Give Us This Day...

Okay, here's what we're learning at the Mason home...how to take life one day at a time. Most of us are familiar with that line in the Lord's Prayer that says, "Give us this day our daily bread." Well, we are living that prayer with our precious new daughter. Every day is a little different and better than the day before. Each day, I'm so focused on TODAY. Each small step with her is such a joy. Take for instance right now as I'm typing this, she is in the hall playing peek-a-boo around the door with me, grinning from ear to ear.

These small things are such a gift! The smiles and giggles, hugs and kisses (I am getting some kisses now), the sound of her voice in the baby monitor calling "Mama" when she wakes up, the way she loves to squeal, watching her dance (it is so FUNNY), tickling her, and the way she snuggles up against me when I rock her at night. She is such a precious little girl. We chose her name, Eden, because it means "delight" in the Hebrew language. I chose the name before I knew her - and it fits her. She is such a delight. Her grieving has gotten a lot better. She hasn't tantrumed all week and she is no longer preferring Gene over me or pushing me away. She wants us both. We had our first appointment at the International Adoption Clinic this past Monday and they encouraged us to go ahead and start showing her the pictures we took with her foster mom in China.

This may bring about more grieving, but it will be healthy for her. They encouraged us to make a book that begins with the photo of her with her foster family, then the photo of us with her foster mom and Eden, then a picture of an airplane, and then pictures of her with us at home here. This will help her to see how all of this fits together as part of her life's story. They also said not to let her have free access to the book but to give it to her when she asks for it and always look at it with her. I am so glad we have the resource of the Adoption Clinic because Gene and I had put these photos away thinking it would be best not to let her see them until she was securely bonded to us. But it makes sense to let her see them in the context of her new family.

I'm so glad we were able to meet her foster mom and get those photos!! We were hit with some surprising news at our clinic visit from a medical standpoint. Eden's palate is open, but it appears to be a very small opening right behind her front teeth. We will visit the Cleft Clinic soon to find out about surgery to close it. Eden also has a significant cleft on both sides of her top jaw (I don't know the clinical name for it) that will have to be surgically repaired, but the doctor at the clinic said she thought the Cleft Clinic would wait to do that after all of her permanent teeth come in. I will have more info after we visit the Cleft Clinic and will post what I find out.

Eden also had fluid behind one of her eardrums that appeared to have been there for a long time. She is on an antibiotic to clear it up and we're going for a hearing test in early September. I learned that when babies suck it clears the fluid that collects in their ears. Since cleft palate babies can't suck they tend to have fluid in their ears so you really have to keep a watch on them due to the risk of hearing loss and/or language developmental delays. We also have an appointment to get her vision checked but that's just routine for adopted kids. She had 4 vials of blood drawn from her arm and it was so traumatic - for her and for me. And, I will spend the week digging through her dirty diapers collecting 9 stool samples to be tested for parasites - yuck!

Boy, do I love this girl or what? This is something they also do with all internationally adopted children because of unclean water. We also got GREAT news at our clinic visit from a developmental standpoint. Eden is right on target for her age range and the OT was blown away by how curious she was and how she is repeating words. She told us to start having her learn to drink from a small cup to develop the muscles in her mouth since she can't suck and to start working on stacking blocks for fine motor skill development. We didn't get to see the behavioral specialist but we will see her at our next appointment in 2 weeks. We are just so thrilled with Eden's progress in how she is transitioning and bonding. She is growing more loving towards me every day and still adores her Ba Ba (daddy). She is on a great schedule and is sleeping through the night (about 10 hours a night) and taking a 1 1/2 - 2 hour nap each afternoon. I even cleaned the house this week. You would have thought I cured cancer by how proud I was of myself. I cleaned the house and took a shower with her here by myself..woo hoo!!!

She loves our dogs and loves bath time now. We have a baby pool in the backyard that she enjoys playing in and we take walks early in the morning in the jogging stroller and she loves to cat nap during those. We're settling in really well. It hasn't been easy at all, but I can honestly say it is becoming so fun. I love being Eden's mommy and Gene's wife. I was a little overwhelmed after our clinic visit on Monday but I am so glad that she is here with us and can receive the medical care she needs. We had no idea her mouth was in as bad of shape as it is but who cares? Not us! She is beautiful and perfect in our eyes and we will sacrifice whatever we have to in order to meet her needs.

Hope this brings everyone up to date. I am posting some photos from the past week. Hope you enjoy them!