Mid-September

Jo Franklin just sent me these precious pictures of Karis...and she totally understands the heart of a mama whose baby girl is so far away! You can tell that she's walked this road before...she took the extra time to email the pictures to me from Ethiopia!



















Jo's note via facebook:
Took pics or your sweet baby girl yesterday. I will try to send them to you soon. Computer stuff is slow here.She looks great and healthy. I loved her adorable chubby cheeks. She was wearing a 0-3 month outfit and it fit her well.

Can I just say that my arms are physically aching to hold this baby girl? No exaggeration...I miss her so much. But I know people have been praying for us...this past month I've had nothing but pure and painful joy in the blessing of this baby. Court opens in 10 days!!!!!

September Videos!

We were so thankful to receive these pictures and video clips from Dottie Raymer, who was just in Ethiopia to bring home her 15 year old son! I had mailed Dottie a care package to take, and included a picture of her so she would know for whom she was looking!

I ALMOST did not include the little pink hat she's wearing, because it's so tiny it's almost ridiculous. I nearly just gave it to Anna for her dolls. But, I know they like to put the babies in hats, and that if it was too small for Karis, another baby would benefit from it. So I was quite surprised to see it on her little head!


She's definitely chunking up...bittersweet, I guess, to have her growing and changing so quickly! I'm so thankful that she's healthy!

August Update!!!

We finally received our long awaited monthly update!  (Goodness...I say "finally" like it's six months past due or something.  It is, after all, only Sep. 2nd)!  It's been obvious from pictures we've received that she is growing, so I've been so curious to see actual numbers on how much she has grown.  Well, since her referral to us on 7/16, she's put on 2 and a 1/2 lbs, 5 cm in length, and 2 and a 1/2 cm. in head circumference!  Looking at her feeding schedule (copied in the update below), it's no wonder!






The fun part is that I just sent over this purple outfit this past week with a traveling family (it's common practice to send over care packages and consent to have your child photographed by families who are traveling for their own court dates or embassy dates).  It's a NB size outfit, and it looks like it fits her really well! All the information we received is copied below!


August Update Information!!!
Name: Lemlem Milligan
Measurements: 
Taken on: August 31,2010 
Weight: 10 pounds 
Height: 58 cm (22.8 inches)
Head Circumference: 38 cm
Eating/Health: She takes 5 ounces of formula seven times per day. She had rash on her neck on August 17th; she was treated with Zinc Oxide. She had URTI on August 23rd; she was treated with Cotrimoxazole syrup. She has occasional cough.
Development/Physical: She follows moving objects with her eyes. She making sounds like e,e,e…
Personality/Other Comments: She doesn’t like to be held. She likes to be rocked in rocky bed. She smiles when the nannies play with her.
Questions
1. What is Lemlem’s daily schedule (eating, sleeping, awake times)?
She takes nap almost after every feeding for 1-2 hours during the day. She eats at 6am, 9am, 12am, 3pm, 6pm, 10pm, and 2am. She sleeps well at night waking twice for feeding and diaper change.
2. Does Lemlem smile, and if so, what makes her smile?
She smiles when the nannies play with her making funny sounds.
3. Can she hold her head steady when being held upright, or does she still need her head supported?
Yes, She needs her head supported.
4. Does she go to sleep on her own, or is she rocked to sleep?
She likes to be rocked to sleep.
5. When she is fussy, what soothes her the best?
She gets comforted when she gets her bottle with formula and is rocked on her rocky bed.