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Emma
From Kristin's email: We've been to Wuhan twice, once in the summer for Emma (dreadfully hot) and then last January for our second daughter, Corinne. Wuhan was cool in late January - we wore heavy sweaters and/or light ski jackets, but Guangzhou was tropical - no coats at all (I packed too many sweaters for the last part of the trip). I would imagine that Wuhan will be 55 F and above in early December. The director of the orphanage and one "caregiver" per baby (someone who held them on the long bus ride, but not necessarily known to the baby) traveled to Wuhan. We got SO little information, it wasn't even clear if Emma was in a foster home or not, but no contact with the foster family was allowed (same with our second adoption). The best you can do for your daughter while in China is to try to get her stabilized and eating (in your case formula). Once Emma adjusted to us, the bottle, the nipple, the temp of the formula (they like it hot), she ate like a newborn (every few hours, even through the night) for several months. We took soy formula and, as it turns it, that was exactly what she needed (a vegetable protein). (I added rice cereal to every bottle to fatten her up). Also, we began a course of antibiotics while in China to combat possible ear infections (it was confirmed when home that all children had ear problems). When we arrived home, we raced to the doctor and had the standard battery of tests. No parasites were indicated, but Emma's liver enzymes were way out of range (5-6x normal), although thankfully all the hepatitis's were negative. This puzzled the doctor and he tested her for enlarged liver (sonogram) and other viruses but never was satisfied that we had found the cause. In six weeks with good food (the formula, plus I used Polyvisol vitamins), the enzymes came into normal range. (Later in one of my natural health books, I found that a protein deficient diet can cause liver problems and that vegetable protein is the best way to heal it). This was also true of the thyroid measurement TSH. She tested deficient in calcium and a few other nutrients correctable by diet. Unfortunately it is the case that some orphanages are wealthier than others. Our second daughter came from a rich orphanage (in the city of Wuhan) by comparison with Tongshan and she was in perfect health and developmentally on target. I truly believe that the Chinese are doing their best with the resources they have, but the distribution of resources is very uneven. |
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