Ruthie turns Three!

Our sassy Ruth has turned three.

 
When I think of all she has been through in her short life, it feels a little overwhelming. Yet as I look deeply into her timeline, I'm amazed at how God was working in her life. Ruth has people (literally) all over the world who love her. There have been many people who were part of her story for a short time but who made a tremendous impact on the trajectory her life took.

Today, I think of Ruth's birth family. Of the pain they must feel on this day as they think of the tiny, 4.5 pound baby they felt they could not raise. I think of the Ayis and orphanage staff with the responsibility of so many little ones; of the women there who give what love they can to the helpless babes in their care. I think of the orphanage director who saw tiny Ruthie failing to grow, and the choice she made to fly her 3 hours north to Beijing. I think of the community of ex-pats living in Beijing who have fostered many children, nurturing them, loving them, showing them what family looks like, before saying goodbye and sending them off to their forever families.

And most of all, I think of the Douglas family. I am thankful for their bravery to take in an 11 pound one year old who couldn't even roll over let alone sit up, stand or walk. The love they poured into Ruth for the year she lived with them changed her life forever. They nourished her body physically, but also emotionally. She went from a helpless one year old to a high spirited two year old who could not only roll over, but stand, walk, run and climb. We are honored to continue to call them our friends and maintain contact with them. Most of all, we look forward to their visit to the US this summer! What a joyful reunion it will be.

While we weren't there the day she was born, it didn't make the day any less special for all of us. To make up for lost time, Ruth celebrated her birthday multiple times throughout the week.

Sunday before her birthday my family stopped in after church for a quick pizza lunch, cupcakes and ice cream. My mom has traditionally purchased a Bitty Baby for all the granddaughters on their first birthday. Since Ruth wasn't home yet, she got her bitty baby this year. She's pleased as can be about this doll.

Wednesday night we celebrated with Trent's side of the family. Again, pizza and cake and ice cream. Ruth has really been enjoying the puzzle that Grandma gave her.

Flamingo outfit from Mema

Three!!

Taking care of baby

Cake at Grandpa and Grandma Hess's.

 Thursday, April 12 was her actual birthday, and we spent the morning at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. (More on that in a bit.) Trent took the day off work so we could both be at that appointment and Diane took care of the girls for me. CHOP gifted Ruth with a fisher price car with a mama and baby. She was pretty happy about this. When we got home from that appointment the doorbell rang and Trent had to sign for a package from China. Ruth's foster family sent her a card and a book.

height/weight check

 We at lunch at Miller's Twist at Reading Terminal Market with Phil Smoker, a friend of Trent's from elementary school! We hadn't seen him in quite awhile and it was good to catch up with him.

We didn't celebrate as a family Thursday night because Anne had softball practice so on Friday night we had more cake and ice cream. I think she's going to be very confused this week when it's Abbey's birthday.

sleepy ride home

For those interested in an update on Ruth's blood condition I'll try to explain what we learned. Ruth has a condition called Alpha Thalassemia, Hemoglobin H - Constant Spring Disease. She has only 1 (out of 4) working gene to make the alpha globin, which basically means she produces fewer red blood cells which makes her anemic. The Constant Spring portion of this disease is a more serious condition that leads to a more severe anemia which can lead to problems like a large spleen, gallstones, increased risk for infections, jaundice, and poor growth.

The good news from our appointment is that Ruth is doing really, really well right now. Her spleen was normal, her hemoglobin was 8.1 which was the highest we have seen it since we brought her home. Even operating on a low hemoglobin she has very normal energy levels for a three year old girl. She is to take a folic acid tablet daily, which isn't a big deal. We feel that we are in a good position as a homeschool family to help reduce her risk of contracting illnesses.

The only concerning news from the appointment is her small size. She isn't even on the growth chart. Ruth weighs 20.5 pounds and is 2 feet 7 inches tall. At this time, we are just to monitor her growth closely. As long as she continues on her own curve, we will be fine. If, however, she doesn't grow or drops off even more, we will need to give her blood transfusions to see if that helps.

There is nothing dietary that will fix her condition. And while normally when one is anemic the recommendation is to give an iron supplement, she actually has normal iron levels and we should avoid too much iron and iron fortified foods. We were also given a list of medications that she should not be given as they can cause her to become more anemic.

We were very happy with the care we received at CHOP. We will continue to follow up there, at this point every four months.

I have no doubt that Ruthie will do whatever she desires with her life. She is strong willed and full of personality. Currently her favorite thing (that we're trying to break her of) is to stick out her tongue at me when I tell her, "no". I made the mistake of laughing the first couple of times she did it, and now I'm paying for it. To avoid my scolding she has now started to act like she's trying to touch her tongue to her nose, not stick her tongue out at me.

She is a joy to have in our lives.

Happy 3rd birthday, Ruthie!!

Photo credit: my sistaaaa Stacy Parmarter Photography