Hey everybody! Sorry I was “quiet” over the weekend… I don’t even have anything overly exciting to share that we did…we hung around, braided hair, watched movies, played games, did some cleaning, went to church and just had a lot of family “down time”. Kind of nice!
O.K., Angela asked about the next “Day in the Life of Me”…well, I missed February because I was in the middle of my “A Year Ago Today” posts, but I promise I will jump back into it for March (as long as you promise not to give me too many “oh my goodness you are nuts” comments). :)

Today I wanted to share some really great Belane news…

Last week got the awesome news that Belane's HIV is already "undetectable". One of the two big tests that they look at to monitor people with HIV is the "viral load" or the amount of HIV in the blood. Last time hers was so high they had to do a second test because the first test they did didn’t “look” high enough. Her viral load ended up being over 200,000 (meaning in approx. one drop of blood, she had over 200,000 "copies" of HIV) back in December, right before starting her meds.

Being "undetectable" means that they are not able to detect any viral load at all, which means it is less than 50 copies per drop of blood. (50 is the smallest amount they can test for). She is not cured, since there is no cure, but it is as close as it gets. It means she only has a miniscule amount of the virus in her system, and when the HIV is this under control it is nearly impossible to transmit, even without precautions (although of course we will use them just to err on the side of caution) and she will not have any physical effects from being HIV+.

The viral load came down so drastically after just six weeks on her medications. We knew that the meds available now are highly effective in treating HIV and we knew that her being “undetectable” was the goal of treatment, but it is really exciting to be there and to have gotten there so quickly.

Of course if we were to stop the meds she would get sick, and she will need to be on medication for life, unless science comes up with something brilliant in her lifetime to change that (which is not out of the realm of possibility when you look at how far treatment has come in the past 10 years!)

So we are really excited and feeling very relieved. She has some lasting physical effects from her HIV being untreated for three years, but the doctors are confident that these minor issues will resolve with a little bit more time on the medications. They are thrilled with how well she is doing. And her health has been great since coming home…she has had little coughs and sniffles here and there, but no fevers or anything significant (knocking on wood) and nothing that really slowed her down at all.

And her hair is growing, her molluscum is clearing up and she has gained a pound. All good things!

In adoption-related stuff, she is doing great too. After her big switch to sleeping in her own room/bed, she has slept all night every night and started napping much better/longer too. It is nice for me to not have to be the only one able to put her to sleep or to have to sit and wait for her to fall asleep every night and then try to sneak out.

She doesn’t seem to remember any Amharic beyond a few words we use, which surprises me. She understands over 90% of what we say to her in English, although she still has “caveman talk” and we are working on building her vocabulary. For instance, if she wanted to tell me that she likes taking a bath, she’d say, “Belaney tub in… fun.” I repeat things back to her using proper English…like I would say, “You think it’s fun to take a bath?” and she says, “Yes!” with a look on her face like, “isn’t that what I just said????”

She is still a big Mommy’s girl, but she adores her Daddy, siblings and dog, and really seems to have found her place in our family. She is just a happy girl!

I can say that the one “orphanage behavior” that we’ve noticed in her, and is fairly common in kids adopted from orphanages, is her need for attention and equality. If I tell Marcus “good job” for something he did, she will invariably do the same thing he just did to try and get a “good job” out of me for her. If Josh or I pick up Marcus, she instantly says, “Belaney up please”. If I tickle Marcus’s feet, she sticks hers up in the air for the same treatment.

I remember sitting in the orphanage and watching all of the kids vie for attention (or candy or whatever)…the quiet kids, or the ones who hung back and waited patiently, didn’t get any. So I completely understand where this comes from.

I do see it disappearing the longer she is with us and the more secure she becomes. We want to send her the message that she isn’t always going to get the exact same treatment as everyone else, but that she will always get oodles and oodles of love and attention, she is as important as everyone else, and she doesn’t have to work for it.

I have noticed her doing it less and less, and she no longer pouts when I tell her “not right now” if she asks to be picked up while I am holding Marcus. I think she knows now that she will get her turn and that there is plenty of Mom and Dad to go around.

I can say that she is one of the snuggliest kids we’ve ever had…she just love to hug and kiss and cuddle (especially with me, and more and more as time goes on with Dad and siblings). She is a love bug.

So, there is the Belane update. Enjoy the pics. She is a camera ham (and is totally faking in this last one)!!