Photo: Cora, 9 months, prior to adoption





Lulu, on the other hand, did fairly well. In the beginning, she averaged about one screaming/crying fit per day, and they gradually tapered off over time. There were periods when she was obviously sad, angry or confused, but she handled them incredibly well and we were able to talk through most of them. (This is a major reason I’m such a huge advocate of studying your child’s language while you’re waiting, if you’re adopting internationally). Lulu was generally open to new foods, new experiences and new people in her life, and has remained that way ever since. The biggest area of concern at homecoming was that she didn’t know how to do anything academically – not even a lot of kindergarten-level stuff. She didn’t know any letters and numbers (except by rote memorization) and didn’t really know how to draw objects.

Now, six months later, our kids have blossomed. In many ways we are still facing delays and challenges, but in others we’ve been pleasantly surprised at the progress they’ve made. Cora, in particular, has blown our socks off. Maybe it’s because she was so incredibly delayed when she came home (plus has low vision due to her albinism) that her progress appears to be so stellar. She now walks and runs, uses more words than I can count and puts words together into sentences. She is making incredible gains in PT and OT and her vision seems to be better than we originally thought. The cherry on top is that she is INCREDIBLY sweet and loving and intuitive. Nobody in our family can resist her hugs and affection. Her albinism will present ongoing challenges, especially once she reaches school age and begins reading, but we are nothing but impressed with the way she has overcome so much and turned out to be such an amazing little girl.

Photo: Cora at home




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