We arrived to our destination about 20 minutes early. The Child Protection Agency is located in what appears to be an older home. Security was laughable compared to what we are used to in Colombia. The gate was open so we walked in and the guard asked who we were there to see. He wasn't even sure about the name we gave him and just pointed us to a door and up the stairs.
We walked up the steep staircase and checked in with the receptionist who told us to take a seat. A few minutes later, Ms. Gocool was introducing herself and led us to the room where the adoption case workers do their work. We saw another familiar face, Ms. Jardine, who asked us to take a seat at her desk while we waited for Aria to arrive. Ms. Jardine asked several questions and then Ms. Gocool brought us to her desk where we signed a document giving us custody. We had been told we'd be required to wait a while and "take it slow" before we could get custody of Aria, but...WE GOT CUSTODY TODAY!
We were then escorted into another room and there she was! Jocelyn was sitting on the couch holding Aria in her arms. She is a beautiful little peanut!
We were able to ask Jocelyn all sorts of questions about Aria and Jocelyn even brought along Aria's bottles and food. We'd been advised by the International Adoption Clinic at the U not to change her food at this point as she is at risk of refeeding syndrome due to her low weight. So we were thankful to know the exact brand that Aria has been eating. Soon it was time for us to go, so we said our goodbyes and headed to the grocery store up the street. We filled our cart full of foods for Aria and snacks for us and then headed back to the Marriott to get settled in.
Our little peanut slept for a couple hours in my arms - she was exhausted!
Once she woke up though, she was quite agitated. I tried to feed her but she wanted nothing to do with it. We've recently been told that Aria doesn't eat well. It's not surprising as she is tiny. But we didn't realize just how difficult it was to feed her. She wouldn't take the bottle Jocelyn had provided. She wouldn't take the bottles we had brought from home. She wouldn't eat from a spoon. All she wanted was her pacifier.
Of course there's been a lot of change for her today and normally I wouldn't be concerned, but with her already low weight, it's so important that she eats. Through trial and error, we discovered that we could trick her into swallowing her food by spooning it into her mouth and then giving her back her pacifier. We did this over and over until her bowl of food was all gone. YAY! Baby steps in the right direction.
We will have custody of Aria until we leave on June 12th and have to leave her behind while the Guyanese Government and our lawyer complete the necessary paperwork for us to return. We are very concerned about this delay not only due to Aria's feeding issues, but due to her likely hydrocephalus that has gone untreated. It was clear when we saw the bulge on the top of her head that the possibility of her having fluid in her skull is quite high.
Please pray for our little peanut that the fluid in her brain goes down and no further brain damage is caused. We will be taking her for a neurology appointment on Monday and hope that the doctor can provide some reassurance. Dr. Dukhi is the one and only neurologist in the entire country so we are hoping he is a good one. He is the one who diagnosed Aria and she has been in his care ever since. Her last neuro appointment with him was missed so we are very concerned for her well-being. Please keep Aria in your prayers.
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