clapping and running and jumping and kissing and hugging. I love that girl!

As far as her personality- it is really coming out! She is so funny!!! She does stuff to make us laugh all of the time and is just too cute with all of her new words and things she can do. She can count to 15, spell her name, knows most of her colors, always says please and thank you without us asking, and can point to so many things and say what they are. She is starting to say 3-4 word phrases, but most of the time it is when she wants something, like “mommy drink water please”. When I see other kids her age and what they can say, I know she is far behind her peers. But, I also know she has come so far from only babbling a few sounds nine months ago and that it is just going to take more time for her to catch up. For now she is communicating so much better than she was- including no more of the “Lila Mei scream” and she rarely hits anymore. Those are HUGE and I just have to keep reminding myself of all the great things she is doing instead of worrying about what she isn’t.

Oh, sister. Family IS forever, and we are all so happy that you are in ours. We can’t imagine our days without our silly, sweet girl and every day with you is a blessing! It won’t be long and we’ll be celebrating ONE YEAR of forever with YOU in our arms!