Making the Mold...So She Can Break It Later!

Yesterday, Lily took the first step toward her new prosthesis (pun intended!)...measuring and molding her leg. Her appointment was at 1:30, which promised to be dicey...prime nap time; but with over an hour's worth of driving I hoped she would nap and be a happy baby for her appointment. NOT!

She was happy...until she discovered that we hadn't driven that far to simply play "Give Mommy Kisses on the Exam Table."

Once the measuring began, so did the angry tears. It's not that anything was painful. Lily simply doesn't like to be held still or let strangers touch her. It is a good thing, in my thinking, that she doesn't just want anyone touching her...good attachment signs. The volume level at which she voiced her displeasure, however...let's just say I'm glad we didn't video it!

In order to get the plaster mold (same as making a cast), Lily needed to be in her birthday suit. She was thrilled about this, too. I had the honors of holding her still, so I was covered in several layers of sheets to protect my clothing from plaster and anything else that a diaper might contain.

After measuring Lily's leg, undressing her and covering me up, the prosthetist put a protective sock over Lily's leg and began wrapping her leg in plaster. Poor Lily! We have not heard her cry like that since we were in China giving her a sponge bath (had to hold her down for that, too!). It's times like that when I just keep telling Lily: You may not like this now, but one day you will walk and run and climb and bike and swing and hop and dance and ride a scooter, and the list goes on...all because we endured this now. I can't wait to see it!

Next, we let it harden for a few minutes and then we were done. Off slid the little cast and we cleaned and dressed our sweet, sobbing little girl.

All done...and somewhat recovered from the ordeal.

The Mold!

We return next Friday to try on the socket that will be made from the little mold above. The socket is the part of the prosthesis that goes over the leg. If the fit is good, they will build the rest of the leg and she will be standing on it at the appointment after that! Amazing!

In Him,

Physical Therapy: The Ball

The second Physical Therapy piece of equipment our therapist brought was the Ball. More than likely you've seen them as they are very popular in the exercise world these days for Core conditioning (not apple cores...your abdominals and back muscles...the core of your body!).

We quickly discovered that the Ball is also very popular with older sisters who seem to think it should be added to the nearest amusement park or Chuck E. Cheese. But why do that when you can just ride your sister's every time Mom leaves the room?

Once we got the ground rules set with the older girls, Lily got to work. At first we just practiced sitting on top of the ball trying to hold a center of balance.

She quickly decided she liked laying on her belly on it and rolling forward and backward to pick up toys.


The PT said this was actually a good idea and then tweaked my technique to make it more effective for her back, glutes (rear end), and obliques (ab muscles that run along your side) and probably several other muscles that I am forgetting right now! She suggested that we hold toys out in front of her at the maximum extent of her reach so that she would to lift up and use all the aforementioned muscle groups while reaching. We do this for as long as she's having fun changing the location of the toy within a semicircle area in front of her and to her side. Our wonderfully sweet and creative PT keeps reminding me of just how many muscle groups are utilized not only in sitting upright, but also in standing and walking...which is our quickly approaching goal! We need to get those muscles toned and ready!

Another exercise we have been doing is a little trickier (for both Lily & me!). It's probably easier to explain with the pictures! First, we lay Lily on her back on the ball. Then I encourage her to roll to her side by maneuvering the ball to one side.

To compensate for the feeling of falling off, she turns her body toward the center of the ball.

Next, I roll the Ball slightly away from me to encourage her to pull herself up to sitting.

Then...the reward for her hard work! Bouncing up and down on the Ball!

All done and we had fun!

In Him,

Physical Therapy: the U Seat

God never ceases to amaze me with what He already knows and how little I do and how He loves to surprise me with His knowledge.

Lily's physical therapy is one of those things.

You see what I didn't know back when we were matched to her was 1) that she would need physical therapy (although I began to understand that soon afterward) and 2) that God would provide for free physical therapy in our home once she got home. God once again used His command to us (Malachi 3:10) to bless us. As we filled out the paperwork for her PT, we had to supply our tax return. Because of our charitable giving and our family size, we discovered that our income was put in a bracket that qualified for free-to-us therapy for as long as we use them or until Lily turns 3! Go God!

Anyway, one of the first pieces of apparatus our PT brought us was the U-seat. For Lily, it was love at first use. Because of Lily's underdeveloped pelvis (on the left side), she has trouble balancing while sitting. She has had to do what we have dubbed the "tripod sit" to keep from tipping over...2 legs and one arm for support. With the U-seat, Lily can sit supported with both hands free. She loves it! Now she can play with both hands while in a seated position and develop her core strength at the same time!

Over the weeks that we have had the U-seat, Lily has gotten quite comfortable with it and will crawl into the seat and sit down independently. She will also crawl over it, sit on top of it, hang over it backwards, flip it upside-down and crawl into it...and the latest feat? Push it over to the couch, climb on top and try to get onto the couch. Alas, she is still too short to make it!

The improvement in Lily's sitting between the U-Seat and another fun PT apparatus (I'll share that one tomorrow) is immense. Last week we caught her several times sitting straight up and down for several seconds with no hand support and no U-seat! And, then a few days ago (as I blogged on New Year's Eve) she started sitting independently for long stretches! Yippee!

Let's hear it for the U-seat!

U-seat or baby recliner? You decide!

In Him,

Lily's Leg

After having been with Lily for 4 months now, we have found that not everyone realizes/notices that Lily's lower left leg is...well, not there. Obviously, some do...but not all. Her referral file stated that she had a "Congenital Missing Lower Left Leg" meaning she was born without it.

