HUGE progress!

As those in our travel group know, we had MAJOR concerns about Ty's physical and mental condition when we first took custody of him.  At eight months old, he could barely hold his head up, wasn't tracking well, wasn't focusing well, wasn't responding to our voice much, wasn't using his legs at all, and had us FREAKED OUT!  He had constant diarrhea.  Whatever went in, immediately came back out.  The first four days that we had custody of him, he didn't have ONE wet diaper.  We quickly learned that he was lactose intolerant and everything that he was eating (formula and Mother's Choice cereal) had milk product in it.  Unfortunately, this mommy didn't think that it was necessary to bring formula with us - it would be best to stock up on what he is used to and transition when we got home.  BOY WAS I WRONG!! 

Unfortunately, they don't seem to carry soy formula in the Addis supermarkets.  Go figure.  We took custody on Monday and, praise the Lord, on Thursday another adoptive couple mentioned that they had soy formula in a bag of donations they brought!!  We swapped them a can of soy for a can of Ethiopian and switched him cold turkey!  We saw immediate results!!  He was much more alert, peed all over the place every time we took his diaper off, and was suddenly much stronger!  Mommy and Daddy sighed with relief.

The other God thing - One of the adoptive dads couldn't make it for the Embassy appointment, so grandma came with mom instead.  She just happened to be a former pediatric physical therapist for newborn to three years!!  This was such a HUGE blessing to us.  I was ready to bring Ty home the moment we saw him at the care center.  I wanted to get him to the doctors immediately and figure out what was going on so that we could start treatment.  The sooner the better, right?  Well, when Daddy reminded me what this grandma did for a living, I regained hope and saw that God was not going to forsake us.  On first glance, she could tell that Ty had significant physical delays.  On the third day, she did a quick evaluation of him and said that we would have our work cut out for us, but that he would most likely be fine.  He had VERY low muscle tone and "stacking" his head on his neck was the only way he could hold it up.  She gave us a few tips and exercises and we were feeling very encouraged. 

By that Thursday, just four days after taking custody, Ty was supporting his head when we pulled him up by his hands from his back to sitting.  This was INCREDIBLE and we greatly enjoyed showing off to the other families traveling with us!

Well, fast forward to being home not quite three weeks and you have this:

 

He is mostly sitting on his own, he is occasionally bearing weight on his legs, he LOVES tummy time and is pivoting to get at different toys, and he holds his head up VERY well all the time!  The cognitive delays are no longer present.  We assume that was mostly due to being dehydrated from the diarrhea.  He is still quite rubbery in the hip/leg department, but he is making great strides and we are so proud of him!!  

While the care centers that he spent his first eight months in were wonderful, it is still an orphanage environment.  It is not a family.  Love is not the same as attention.  He was loved on by many nannies, but they didn't have the time or the resources to give him the one-on-one attention that babies/toddlers need to grow and develop and progress.

We are so happy to have him home!