Sonnet has a Secret!

You can't tell just by looking at her...

but Sonnet has a secret! 

We've discovered SpecialWundies!  I've never done a "commercial" on the blog before, but here it is.  And my disclaimer is that I have received NO COMPENSATION from the company in return for it.  This is my "I purchased the product and LOVED IT" commercial.

These are onesies for the older child!

I am so crazy about these things!

They were created by parents of a special needs child.  In their case their son was fed by a G-Tube and needed a onesie to help prevent him from pulling out his tube, and also to stand up to the heavy use by an older child with therapies and medical procedures.  All they could find to fit an older child fell apart after a few uses, was always out of stock when they needed to reorder, or were too expensive.  They decided they would have to manufacture what they needed themselves, and I'm so glad they did!  It took them two years of field testing, but SpecialWundies are available to us all now.

These are so perfect for Sonnet!  Like many children with cerebral palsy, she does an army crawl.  Her clothes just don't stand a chance at staying put.  Can we say "BRRRRRR, COLD TUMMY" when she reaches the ceramic tile floor?

  And like many children with the history of an orphanage background, she has sensory issues.  The onesie keeps her fingers out of her diaper!  Yessssssss!

SpecialWundies are made from a very soft 100% cotton, and seem to be made to last.  We don't ever want to be without one, and sometimes we go through more than one a day.  So we've orderedthree times now.  We currently have eight of these so there is always a clean one available!  They start in a size 2T and go all the way up to a size 16 (that is up to 120 pounds!)


You can find out more about the Wundies and the company's satisfaction guarantee on THEIR WEBSITE.    Sonnet says to HURRY! 

Certificate of Citizenship - check!

One of the last pieces of paperwork that adoptive parents wait and wait for is the Certificate of Citizenship.  So happy that it arrived today and also that all the information is correct.  (If you've been with me for awhile you may remember that Isaac's name was misspelled, and we waited an ENTIRE YEAR for his corrected document.)  Now that it has arrived we can move on to changing Sonnet's name on her social security number, readopting in the States.... it just goes on, doesn't it?  (smile)

We're still here!

My apologies (for the lack of posts) to those who continue to hold our family up in prayer and are interested in how we are doing.  I've been pretty much in "survival mode" for the past month.  Our Little Miss came to us with multiple medical needs, and it has proven difficult to sort them all out and get her the help she needs.

Within the first couple of weeks Sonnet saw her pediatrician and her doctor at the International Adoption Clinic which triggered other appointments with specialists. She also began Speech, Occupational and Physical therapies which she goes to each week.  They are attempting to help us obtain an appropriate feeding chair and also a stander with wheels so she can have some independent movement about the house.

Sonnet had dental work done under general anesthesia at a surgery center because of the extensive amount of work she needed.  She had seven teeth pulled, six caps and a few fillings.  Poor little dear is having to learn how to chew all over again since she somehow USED the little black nubs while eating.

Because our much loved pediatric dentist is in another state, Sonnet and I "got" to spend a couple of nights in a hotel near the surgical center.  It really wasn't fun, and I'm so glad to have that particular need behind us.

Another biggie was trying to get a diagnosis of the seizures she has been having.  A regular EEG and a brain MRI didn't give us any answers so we ended up with an in hospital stay hooked up to wires and under constant video.

This obviously wasn't something Sonnet enjoyed either!  Following that L-O-N-G test she was put on a medicine to control the seizures, but it ended up actually CAUSING seizures.  We are now in the process of weaning her off that medication and beginning a different one.

And in just a couple of days she will see the Cerebral Palsy specialist.  Whew!

Much of the last couple of weeks have been spent holding, rocking, and wearing our previously happy child who has been replaced with one who looks like the photo above much of the time.  Yes, I do believe it is caused by the medication and we are seeing some improvement with the weaning off of it.  I do miss my happy, smiling girl more than I can say though.   Please continue to keep her in your prayers.

Jen's Fancy Casts

New to us this summer was serial casting. Jen's muscles are super tight and her therapists are hoping to get a lasting stretch this way. We've spent all month going in to have another stretch and casts applied.

Her favorite color is yellow, but the therapist didn't have enough yellow to do the entire thing, so she compromised with purple casts and yellow stripes.

 

 

We're on the final set now and I'm beginning to notice a marked improvement in her walking.  Really hoping this is just the thing she's needed!

 

Therapy Fun!

Now lest you think we are going this whole conquering sensory issues alone... we have a great team of therapists who are helping and advising. 

So blessed to have access to some really good professionals!

The quest to conquer sensory processing disorder

Our tiny miss has suffered from an absolute lack of stimulation and we're working hard at PLAY in our house.  Her favorite activity would be the water table....

followed by the Therabrush.

It took her two days to warm up to the water beads.  She WANTED to touch them, but the feeling was a bit too much.

Some of my grandchildren were over the next day and they LOVED them.

I believe they were instrumental in getting Sonnet to give them a chance.

Another thing we've tried is Kinetic Sand.  At this point she grabs a handful and attempts to take it straight to her MOUTH so we'll put that one away for awhile!

Scenes from the airport -- Sonnet's homecoming

There is this really neat program called Red Thread Sessions where photographers with a heart for adoption offer discounted sessions to adoptive families and their recently home children.  We were so very fortunate to have these photographers volunteer their time to us after our last three adoptions.

For the first time ever it worked out that we had the photographer at the airport when we first arrived home!  Mikki was able to capture those once in a lifetime moments where Sonnet met the rest of the family, and the photos are so very precious to me!  These hit my inbox this morning, nearly a month to the day that Sonnet came home.  So fun to relive that special day. Mikki took LOTS of pictures.  Here are some of my favorites.

If you'd like to hire Mikki or even see about a Red Thread session for yourself in the Cincinnati area, you can find her website HERE!