As the center of the Chaos, our kids are of course important to introduce!
#1 is our 8-year-old daughter. She is our only biological child, and that's not likely to change. My pregnancy with her was horrifically complicated medically, and we're very thankful both she and I made it out in one piece. She had a host of developmental delays, and was in therapy of some sort from 6 weeks to 5 years of age. She is the poster child for early intervention; she's in mainstream second grade and is excelling in all aspects of school as well as fun activities like soccer and swimming. This is after we were told many "never's" by various medical professionals, such as she would never talk, she would never function with typically developing peers, and she would never be able to participate in sports. She heads into the 3rd grade for Fall 2012.
#2 is our 6-year-old son. He came to us through foster adoption in April 2008 when he was just under 2.5 years old. He had a multitude of medical issues and a truly questionable ability to progress developmentally. So far, his silent aspiration, pancreatic elastin deficiency, failure to thrive, gross motor delays, and fine motor delays have all resolved. He still has a diagnosis of Childhood Apraxia of Speech, which is likely to stay with him throughout his school years. He is in Kindergarten for the second time in Fall 2012 with a lot of supports in our local elementary school. This has required a LOT of fighting on our part to get a strong IEP written for him, but that's our job as parents!
#3 is our 5-year-old son. He came to us through foster adoption in July 2009 when he was almost 3 years old. #2 and #3 are only 10.5 months apart, which makes things very interesting at times! #3 has no medical diagnoses, but does have some issues related to anger management and his attachment through adoption. He's been on quite a roller coaster behaviorally, and this continues to this day. He sees a play therapist weekly to help him work through some of his attachment and anger issues and learn appropriate coping mechanisms. He starts Kindergarten in Fall 2012 and is more than a little excited to go to "the big school" with his older brother and sister.
#4 is our 3-year-old son. He came to us through international adoption from Ethiopia in December 2010. He has a huge host of medical and developmental issues, many of which we're still trying to get a handle on. He came home suffering from severe, chronic malnourishment; this led to a 9-day hospitalization and an NG tube that he used to receive formula continuously while he slept. After about 3 months of hard work, we were able to get rid of his tube! He has schizencephaly, which is a condition in which there are clefts on his brain that cause neurological and developmental issues. He has cerebral palsy as a result of his schiz, but that's mostly a label we use for medical paperwork and people who have general nosy questions. Also related to the schiz, he has strabismus, or a lazy eye; he had surgery to correct that in April 2011 and continues with follow-up and therapies. He suffered from chronic ear infections that had left him with some hearing loss. He had tubes put in his ears in March 2011 and a second set done in September 2011; after the second set, his hearing fully returned. He had a couple of other minor surgeries, but is doing amazingly well. He is crawling and eating fully independently and walking with support from another person or his walker. Talking is coming slowly but surely. He's in special needs preschool at a local elementary school and absolutely loves it.
For the question everyone asks...are we done? Probably not. :) After adding a child through adoption every year for 2008-2010, we were taking 2011 and 2012 off from adding anyone and letting the kids adjust. Now with the move coming up, we're obviously in a bit more of a holding pattern. But we know what is supposed to happen will happen as it's supposed to.
#1 is our 8-year-old daughter. She is our only biological child, and that's not likely to change. My pregnancy with her was horrifically complicated medically, and we're very thankful both she and I made it out in one piece. She had a host of developmental delays, and was in therapy of some sort from 6 weeks to 5 years of age. She is the poster child for early intervention; she's in mainstream second grade and is excelling in all aspects of school as well as fun activities like soccer and swimming. This is after we were told many "never's" by various medical professionals, such as she would never talk, she would never function with typically developing peers, and she would never be able to participate in sports. She heads into the 3rd grade for Fall 2012.
#2 is our 6-year-old son. He came to us through foster adoption in April 2008 when he was just under 2.5 years old. He had a multitude of medical issues and a truly questionable ability to progress developmentally. So far, his silent aspiration, pancreatic elastin deficiency, failure to thrive, gross motor delays, and fine motor delays have all resolved. He still has a diagnosis of Childhood Apraxia of Speech, which is likely to stay with him throughout his school years. He is in Kindergarten for the second time in Fall 2012 with a lot of supports in our local elementary school. This has required a LOT of fighting on our part to get a strong IEP written for him, but that's our job as parents!
#3 is our 5-year-old son. He came to us through foster adoption in July 2009 when he was almost 3 years old. #2 and #3 are only 10.5 months apart, which makes things very interesting at times! #3 has no medical diagnoses, but does have some issues related to anger management and his attachment through adoption. He's been on quite a roller coaster behaviorally, and this continues to this day. He sees a play therapist weekly to help him work through some of his attachment and anger issues and learn appropriate coping mechanisms. He starts Kindergarten in Fall 2012 and is more than a little excited to go to "the big school" with his older brother and sister.
#4 is our 3-year-old son. He came to us through international adoption from Ethiopia in December 2010. He has a huge host of medical and developmental issues, many of which we're still trying to get a handle on. He came home suffering from severe, chronic malnourishment; this led to a 9-day hospitalization and an NG tube that he used to receive formula continuously while he slept. After about 3 months of hard work, we were able to get rid of his tube! He has schizencephaly, which is a condition in which there are clefts on his brain that cause neurological and developmental issues. He has cerebral palsy as a result of his schiz, but that's mostly a label we use for medical paperwork and people who have general nosy questions. Also related to the schiz, he has strabismus, or a lazy eye; he had surgery to correct that in April 2011 and continues with follow-up and therapies. He suffered from chronic ear infections that had left him with some hearing loss. He had tubes put in his ears in March 2011 and a second set done in September 2011; after the second set, his hearing fully returned. He had a couple of other minor surgeries, but is doing amazingly well. He is crawling and eating fully independently and walking with support from another person or his walker. Talking is coming slowly but surely. He's in special needs preschool at a local elementary school and absolutely loves it.
For the question everyone asks...are we done? Probably not. :) After adding a child through adoption every year for 2008-2010, we were taking 2011 and 2012 off from adding anyone and letting the kids adjust. Now with the move coming up, we're obviously in a bit more of a holding pattern. But we know what is supposed to happen will happen as it's supposed to.
