Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Ayana Health Update


We took Ayana to the doctor today. She is 9 1/2 months, she weighs 15 pounds and she is 25 inches long. When Savannah was born she was 22 inches long, dang. Ayana is so petite that she was not even on the percentile chart yet. She was pretty healthy considering. She has already had the chicken pox while at the orphanage and was tested for HIV at two different times and was negative. She has an ear infection in both ears and has a respiratory infection/bronchitis and a common cold. When I hold her I can feel the congestion and crackle in her chest and her breathing is very heavy. Her nose is constantly clogged with junk. She hates when I wipe it. She has some seriously nasty diapers and she can clear a room with her lethal farts! We had to treat her for scabies while in Ethiopia and she has some discoloration spots on her face from it but the doctor says it should return to normal color after some time. She is also teething with two new teeth breaking through her skin. Despite all that, she is so good even though she isn't feeling well. I am amazed at her every minute!.

Ayana loves her big sis. Ayana is eating well. We can't get food in her fast enough. She still is not sitting up on her own very well due to lack of stimulation or muscle strength so we feed her in the bumbo instead of the high chair. She leans toward it to get more.




She is letting big sis know how its going to be, Faster, faster!

"Now that's what I'm talking about!"

She loves bath time! She loves to splash and lick everything.

Ahh...so cute!

Bed time...



We are still a little sleep deprived. Ayana was up at 3:00 AM last night. She is having a hard time breathing and it wakes her up. Poor baby.
I know that you all want to see videos and hear about the trip but I am too tired to get them loaded. My program for the camcorder is not user friendly and it takes a lot of time to download but I will try to get it done soon.

18 comments:

Erin Sager said...

I love all those photos, what a great big sister. Get some rest...

Mona said...

She is absolutely beautiful. I love how her big sister is taking care of her (Savannah is beautiful, too). She looks so much better - she'll be well in no time at all.

T said...

Do we have a thumb sucker???? she is so cute. Wow she is a tiny one. the way she is eating it probably wont take long to catch up. hope she gets to feeling better and that you are able to catch up on some sleep.

love you guys.

Angela said...

Thank you for such a real and detailed health report on little Ayanna. She's a spunky little sweetie and I'm sure with time, nourishment,and availability to broader medical interventions she will get better and start to grow, grow, grow.

Autumn said...

Wow she really is tiny! She is even smaller than Kaylee was I think! You can really tell her size in the bumbo. She looks healthy though--just very petite! She is incredibly photogenic--sooo gorgeous! Keep the pictures comin'--I love every one! I cannot wait to meet her!

DG said...

The pictures with Savvy feeding her are ADORABLE! She so has the look of give me more. I am sad to hear she has the congestion, that is so hard. I hope that she will get over that soon and be done with the breathing trouble. She is a tiny thing, I knew she would be tiny but just like Autumn said you can tell just how tiny she is when she is sitting in the Bumbo. SO CUTE! Thank you for the pictures...GET SOME REST!!!! We love you.

Special Delivery said...

How great is she!?! She is beautiful and pretty healthy all things considered. It's great to see her and Savannah together! Savannah is great with her. But, I'm sure you didn't expect anything less! Thanks for such a complete report! I look forward to reading more!

Emily said...

Your daughters are just beautiful! I look forward to every update. Get some sleep and enjoy your family!

Trendy Mindy said...

I love the pic where she is leaning forward for more food - soooo cute!

Leah Reeves said...

She may be small now, but they catch up fast! Gabre was not on the US charts when we arrive home and now she is 50% for weight and 90% for height. You will be shocked at how fast she grows after being fed to US standards:)
I think she looks Amazing!!!!!

Leah
You are doing a great job keeping us blog stalkers happy!even on little sleep.

Lisa J. said...

Adorable. Good to hear that she likes to eat! Thanks for the update - you have a beautiful family - what a blessing!

emily said...

So beautiful! I cant wait to meet her.

Anonymous said...

She is very cute. And what a fortunate little girl to have such a wonderful family to care for her. You guys Rock!
-Pardue

Lisa Bates said...

Can we just say "Too Cute!" She's adorable!

~Laura~ said...

What a great update. She's such a cutie. Savannah is a GREAT big sister too.

How to Party with an Infant said...

Such cute pictures! We're just about ready to submit dossier--I know I have a long way to go!

Becky said...

I have never commented on your site before but I just have to! We adopted a little girl almost exactly a year ago from the same orphanage system - Toukoul. I cannot believe how similar all the stats are. Our little girl was 10 months upon arrival home, weighed a little over 15 lbs, was around 26inches, had a double ear infection, was being treated for an upper respiratory infection, rattled horribly when breathing, etc. etc. So, so similar. She was such a peanut but not for long. At her last check-up, after being home for 10 months, she had gained 10 pounds and grown 5 inches!! She is by far our most active child and is into everything!! We found out shortly after being home that she had giardia as well. The poop was beyond horrific. You could smell it outside her bedroom before walking in. Just an FYI. I think a lot of the kiddos have giardia when they come home. And believe it or not she still rattles a lot when she breathes. She still has a lot of congestion even though on April 1st we will have been home a year. We are now trying different allergy medications to see if that helps at all. Your little Ayana is absolutely gorgeous and perfect in everyway! I have so enjoyed following your story. You will watch in amazement as she transforms before your eyes- both physically and personality. Bless you all.

rachel said...

i am so happy she is home with you so she can have the tender loving care of a mother!