IAC First Appt

Wednesday we took AK to her first appointment at IAC.  I was not prepared for what this visit was going to be about.  The appointment lasted three hours.  Everyone at the office was extremely nice and patient with us and AK.  AK weighed 20 lbs and 32" tall or 30% weight and 50% height.  We knew she was tracking taller than Bennett. 

We first met with the family therapist.  She was extremely nice and knowledgeable.  She herself was an adoption child from China.  She confirmed many of the techniques we are using.  For example, we use modeling to show AK how to be gentle, not throw things, to pick up stuff, to hug, etc.  When AK does something bad, we use time-in.  Which means she is in time-out, but not excluded from us.  We are always present with her.  She also gave us advice on a bedtime routine.  Since AK will not go in her crib at all, she suggested we convert it to a toddler bed.  She said it was unsure at this time if she was still suffering from jet lag.  Jet lag can last 14 days.  She wanted us to try to get AK off the couch and into her room/bed.  If we could accomplish this over the next week, we would contact her to prescribe some medicine. 

Then, we met with Dr. Kiser who looked over AK.  She said from a physical point of view (weight, height, and physical appearance) that AK looks great.  Also, developmentally she seems to be great.  We will not know what challenges we face until after AK's evaluation by the Spina Bifida specialist.  We did point out to the doctor these two raised areas by her ear.  She called them ear tags.  She said they are a sign of kidney issues.  This may be related to the cysts that were reported to us. 

Finally, we went to the lab for blood work.  They took eight vials of blood.  Luckily, when we were in the exam room, we met a lady with her Chinese son next door to our room.  They were back for their second appointment.  She gave us a sucker for AK having known how much blood they were going to take.  The sucker was much needed to calm AK down after that experience. 

So for now, we wait on the blood test results.  We are also doing stool samples that we take back to test for parasites.  We were warned that most kids have parasites, but with a round of antibiotics that it goes away.  Please continue to pray for good results as we test a new bedtime routine.