Friday, April 20, 2012

5 Months Home for Mila!

Yesterday marked 6 months since we touched down in the good old US of A with our very sick little girl! She has truly transformed before our eyes!!! Here's a little update on our "meatball."

*Mila weighed in on Monday at 19 pounds, 6 ounces and 28.75 inches!!
*She was not even on the down syndrome growth charts when we arrived home and now she is in the 75th percentile for height and weight!!
*From simple positioning, her head has rounded out nicely and she will not need a helmet!
*Mila could not even hold her head up when we met her. She has been rolling over both ways for quite some time now, pushing up on her arms when on her belly, and her most recent accomplishment is sitting unassisted for 5 minutes! She is starting to get on her hands and knees, but with her belly still on the floor (maybe that belly is just too big??? haha)
*Mila could barely drink from a bottle (unless the nipple had a huge hole cut in it which was totally not safe especially with her airway issues). She can now drink from a straw! She eats stage 3-4 baby food, table foods that can be mashed or broken into small pieces, and has recently started feeding herself! She will hold a cucumber and chew on it (she actually bit a piece off with no front teeth!), and she loves "Pirate's Booty" (a gluten free snack) and has just started picking it up and putting it in her mouth! She's also grabbing for her spoon when we feed her and has gotten several bites of baby food from the spoon to her mouth! Yay big girl!
*Mila definitely knows her Mama and Daddy and sister and lights up when she sees each of us. She is started to get a little separation anxiety. Many times if a friend is holding her she will fuss and fuss until she can come back to Shawn or I.
*We now know how she survived so long. Girl has a fighting spirit that could be mistaken for one big giant ATTITUDE! HAHA. If she is not happy, she will let you know! She will play on her own for a few minutes but then screams to be picked up and then looks at us and giggles! Stinker!
*She is sleeping through the night pretty well. However, if she doesn't go to be super early (like by 6:30) then she is up between 5 and 5:30am!! She is pretty consistently taking two naps, her first nap around 9:30/10am for 40 minutes to an hour, and the second nap around 1:30/2 for about an hour.
*Mila needs glasses :( She is nearsighted. They're waiting until she starts doing a little more gross-motor activity, such as standing and beginning to walk, because right now her whole world is pretty close. But it explains a lot.
*She has an airway follow up appointment in May and they will determine if she needs a surgery to permanently fix the laryngeal cleft. Praying that answer is NO!
*Mila loves anything that lights up and plays music!
*She has just recently shown an interest in the iPad and likes the cause and effect games, songs, and she's becoming an Elmo fan!
*Her favorite songs are skid-a-marink, pat-a-cake, and Jesus Loves Me
*She still likes playing with her hands and staring at them when she's bored!
*She LOVES swimming and has already figured out how to kick her feet and move her arms to get herself moving!
*She is working on her first two teeth, which are both MOLARS :( (top molars). She has been in quite a bit of pain and pretty fussy from them breaking through...yuck.
*Mila is down to only 3 bottles a day, just before each nap and right before bed. She will only take a bottle if she is sleepy.
*Just like her sister, she enjoys being outside and having the wind blow through her hair.
*She is wearing mostly 9 month clothing at this point and size 3 diapers. I remember when she was in size 1!
*She is adjusting well and coming out of her orphanage stupor more and more every day!
*She is a thrill seeker and a dare devil. She can't swing high enough or be moved around fast enough!

And now what you really wanted to see. Pictures of our growing girl! (Pictures from her party coming in a separate post).

Big girl sitting up!

Silly girl!

Loves practicing her swimming on dry land!


"Oh sorry, I was busy, were you saying something to me?"


num num num


Feels so good on the teeth!

Okay, so I'm going to have to pick that thing up again...this is hard work!

AAAHH much better!

Look at my cool spoon!

We may or may not have taught her to do "the worm" SERIOUSLY! What is she doing!!!!????

She wants to move SO SO SO BAD!

And when she can't, we get this face along with some annoyed grunts and tears

But have no fear, big sister Zoya swoops in to save the day!

Eating some Pirate's Booty

What are YOU looking at?

Woah, this goes WAY faster with TWO hands!

Focus, Focus, Focus, Don't drop it!

SUCCESS!

What's that you say? I have something on my face?

Chub-a-love!

Look Ma, One Hand!


And some cute Phone Photos:

Playing with the iPad


falling asleep sitting up!

Love this face!

14 comments:

  1. oh love it. she has grown up so much and change so much in so little time.

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  2. She is the very definition of cute! What an expressive little face, and oh, those dimpled little hands! How wonderful to see Mila growing strong and blossoming so beautifully.

    LOVE the "flying baby" shot with the swing,and your sweet bemused poochie below. Great picture; great subjects.

    And Zoya! She is growing up so much, and is clearly an ideal big sister.

    Thanks so much for sharing...

    Susan in Ky
    Cousin to 2 from Mila and Zoya's previous country

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  3. What a sweet angel! I love how round her face is and how her eyes just shine!

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  4. She is seriously too cute for words!!! I just loved all those pictures... Should I tell you that she is almost bigger than my daughter who turns 3 in 3 weeks? Is the DS growth chart more than or less than the regular one? Sorry just trying to educate myself.... it might come into play in my future ;)

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  5. me ha gustado mucho este post de mila,,,y me da mucho gusto ver que ya se sienta sola,,son grandes avances de tu niña,, y esto con el apoyo de mama, papa y hermana.. felicidades, muchas felicidades por tantos logros y gracias por compartirlos saludos desde monterrey ,nuevo leon , mexico

    I liked this post by mila,,, and I am happy to see that you are feeling alone, great strides are your child, and this is supported by mom and dad and sister .. Congratulations, congratulations for so many achievements and thanks for sharing greetings from Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico

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  6. Wow... just wow. She does not look the same baby. I never moved over here from your other blog and this is the first I've seen of her since then. Wow!

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  7. She is so precious. I love watching her grow. Love can do so much for these children. Thanks again for sharing her with us. She brightens my day.

    Katrina
    Carlene's soon to be momma :)
    www.operationorphannomore.blogspot.com

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  8. They are both adorable crazy to see how much Mila has grown. Such a great job you guys are doing!!

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  9. The last picture is priceless as well as "the worm"

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  10. Love the swing pic! So much fun to watch the jelly bean morph into a meatball! Thanks for sharing.

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  11. Love the baby Matrix shot of Mila.

    I still laugh that your girls love that swing where Izzy was willing to see it, touch it but definitely not even think about going in it. LOL

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  12. She was definitely doing the worm

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  13. I just can't believe how different she looks. You used to call her "jelly bean", and now "meatball". She definitely is no longer a tiny jelly bean! Look at that belly! Man I just want to snuggle her so much. She really is beautiful, and it is amazing that she went from laying so stiffly in your arms to sitting up on her own in such a short amount of time. I showed my husband about a week ago the first picture of you holding her, when her arms and legs pretty much just stuck straight out, and then the recent pictures of her so he could see what a dramatic change just having a family and love does for a child. I compare Mila's recent pics to Harlowe on RR, and I imagine how Harlowe could change into a plump smiling baby like Mila did, if only someone would go get her. I want little Harlowe so very much, due in large part to watching the unfolding miracle of Mila.

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