Long's First Year

About this time last year we got a call from an orphanage in a central province that had heard about our work.  They wanted to learn more about our programs and whether we would be able to help some of their children.  We told them more about our projects, and explained that while we provide care to infants with many different needs, premature babies could benefit immensely from the special care in our home.

The orphanage leaders were very interested when they heard that, because they just happened to have a tiny premature baby in their nursery.  This little guy only weighed about two pounds and the caregivers weren't sure they could provide what he needed to grow and thrive.

 

We agreed to accept the small baby, and were particularly excited about the timing because we had just (two days before) received our first warmers from Embrace.  Embrace makes a low cost, effective warmer that is perfect for tiny babies who need a little help maintaining a stable body temperature.  You can learn more about Embrace here.  One of our staff left right away to go pick up the baby.

Baby Long was stable when she arrived at his orphanage, and it was clear that he was a determined little fighter.  She bundled him up and brought him back to our home on the bullet train.

Little Long made the trip safely and settled in to our preemie unit.  He weighed just 2lbs exactly (930g).

Here he is staying warm with Embrace:

 

When he was about three weeks old he became sick with pneumonia and anemia; he was hospitalized and received blood transfusions.

He recovered quickly and came back home; he hadn't gained weight while he was sick, but as soon as he was home he did really well.  His weight came up quickly.  Here he is at about 5 weeks of age, tiny, but you can see those little cheeks starting to fill out:

 

At six weeks you can really see how bright and alert he was:

 

Yet he was still barely the size of a child's doll:

 

Here he is at 2 months:

By three months his delightful personality started to emerge:

 

And by six months he was starting to look like just any other baby:

At nearly 8 months he was still small, but strong and healthy and catching up developmentally:

At 11 months he had become a handsome, mischevious little guy:

 

Looking back now, it's hard to believe how far he's come.   Who could believe this adorable little boy is the same tiny baby who came to us a year ago?

Happy Birthday, Long!

October 2013 adoption update here.