Fall Friday

Man, it is really getting cool out side. I love fall!
Well, today was Update Friday. Apparently the email-restricting/telephone-calls-only policy from the agency didn't last long. We got our update by email today. I almost called to ask for the update (as I was instructed to do) even after I got the email. But, as fun as it seems to be petty and snarky sometimes, it probably won't help the situation. So, I resisted.
Uneventful update. Family court hearing still scheduled for Monday. The attorney is to request DNA authorization again on Tuesday. Please, oh please, pray that both events go well.
In other news.....
OK. There is no other news.
The Trainjumpers (with a substitute drummer) play tomorrow night at T&C 10-2. For those of you unable to attend, check out Matt's band at www.myspace.com/thetrainjumpers.

What to buy?

We went shopping the other day. Browsing, really. We are trying to figure out what we will need when Eliana comes home. Lots of people have asked us if we have registered, yet. It's hard!
It's so strange to look at stuff and try to figure out what will be appropriate for her by the time she gets home. We don't know what size she will be, how much she will weigh, or even for sure how old she will be. We are guessing she might get to come home around January or February, but that's only an estimate. She's so tiny, now, that even coming home at 8 months she might be the size of a 5 month old.
How can I know what stroller to buy, what car seat is most appropriate, or if she will already be too big for that seat or this toy?
That's when I start to feel sad. There are a lot of things that I walk right by in the store because she will be too old for them or too big for them by the time she gets home. It just reminds me of how much we are missing right now.
I'm not sobbing uncontrollably or freaking out about it. Just feeling a little sorry for ourselves.

Update?

Well, we had our telephone conference today with the agency. It was mostly good. Well, OK anyway.
Basically we voiced our concerns and said why we were freaking out. About some things she admitted it was confusing, about other things she said we are just impatient and dont get it.
Overall we:
- do feel less angry
- still dont feel entirely comfortable
- do feel more confident about Eliana s medical care
- have a better understanding of what is going on and taking so long
Why they cannot be this open about things to begin with to prevent problems: we dont know.
In an effort to promote better communication we are now going to CALL and BE CALLED for our updates and questions rather than email. Maybe this will help. We hope.
Anyway, the hearing appointment for family court was scheduled today for Oct. 2nd. That is a step forward. They hope to DNA that day, too.
Keep your fingers crossed!

What the chickenbus?

Well, Update Friday was a delightful experience, as always.
First we learned that our agency STILL has not gotten authorization to do the DNA test AND that we have to redo a form that they need for the embassy. This means that we will be at least another week behind while we get that form done and sent to Guatemala. The most ridiculous part about this is that the agency doesn't know how these documents have to be filled out(!?!) AND that they are so slow in getting information to us. We sent the letter 2 weeks ago and they JUST told us that it had to be redone!
Now, the second and most infuriating news of all: When they finally got around to doing the echocardiogram that we had requested a month ago (and the doctor requested 2 weeks ago) they found out that the baby SHOULD have been on some heart medicine since she was discharged from the hospital. Yes, that's 40 days that she has been without heart meds because they didn't bother to follow up on the treatment recommendations when Eliana was discharged from the hospital. AND the email message we recieve casually mentions that she will need heart surgery at 6-12 months but the info is so bad that we don't even know what for!!!!
It's been a bad 24 hours. How much and how loudly should we complain? We feel so trapped, afraid to complain too much for fear that they might hold our case up out of spite. If we don't say anything our case might continue to creep along at a snail's pace. Now that there has been a medical snafu we can't keep quiet. I really am afraid for Eliana's health and safety, not because of a minor heart problem but because of their negligence.
Let's look at another picture from the visit trip to calm down.

So, on Thursday we met with the docotr who will be Eliana's pediatrician. He's really nice, we liked him a lot. He said she's a beautiful baby. He's obviously very astute.
Well, I'm waiting for Matt to wake up (he worked last night) so we can decide if I should call the gals from the agency today or just send the friendly (ha!) emails I have been working on. Matt always has to temper my correspondence with them.
Sorry for such a long and complain-y post. Here's another picture to make up for it:

She's so sweet!

Check her out!

Geez, you'd think they could have washed her up first!
What a cute little dirty face!!

She's Growing!!!

Eliana went to the doctor yesterday and we got the medical report last night. Hooray for speedy service for a change! She has gained 12 oz, 1 cm in length and .5 cm of head circumference since we saw her just 2 weeks ago! I was so happy to hear that she is growing! Then I got a quick dash of sadness that we can't see it. But, happiness wins. What a relief that she's gaining weight. The fostermom says she is eating well, sleeps for 6 hours through the night and there are rumors that she is becoming a little bit spoiled. Hooray!
We are supposed to get pictures today... check back later to see!

Hey everybody!

It's late, Jenny's in bed and I can't sleep (it's a night shift thing). It's been a couple days since our last post, so I thought I better write. Nothing much going on right now. We did hear that the social worker interviewed the birth mom, which means we should get the report soon and finish up with family court. We are still waiting for DNA authorization. Hopefully that will come soon. After family court and the DNA test are complete we wait for pre approval then enter PGN. The baby has some follow up test this week and a doctors appointment next week. Although it may not feel like it sometimes, the process is moving along. We really miss her though. It was gray and rainy here today, which didn't help the feelings of loneliness and emptiness that we feel sometimes. We just can't wait until we can hold our little Eli.

