A Month of Miracles: Heidi’s first month home

One month home with Heidi Grace! 

This month has been nothing short of miraculous. Before we brought Heidi home we had been given a laundry list of possible diagnoses. A full three pages typed, single spaced of conditions, syndromes and scenarios. 

Yet we still felt God calling us to her; to parent a vulnerable child regardless of our fears. 

This month has been completely exhausting, hard, and beautiful. 

Heidi has learned to be less and less afraid everyday. She learned to sit in a high chair. First without a bib or tray as they scared her. But soon she was sitting up strong with both bib and tray. A miracle from the screaming child we first attempted to feed in China. 

She loved the swing right away!

The three amigos! These three have the best times together. 

Heidi’s first week home included tagging along to Ruth’s ENT appointment, her own appointment with our family doctor, and a stop at the Solanco fair to see her sister’s show their lambs. She had a pretty big set back after going to the fair (lots of crying) so we tried to stick close to home in the following three weeks. 

Heidi visited the dentist 10 days after coming home and was officially diagnosed with gingivitis. The way to heal that was by brushing her teeth and allowing her gums to bleed. Exactly one week later her gums bled for the last time. A few days after her gums stopped bleeding she smiled when I brushed her teeth. Another miracle for Heidi. 

I had the immeasurable joy of being able to rock her to sleep for the first time. What a privilege to have earned her trust. 

She loves the sunshine and beautiful weather. A sure way to cheer her up is to take her outside. 

Two weeks of being home we noticed that Heidi started to “wake up” or come alive to the world around her. This excited face is when she noticed our chickens for the first time and thought they were the funniest things she has ever seen. 

She’s learning that baths are pretty great and her big sisters are funny. 

I love the expressions on their faces. 

Heidi had her first visit with the eye doctor on October 1 and ran the gambit of emotions. Her original paperwork mentioned ROP (retinopathy of premature infants). Her eyes are completely healed! Another miracle for Heidi! She is nearsighted and will need glasses in the near future but she wasn’t fully cooperative and the doctor didn’t think her vision was so poor that we needed to push it. Instead we will revisit them in 4 months and will likely receive her glasses at that time. 

Sad from the dilating drops. 

Happy from selfie mode. 

Irritated by these sunglasses. 

How she felt about me for putting her through the eye exam. 

She was extraordinarily happy to come home to her sisters. 

On October 2 Heidi had her assessment with the IU 13’s birth to three program. It was discouraging to see just how low she scored on everything. We made a plan and picked her two weakest areas to focus on. One is her inability to suck and chew. The second is her lack of interest in toys and her inability to pick toys up or play with them. Since she scored at the level of an infant we realized we need to meet her where she’s at. She can’t bang two toys together if she can’t even pick up a toy. 

A couple friends filled in the gap to provide some baby toys that we didn’t have. 

In just a couple of days we were seeing more miracles unfold. 

We began ending her lunches and dinners with a spoonful of whipped cream for her to touch and put into her mouth. The first time she cried when I put it on her hand. The second time she didn’t cry but was very unsure. After just a few days she began touching it on her own and sucking the cool whip off her fingers. 

Here she’s examining her hands. 

Success! This may not seem like much but for a child who was previously force fed this is enormous progress. She is learning that food is fun and tastes good, too. She’s learning that her hands can be used as tools to feed herself. These are all things she should have learned but never did. Again, we can’t build on what isn’t there so we are providing her with the support she needs to make improvements. 

Heidi learned to blow kisses (in her own way) on October 5. What a treat when I put her to bed and blew her three kisses to receive  those back. 

Our biggest miracle came on October 10. She noticed a maraca in the living room. She crawled over to it. She picked it up and shook it for about 30 seconds. She transferred it from her right to left hand. She shook it for another few seconds before dropping it. A goal we had made just 8 days before was that she would notice toys and play with them appropriately. Only eight days and before receiving any therapy she is starting to meet goals! 

On that same day she picked up a different toy and put it in her mouth. I know most parents are wanting to discourage this behavior around her age but since she previously wouldn’t allow anything in her mouth but a spoon and the fact that this is very “normal” behavior, you better believe we celebrated and cheered. 

Heidi is the best sleeper (praise Jesus!). She goes to bed around 8 pm and wakes up at 8 am. She naps from about 2-5 pm. She doesn’t appreciate being woken up early from her naps. She was initially taking a morning rest from 10-11 but we stopped that this past week as she was no longer seeming overwhelmed from the stimulation. 

We have done more “cocooning” with Heidi than we did with Ruthie. Since Heidi had so many caretakers previously we needed to establish who mom and dad and siblings are before allowing her to be held by other people. Today, at one month home we went to pizza Sunday at my moms house for the first time. Heidi and my mom hit it off. It brought me so much joy to watch Heidi mimic my mom (another new skill!!) and laugh and laugh and laugh. I don’t know that I’ve ever heard her laugh as hard as she did when she was playing with my mom. It was so beautiful. 

She also thought her cousin Emma’s sweatshirt was fun to pull on the strings. Again! Using her hands in a way she couldn’t one month ago. 

We’re excited to see what this next month holds for Heidi the Brave. We are so thankful she doesn’t have to be brave alone anymore. So many of her self-soothing and concerning behaviors that we saw in China are almost nonexistent after just one month home. We are looking forward to venturing out a tiny bit more and reestablishing our routine visits with Trent’s parents and my mom. I’m hopeful that this month will involve fewer doctor appointments and more days at home. 

I’m so grateful for all the love and support you all have shown us. All I can really say is that God is good. 

Enjoy some sweet Heidi photos and be amazed at what love can do. 

Happy one month home, Heidi Grace!