Many questions surrounded her leg before we came home with her and some still do. Would she be able to have a prosthesis? Does she have a knee joint? Did she have range of motion in her left hip? What we do now know is that 1) we don't know why she was born without part of her leg and may never know 2) an x-ray revealed that the left side of her pelvis is underdeveloped...again for reasons unknown 3) due to lack of use & weight to hold the left leg down, she developed a muscle contracture around her left hip (mama's terms: tight muscles that don't have a full range of motion) 4) with physical therapy to stretch her muscles she should be able to have a prosthesis 5) nothing stops this girl!

The day before we got her our guide called us to say she had spoken with the orphanage and they wanted to let us know that Lily was 'very active.' We wondered what exactly they meant by that...could something have been lost in translation? All we had to do when we were in China was read some of the signs the Chinese had written in English to see that word choices weren't always on target. So...very active?

Let's just say nothing was lost in translation. This child never really stops moving when she's awake! I nicknamed her the Tornado Baby shortly after she joined us because she was constantly twisting and turning in my arms when I would hold her. The baby carrier was the only way to carry her for many, many weeks! And once we put her down? She was off! This kid can crawl and climb (she was up 5 stairs before we caught her the other day!) and pull and lift! She is constant motion.

This week we return to her prosthetist where they will measure her leg and make a mold of it for her first prosthetic leg! At our last appointment we were told to expect it to slow her down and that she probably won't like that. I had two reactions to that. 1) That could be good...make it easier to keep up with her! 2) Yeah, right! Lily is one determined little girl and I'll betcha she's up and running before we know it. Time will tell...

Since we are getting close to beginning the prosthetic process, I thought I'd do a series of posts on the physical therapy Lily has been doing so that we would have a record of it for us/her. But also, in case someone else is considering adopting a child with a leg limb difference. Maybe something in our experience could be helpful or provide a glimpse into daily life with a prosthetic. I know I would read someone else's account somewhat obsessively if I could find it! But be forewarned...we are new to all of this and are learning as we go; we have no medical background at all; and our experiences, emotions, and mental processing may be different than that of others or you. So be nice! And understanding that we are learning as we go...and I'll try to blog the journey!

In Him,

Last Post of 2010...2 videos!

What a year this has been! As I look back over 2010, the phrases 'answered prayer' and 'God's sovereignty' come rushing to mind.

Last year at this time we had no idea that Lily had been born and that in 4 short months we would see her picture for the first time and that a year later she would have been with us for 4 whole months! What a difference a year makes!

She has blessed each of us in our family in ways beyond comprehension. The joy she has brought us is beyond words. To see the kids embrace her and love on her...still, even after 4 months...and the excitement they have over each milestone melts this mom's heart.

Even though we have had our share of sorrows this year, too, the blessings have softened the blows, the grace has been a balm to the hurts.

2010 will always be the year that the promise of Lily Rose was fulfilled...in the fullness of time!

On that note, and to celebrate Lily's 4 months with us (yesterday was 4 months), I want to post 2 videos.

The first is of Gotcha Day, August 30, 2010. Many people weren't able to view it on the Baby Jelly Beans site, so here it is again...this time on YouTube.




The second was taken this afternoon. It is of Lily sitting upright all by herself! This is huge for us! We have been working for weeks (months) toward this goal. We had noticed her doing it a couple of seconds at a time this past week, but last night...she did it for minutes...intentionally. Boy, oh, boy did we ever cheer, celebrate, and clap! And our smartie caught on and gave us several repeat performances. Today, she picked up where she left off. Take a look!



In Him,

Snow Pictures

We have been blessed with two rounds of ground-covering snow in December (so far!) and we made sure to get little Lily out for her first snow! We feel pretty safe in assuming it was the first time Lily has seen snow as Shantou City sits at about the latitude of Cuba. Don't think any snow was falling at 23 degrees...latitude that is...this time last year!

After digging through the winter clothing box to find this snow suit and a tiny boot that was still too large, she was ready to go!

Now, it hasn't been a mystery to us that Lily loves adventure, but her sheer delight at sledding was a hoot to see! Scared? Not one bit! She laughed the whole way down...the first time and the second and every time after that....

One might say she laughed her boot off...ha, ha, ha.
(Bad joke, I know...but that one was for
Grandpa, the king of oh, so punny jokes.)

Seriously, now.
Look at the next picture closely.
No boot...only a white sock.

No, her toes didn't freeze (or remain bootless). Mama stepped in and got the boot back on.


Now, I just love this next picture of the girls!
Could they be having anymore fun?


My little daredevil went down standing...


and then, literally, went down!
No worries...she was unscathed.


Ally always chooses the tamer and less injury-likely amusements...snow angels!

And little Miss Lily posed...

and gave out some love!

December has been the month of loving affection for Lily. She started giving hugs...even what we call "pat pat hugs" (head down on a shoulder with her little hand patting our back).

And, best of all?

She's been giving out smooches! She puckers up and leans in and even makes a smacking sound! Melt my heart and call me fondue!

Oh, how we've waited for this! And, boy, has it been worth waiting for!

In Him,

My Beautiful Ballerina

Emma has been taking ballet for a year and a half now and is a graceful and beautiful dancer. Her dance teacher offered her the opportunity to perform part of the Nutcracker on December 18th. What she (and we) did not realize until the week before was who her group was performing with! Turns out they were performing with our area's POPS Symphony Orchestra during their Holiday Spectacular! What a fantastic opportunity! Here are some pictures from that night! The first is Emma dancing...the rest are of the curtain call.

The gentleman standing is the Conductor applauding the performance.

You may be wondering what looks different about Emma...no glasses! She wasn't allowed to wear them for the performance, so poor thing only saw a blur!

In Him,