Back to business

Well, my lasting calm from the trip seems to have ended today. I'm starting to get antsy again about things not happening quickly enough. She is so tiny! She needs to come home where we can give her all the attention and love she needs so she can grow strong and healthy!
And today was Update Friday. Which, surprise surprise, bore no update. Stuck in the same old spot, asking to get authorization to do DNA.... waiting....waiting.
At least we have a bunch of beautiful pictures and memories to make us feel better (and worse) when the going gets tough.
Have you seen how cute our baby is? Maybe you'd better look again. I think I'd better, too.

Home again, home again

Well, according to Matt I am supposed to give a detailed account of our trip, here. The truth is, I don't really know what to say. It's very hard to give words to such a beautiful, meaningful experience
We flew Pitt to Houston to Guat City on Thursday. Our flight left Pitt at 6am so we had to get up at 1am to get ready and get to the airport. Needless to say, we were a little tired when we got to the Marriott in Guat city at 1:30pm. We unpacked and then anxiously waited for the attorney to bring us the baby!
Matt and I met the attorney at her car in front of the hotel. When we saw her she was holding a little pink bundle in her arms - our baby!
Well Eliana was smacking her lips and sticking out her tongue like she was just starving! Luckily the attorney had brought a bottle with her, so there I was feeding the baby before we even got on the elevator!
We could not (and still can't) get over how tiny she is! At a whopping 6 pounds she looks like a little newborn, even though she's 3 months old!
The weekend was wonderful. The attorney left the baby with us Thursday evening and we kept her until Monday morning. What a crummy day that was! The yuck actually started Sunday as thoughts of having to leave her kept creeping into my mind. It was hard not to be sad in advance, knowing Monday was going to be heartbreaking.
Anyway, we spent the weekend at the hotel. Since the baby isn't legally ours yet we were not permitted to leave the hotel. That was fine with us. We had all the entertainment we needed right there in our baby! Besides, as new parents, we were kept pretty busy with bottles and diapers and naps.
The hotel we stayed at was really nice. It was quite a nice hotel with 3 good restaurants, a lovely pool area and very friendly and helpful staff. We stayed on the 'family floor' which had a 'baby lounge' just 2 doors down from our room. There were so many other adopting families there! The Marriott is highly recommended by the adoption agencies here and so they get a steady business from American adoptive families. We would run into people at the restaurants, in the hall and in the baby lounge at all hours of the day. It was great to talk to other folks going through the same things and to see all of the beautiful babies!
As you can see from the pictures that Matt posted, Eliana is just beautiful! The poor baby had a cold when they first brought her to us so she was pretty snotty and congested. She was just feeling yucky, especially Th and Fri, so we had to snuggle and hold her all the time. Torture. By Monday she was feeling a lot better. Nothing like some lovin' from Mom and Dad to make a girl feel better!
Despite her small size she looks pretty healthy right now. Arm and leg movements are good, eye contact is great. She doesn't eat a whole lot at one time, but likes to eat often. Her tiny belly can't hold much at once! They are supposed to be scheduling another echocardiogram soon to see how her heart is doing. She has no cardiac symptoms right now - she just needs to grow! I am worried about her small size. I'm concerned about overall development if she's not growing properly. She really does look good, though, so hopefully she'll start gaining weight soon.
We really had the best time with Eliana. Of course leaving was difficult, but we are so happy that we were able to spend time with our daughter. Just to see her, hold her and smell her has been so reassuring in a lot of ways. Now we've got to get this adoption process moving! Please keep praying that each step of this goes quickly and smoothly so that we can get that little baby home. No doubt we can fatten her up if we just have a chance!
I want to thank everyone for their continued support through all of this. We are so blessed with wonderful friends and family. It was hard to be away, experiencing something so great, and not be able to share it with you all. I can't wait til you, too, can meet her and welcome her home. Thanks, too, for the emails and comments to the blog while we were away. It made me so happy to hear from everyone and know how much everyone loves that baby already.

Back Home

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We are back home :( We will never forget this trip, it was wonderful. We had a hard leaving our baby. Here are a few more pictures :) Jenny will write an actual post tonight to update you on where we are and what's going on. Thanks for the kind words about the baby.

Just have a sec... here are a couple pics

Hey everybody!! We are here in Guatemala City with our little tiny baby. Just look how sweet she is. We will try to post more pics again before we leave.

here we are in Guatemala!!!

We arrived yesterday with no problems. We got here around 1.30 and they brought us our sweet Eliana around 5.30. She is beautiful!!!!!!!
She is still super-tiny. All of the outfits we brought are way too big but she, of course, is beautiful in them.
Poor baby has a little cold. She is on a bunch of medicine and has to take breathing treatments. Thank God I know a good respiratory therapist!
I can't get into my email today for some reason, so sorry for no personal notes today. I'll keep trying. There is a baby lounge just down the hall from our room and it has free internet access, so we can check back a few times each day.
We will try to pictures later today, too. She is beautiful! We are in love!