Just reading back through notes to friends and remembered that Sophia was home 4 weeks before she dared get out of bed in the morning.
I'm not sure how things worked at the orphanage, but the flatness of the back of her head and the scarring on her wrist tells me she was tied down on her back in her crib - we've read many accounts of this happening in Chinese orphanages in rural areas due to lack of help on the overnight shift. The way she is very flexible at her waist, but her back moves as one unit reiterates that. I think she could reach her toes, but not lift her head the way she was restrained.
Now when she's in Gymnastics, they tell us she has great core strength for someone her age I think it's because she's used those muscles to pull her feet up to her face so often to keep herself entertained when tied on her back. However when she tries to do a somersault, it's more like a front flip because her back doesn't "roll" the way you'd expect. She smoothly bends and puts her head on the ground and then her whole spine flops over together, without rolling or curling
Anyway, on the morning that she'd been home 4 weeks, she got out of bed by herself and came in and stood in the doorway and said, "Hi!" and it was a big deal for her because she'd been afraid to get out of bed on her own prior to that.
2 comments:
Wow, that's so sad, then happy! I know she'll continue to thrive in your loving home!
Lori - reading this kills me. My husband tells me that his experience in the Philippines is similar in that the babies/little ones had flat heads and backs - but mostly because they had nothing to sleep on but the hard floor. All of their bodies would adapt to that. Although I'm afraid in the cases you've read about the orphanages, you're probably more accurate - which is just so sad.
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