Cincinnati, Dayton, and Columbus Children's

So we made it to Uncle Don's and Aunt Tammy's house!  Jeremy got home from church Sunday night and we hurried up and ate a quick supper and got on the road to Columbus. Tammy was watching our older four kids for us while we took Mariah to Cincinnati Children's International Adoption Center for her general check-up. Aunt Tammy must have looked fun enough to be okay to sit with on the couch and Uncle Don........well, it was acceptable (in Mariah's eyes) for him to just observe!

So with a blurry picture and all, Mariah was showing that aunts can be pretty special too!

Jeremy and I got up bright and early and got on the road from their house and headed to Cincinnati. Her appointment was for 10am and we got there around 9:20am.

As part of God's plan for our family, we have been to this facility several times. This is one reason why we chose Cincinnati. Micah and Ben have both been to Cincinnati numerous times to see their specialists. This probably explains all why we are so comfortable here. This was a smaller campus than their main hospital but we really liked it here last time and requested an appointment here instead of downtown at the main hospital. We have been to three of their locations.

Mariah is not exactly the best traveler. Even though she got to bed at midnight the night before and was up by 6am, she only slept for the last 35 minutes of the ride from Columbus to Cincinnati. 

Her appointment went well. We saw a social worker who evaluated Mariah's bonding and attachment as well as her adjusting. The social worker was really nice and gave us some pointers on helping Mariah with a few things. Basically, she is overwhelmed. So we have decided to cut back on activity. This is affecting Mariah's behavior and communication with us. 

Mariah had her own interpreter while there. It was funny to watch Mariah as she listened to the interpreter. You could see the wheels turning! I'm wondering what Mariah was thinking...maybe something like, "Wow, I haven't heard someone speak like that to me in a long time!" Anyhow, Mariah never really responded to her verbally but it was obvious she understood what the interpreter was saying. Our interpreter also told us she liked Mariah's hair and in Chin@ they call that "fire cracker" hair. 

The occupational therapist was trying to get Mariah to stack some blocks on top of each other and Mariah just kept playing. When the interpreter requested the same thing.....Mariah stacked all four blocks!  So, we clearly understand there is still a language barrier.

We see that tongue of hers come out quite a bit! Not sure if it is just pure concentration or enjoyment or sensory needs but there is her tongue.

Mariah was funny while in the exam room. Then they left and we waited for the next healthcare worker to come in. Mariah would walk right up to the blue floor tile and not take another step. I think she was afraid of the blue floor! 

The last appointment was with the doctor. Dr. Staat is wonderful!!! She is an adoptive parent and understands the joys and struggles of international adoption. She was the doctor I spoke with while in Chin@. She was super sweet and didn't take long.

The appointments lasted about 3 1/2 hours. We had long since run out of entertainment for Mariah. She was done with her diaper bag of toys and wanted something different. Then they came in with her tb shot. Oh that poor baby. She cried something terrible!

Dr. Staat explained to us that instead of having a mobile toddler, we have a very mobile infant. She will explore anything and everything since it is all so new to her. Absolutely everything goes into her mouth. Including a handful of potting soil from the front porch...just ask Jeremy.

Mariah is globally delayed. That means that she is delayed some in many areas of her development. She has low muscle tone (which we already knew), she has poor oral motor skills and that contributes to her not wanting to chew her food. It is work to chew and she gets too tired and swallows things whole. Mariah's speech is also delayed. Dr. Staat highly recommended that we wait for a few months before any referrals to therapists. We need to get her familiar and comfortable with home first.

We went down for her bloodwork after the appointment. The lab tech came out and explained that they did not have what was needed for the bloodwork. She assured us that we could drive the 20 minutes up the road to Dayton and they could do the labwork. 

We left and drove to Dayton. Let's just say that Dayton is not 20 minutes.........more like 45-50 minutes away. When we got there they apologized and told us that they didn't have the orders and didn't understand why we were told they would. No one could get a hold of Cincinnati so we left and headed back to Columbus praying that we could have Cincinnati fax the order to Columbus Children's.

Cincinnati called my cell phone and we were set to have the bloodwork done in Columbus. So.......8 hours later we were finally sitting in the waiting room at Columbus Children's. Mariah decided to entertain herself by clearing off the shelves in the waiting room.

The other four kids were entertaining themselves as well. They were all telling us that they didn't want to hear Mariah cry.

They finally called us back and we took her back to the lab. There was a little concern that it was too much blood to draw but after some quick math on their part they figured it was fine. They started with her left arm (right arm had the tb shot/test). Halfway through they lost the vein. Unfortunately, they had to draw more blood from her right arm as well.

She screamed and cried! She was soaked from sweating so terribly. Then as a result, I was soaked too since I was holding her. Poor thing. We were glad it was over and to finally be on the road home to WV. Here was Mariah once we got her in the car. Her hair is soaked! Notice the pink camo bandaid in the crook of her arm.

That was our long exhausting day! It certainly was not a fun day. To be perfectly honest, I think Jeremy and I were both a bit grumpy too! 

Did you notice in the above picture that Mariah is eating? She is eating in our car! Jeremy caved in and allowed her that luxury. He felt she had been through enough already!

We stopped to eat at a restaurant on the way home. We had another mom come up to us halfway through our meal and began to ask question about international adoption. She and her husband are very interested and didn't know where or how to start. I jotted down my email for her and a few agencies that have a good reputation and I think I will be hearing from her soon.

Adoption has opened many doors for us. We are passionate about adoption (domestic or international) and it also allows us the opportunity to witness to others. We are able to share our journey and how God worked in miraculous ways to bring Mariah home. 

I have a few adoption friends that are struggling right now. Emily Rancourt and Merideth Toering have little girls that just had open heart surgery. Emily's little one, Lily, was pictured on my Facebook page. She is finally slowly improving. Merideth's little one, which is actually her little sister, Brooke, just had her surgery today. She is doing better but we still covet prayers for these families.

Today we spent the day recovering. My older kids slept in until 10:45! That is unheard of, especially for Ben. I think we all needed to just relax today.

Mariah fell asleep while eating her lunch today. It got quiet and I looked over and this is what I saw.....

Then this........

I took her up for her nap and she slept for almost five hours! I suppose this was to make up for the less than one hour of sleep all day yesterday. She was determined to stay awake in the car.

I am one blessed mommy to call these five kids mine! I love them more than I ever thought possible. We are praying for continued healing of Mariah's "broken heart". She has come so far but still struggles. Every day we can see a slight change in this wonderful creation of God. My heart is overjoyed as I watch her pure delight in so many things.......like emptying a box of Kleenexes (sorry, no picture)! 

Or seeing rain for the first time then the giggles as I open the sliding door and let her out to play in the rain....

Or swinging (yes, that is Benjamin)......

First time with bare feet in the grass......

First time with rocks.......

First time playing on the deck (that toy was Kyle's....13 years ago).....

And the first time lying on the floor with daddy......just because he can........

Sheer joy!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you Lord for allowing us the blessing and privilege to be the parents to five absolutely amazing children. Let us always seek Your wisdom and never grow weary in this life You have seen best to fit us.