Days of Elijah - Day 1

Today was the long awaited day!!! We met Elijah for the first time!!!  I’ll go ahead and put the pictures at the top so you don’t have to scroll down to see them. J

 What a sweetheart!!!


Our train got in just after 11am and our driver met us there. Our first stop was the social workers office. Marina brought her a special cake from the capital city. Always good for her to stay on the social workers good side! We sat down with her and she asked us about our family, our home and why we would want a child with Down syndrome if we have 5 healthy children. A very normal question and one that we will hear again at court I’m sure (and the orphanage director asked us later too). She was happy to look at our photo album too. Next stop was the orphanage! The “detsky dom” (I think that’s right anyway) – the baby house. Since it was getting into lunch time, we went up to his “groupa” to meet him first! (For those that have been here and will be coming, his groupa is down the hall to the right from the front door, up the stairs past the stain-glass window, and right at the top of the stairs.) After we got up there, we heard a child crying. Come to find out, it was Elijah because he didn’t want to leave his meal. He had finished his first course, and had seen his second course when they took him out of there. Poor little guy…

The nurse brought him out to us. Oh my…there he was in the flesh. Our sweet Elijah Joseph! The moment we (and so many others) had prayed for. They handed him to me and he wrapped his arms around me. Oh, what a wonderful feeling! He stayed like that for just a bit, and then he must have remembered his meal. He gave quite the pouty look (3rd picture). The nurses said he was sensitive. He’ll fit in just fine in our family. LOL Then, Papa (Daddy) got a chance to hold him for just a bit. He gave Pat a hug too. I was a bit surprised by that actually, as sometimes kids in orphanages are not used to men and are a bit scared of them sometimes. Elijah didn’t seem to mind him though. The only man we saw at the orphanage was the orphanage director, and I doubt he has much interaction with the kids.


Oh, Mom, in case you are wondering, I did cry when I was holding him, but not as much as I thought. At least you can’t see the tears dripping off my face in the 3rd photo. LOL

We also learned some great news! The nurses were proud to show us how he can walk! We were expecting him not to be walking, so that was a pleasant surprise. They also said he can feed himself (assume that means from a bowl).

Next, it was time to meet w/ the orphanage director. He asked basically the same questions the social worker did (except not as much about our house). The orphanage doctor went through his medical records w/ us. There is still some concern about his heart. The doc said there was a question mark on the form where it asked if he still needed surgery. This isn’t a surprise to us though. The pediatric cardiologist is 2nd on our list after we check in with our pediatrician. His kidney issue he was listed with on RR doesn’t seem to be an issue, but of course, we will get it checked at some point.