Attachment & All That Jazz

Yesterday was a very long day for Lydia and me. It seemed as though I had been trying to get out the door to do some grocery shopping for hours. When Lydia and I finally got to the store, she was well-fed, diapered, and even had a nap. Nevertheless, shopping was a challenge since I am still in a walking boot for a foot stress fracture. Also, I carried Lydia in a baby carrier as I wasn't sure either one of us was ready for her to sit in a shopping cart. Our family is still trying to teach Lydia not to hit or scratch - at times, she will grab a fistful of skin, usually on our face, and pull and twist. She did this a couple of times in the store making the trip just that much more interesting. Later in the day I asked Michael if he was seeing signs of her attaching to us. He said he definitely saw progress in her with each new day.

This morning, Lydia and I headed out bright and early to the diagnostic lab at the hospital for blood tests. Little Liddy - our nickname for her - sat on my lap in the waiting room chatting with me about the paintings on the wall, the plant, etc. - I am never quite sure if she is speaking some Chinese words or just baby talk but it's still fun to hear her talk! When I handed the doctor's orders to the lab tech, she commented that this baby was going to have a lot of blood drawn and that she was not going to be so happy in a few minutes. I thought that had to be the understatement of the day since my little Liddy went ballistic at the pediatrician's on Monday when he just held her arm to look at it after the TB test. Liddy was still talking to me as we went to one of the rooms for her blood to be drawn. She was still talking as we sat down in the chair together. The talk turned to screams and shrieks when the lab tech gently examined one of her arms for a vein. Thankfully, the lab tech was extremely calm as she examined both arms and then her feet looking for a visible vein. All the while, Liddy was screaming and crying - her whole head was wet with tears and sweat. Her face turned beat red then almost purple! The interesting thing was that while her body became rigid and she screamed, she never fought me! The tech finally found a vein and we prepared ourselves for an increase in Liddy's crying when the needle was put in her arm. She was already so agitated, it did not seem as though she even was aware of the needle. When all 4 or 5 tubes were filled, the needle was removed and Liddy twisted around to hold onto me. All screaming stopped and she began to quickly calm down with lots of heaving sighs. The lab tech surmissed that little Lydie had probably had a very traumatic experience at a medical clinic at some point to explain her behavior. A few minutes later, I held Liddy in the car in the parking lot and gave her a snack. We both needed a few minutes to relax after this ordeal! She sat there contentedly eating her little snack and smiling at me. I thought about the past two days ups and downs. I remembered how when she was put in my arms for the first time in China, she did not cry but held on tight and how quickly Michael can get her to laugh. We will probably never know the details of little Liddy's life before she became our daughter - and while that is hard, it is something we understood from the beginning. But today, Liddy showed us in a big way that she is attaching to us and that she is learning to trust us. Our prayer had always been that God would go before us and prepare our child's heart to receive our love. We are seeing this prayer being answered right before our eyes.

Please continue to pray for her health - news reports continue to show an ever widening impact due to the contamination of milk powder products. Several children from many different orphanages in China have been diagnosed with kidney stones.

For the glory of His name