...the birth and adoption of our Russian Princess, Jaeci Joanna. Jaeci arrived on October 22, 2008 at 7:57 pm, at Lennox Hill Hospital in New York, New York, less than two blocks away from Central Park on the Upper East Side. She weighed 10.5 pounds, which necessitated a Cesarean delivery, then afterwards she had a little trouble clearing the excess fluid from her lungs, so she was placed in the neonatal intensive care unit for a few days. Like Jaden & Luke, Jaeci has Down syndrome, and she also has a small PDA (patent ductus arteriosis....aka small hole) in her heart which doesn't even require medication, but otherwise, she is very healthy.
The day after Jaeci's birth I caught the first flight out and arrived in Newark, NJ late that evening. Friends who I had stayed with during Luke's adoption last year found the baby and me a place to stay in New York while we wait for NY and KS to approve all the adoption paperwork. The family we're staying with has an adult son with Down syndrome who lives with them, and they were all very excited to help us out. They have lovingly embraced us, and now Jaeci has two new "uncles", Kevin & Steve, and a new "aunt" Jan. What a blessing they have been! We spent Halloween evening roasting marshmallows and making s'mores for all the little trick-or-treaters who paraded by our hosts' driveway.
The day after Jaeci's birth I caught the first flight out and arrived in Newark, NJ late that evening. Friends who I had stayed with during Luke's adoption last year found the baby and me a place to stay in New York while we wait for NY and KS to approve all the adoption paperwork. The family we're staying with has an adult son with Down syndrome who lives with them, and they were all very excited to help us out. They have lovingly embraced us, and now Jaeci has two new "uncles", Kevin & Steve, and a new "aunt" Jan. What a blessing they have been! We spent Halloween evening roasting marshmallows and making s'mores for all the little trick-or-treaters who paraded by our hosts' driveway.
Jaeci's birthparents are both Russian immigrants, and in Russian culture, almost no one keeps their special needs babies. If they survive pregnancy & birth, SN babies are placed in government orphanages, then somewhere between the ages of 4-5, they are transferred to mental institutions, where the vast majority die within the first year due to lack of necessary medical care, therapies, attention, etc., but mostly because they have no one to love them. Even though Jaeci's birthparents live in the US now, most of their family members still live in Russia, and it would have been culturally unacceptable for them to keep her. They both love her very much, but they wanted her to grow up in a loving family who would accept her unquestioningly, instead of being ostracized because of her disability.
We weren't planning or even hoping to adopt another child, but when the Lord unexpectedly brought this precious baby girl into our lives, we couldn't say no. Some might think we're "off our rockers", but we are thrilled to be a part of the Lord's plan for little Jaeci's life. She is so sweet and precious, and we already know she will be a tremendous blessing to our family.
Jaeci and I are now caught in a bit of a legal limbo, approved by NY but still waiting for KS's approval, but we hope to be home within the next few days. I forgot my camera, so I'll have to wait to post more pictures until we get home, but here are two that were taken with my cell phone....
We weren't planning or even hoping to adopt another child, but when the Lord unexpectedly brought this precious baby girl into our lives, we couldn't say no. Some might think we're "off our rockers", but we are thrilled to be a part of the Lord's plan for little Jaeci's life. She is so sweet and precious, and we already know she will be a tremendous blessing to our family.
Jaeci and I are now caught in a bit of a legal limbo, approved by NY but still waiting for KS's approval, but we hope to be home within the next few days. I forgot my camera, so I'll have to wait to post more pictures until we get home, but here are two that were taken with my cell phone....
One more thing...we needed to find a new name for our blog, because it seems eight is NOT enuf. haha (Even though the title of our blog has changed, as far as I know, our blog address will remain the same.) Feel free to come visit here anytime!
