Bethany got her first "Mommy Approved" haircut today.
Some of you may remember how very upset I was when my mom cut Bethany's hair last year without my approval. Both times (yes, she did this twice), I had gone out to do errands, only to come home to find a little less hair on my baby girl's head.
Exhibit A - August 2010
Fast forward to this afternoon.
I love Bethany's long hair, but with summer having just begun, and the days getting so hot, it was finally time for a haircut. I enlisted my mom's help, and needless to say, she was thrilled!
"Grandma, I sure hope you know what you're doing."
Before
After
Introducing little Miss Bethany with her new mommy approved haircut. :)
The results of the biopsy are in - they found inflammation of the kidneys, and I'll have to increase the dose of one of my medications. Considering what could've been, Sam and I are extremely thankful.
It was six years ago almost exactly to the day when we received bad news from my last kidney biopsy, so believe me when I say, this is good news. :) Praise God this is not what He has planned for us at this time!
My doctors will continue to keep a close eye on my kidneys, and hopefully, the increased medication will bring the inflammation down quickly. I know it's possible things could change in either direction, but whatever happens, good or bad, we pray for healing and continued trust in God's loving care.
Thank you again to all those who have encouraged us in the past few days. We appreciate you all so much!
*** When I went back to check my old blog, I realized I posted some very similar pictures from my biopsy 6 years ago. Go here to see for yourself. ***
Just a few hours ago, I shared about mytime at the hospital. Since then, the tides have turned.
What could dampen my spirits after a delicious dinner with my husband?
They had to redo my IV because it was burning. Fortunately, they called an IV nurse, and I'm happy to report she was worthy of her title as "IV nurse".
The headache I've had since early this morning has gotten significantly worse with no relief in sight.
After sending my husband home, I decided to sleep, but the constant noise outside my room, and the frequent monitoring of my vital signs have left me wide awake right now. :( It's been a few years since I stayed overnight at a hospital, so I forgot how much rest you don't get when you're there.
My blood pressure is still low and my temperature has risen to 100.6
I know these are all minor things in light of all I have to be thankful for, but if you could please pray for a decent night's sleep, for my headache to subside and for my vitals to improve, I'd really appreciate it.
What do you do when haven't eaten since the night before, and have been on bed rest for 6+ hours?
Besides trying to convince the nurse you should go back to solid foods, and trying to hold your pee (because peeing in a bed pan is the last thing you want to do), you get your camera and take pictures of things you normally wouldn't, and then blog about it. :)
Like a picture of a very tired and hungry me counting down the minutes until my bed rest and clear liquid diet is lifted.
or the view from my bed
or my lovely hospital booties
or the fancier ones the nurse replaced them with
or this icky thing you wish you could just yank off and never see again!
(i loathe IVs!)
And when you're not sure what else to take a picture of, you take a picture of the bag with all your books and notebooks, wishing you had super powers to move it from the chair to your bed.
After you realize that's not going to happen, you turn to the next best thing.
Thank you for all your prayers, emails and phone calls. The kidney biopsy went well, my kids are having a great time with Grandma, and my sweet husband is bringing me a yummy dinner. As much as I am enjoying my time here, I'm really looking forward to being back home tomorrow.
About 2 weeks ago, Bethany had minor surgery to correct her tongue tie. It was a very simple procedure, and we were in and out within a few short hours.
Aside from discovering that Bethany looks good in a yellow hospital gown, we also quickly discovered how much of a difference the surgery had made on her speech. She's still got a long way to go, but now she is more than willing to make and imitate sounds. Prior to surgery, the speech therapist and I noticed there always seemed to be hesitation on her part to imitate the sounds we were making. Now with the surgery complete, it seems obvious that her tongue tie was restricting her movement to a certain degree.
We've been having so much fun hearing her cute raspy voice repeat word after word. Granted some of them sound nothing like they're supposed to, but she definitely gets an "A" for effort. :) *see video below*
On our way to surgery.
They asked us to put her in comfy pjs and bring a favorite toy.
Matching I.D. bracelets.
Told you she looks cute. :)
The anesthesiologist.
Monitoring her blood pressure after her procedure.
After surgery she was still a little loopy from the anesthesia.
Not only did Bethany receive her Certificate of Citizenship (COC), but it also meant THE END to any and all adoption related paperwork! Which am I more excited about? The second for sure! Ha ha. :)
Although Bethany did become a U.S. citizen when we finalized back in November, the COC is a vital piece of documentation that proves her citizenship and changes her status with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services from a permanent resident to a United States citizen. *very important*
After hearing about other adoptive parents' negative experiences on their COC days, I wasn't sure if it would be worth taking Austin with us. He would have to miss a day of school and a day of the CSTs (California Standardized Test) *gasp*, but knowing that Austin has always been very involved in his little sister's adoption, I knew I couldn't take the risk of him missing out on something special.
It turned out to be a very nice ceremony, and I was so glad Austin was able to be there with us.
The official program for the day
Taking the oath on Bethany's behalf.
There were 162 children under the age of 14 naturalized that day,
and Bethany was one of the youngest ones.
At the end of the ceremony, they played "God Bless the U.S.A.", which always brings tears to my eyes.
Last week, Bethany had a second playdate with her two friends N and E. They may not know it yet, but these girls have a very special bond that I hope will develop into very special and meaningful friendships in the future.
Contrary to what many outside of the adoption community may think, adoption is not a one time event where you bring your child home, they become part of your family, and that's the end of it. Adoption is something that will follow these little ones for the rest of their lives, and one day these little girls will come face to face with their adoption stories. As their parents, we will by all means do everything we can to be a source of love, comfort and encouragement to them, but nothing will quite compare to having someone who knows what it's like to be in your shoes.
I am so very thankful for the special bond these little ones share and for the friendships I have with their Mommies!
*thanks for sharing all your pictures with us judy!*
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