Maria-Jacinta's Family
Note: Sol-Alexa’s name was changed to Maria-Jacinta in 1/2024
Hello! Our little family is so excited to be on this adventure! Our family is made up of myself (Teresa, 35 on July 16), Landon (41, also as of July 16, yes we throw a party for ourselves every year), Thérèse-Marie (Tuh-Rez, nickname Tessi, 20 months) and our newest member, 2 month old Sol-Alexa (nicknamed Solie, Sunny or Sola).
Our journey has been an interesting one and NDSAN has had a huge role. We were first placed on the registry in July 2021. We saw 21 cases by November 2021. Tessi's case came to us on November 16, 2021, she was just 24 hours old. She did not have DS but had suffered an in utero impact injury that caused oxygen deprivation to her brain, and complete failure of her kidneys and liver. We knew she was meant to be ours even if she only ever got well enough to come home and be held, cuddled, and loved for her time on Earth.
We placed with Tessi on November 22, 2021 and spent 54 more days in the NICU in Austin, Texas with her before she was well enough to come home. Her NICU gold medals include spontaneous bowel perforation resulting in 1 foot of bowel removed, an ileostomy for 6 weeks and hyperbilirubinemia (at one point her totally bilirubin levels hit 172). She has Stage 3 Chronic Kidney Disease and is medically complex.
In November of 2022, 6 months after finalizing Tessi's adoption and just a week before her birthday, Landon asked me if I wanted to adopt again. We joke that my yes to this was filled with more excitement then my yes to his proposal .
We started the process of updating our profile, homestudy, and information and went live on NDSAN in March 2023.
We matched with Sol-Alexa's birth parents, Mama E and Papa J, in early May. Sola was due to arrive in early June. We met with the agency and Mama E and Papa J on May 12 where we found out Sola would be arriving the next week due to some complications! Talk about a fast turn around.
After a long induction Sol-Alexa made her appearance earthside on Friday, May 19. Since then, she has been trying to one up Tessi for NICU gold medals including requiring a bowel resection on May 28! Competitive already it seems!
Overall, Sol-Alexa is doing very well and we were able to discharge the from the hospital on July 12, 2023.
Tessi and Solie already have a sweet bond and Mama E keeps saying that they were always meant to be sisters as they look so much alike but share no blood. Sol-Alexa is full Mexican and Tessi is half.
With Tessi we have a closed adoption per her birth parents request. They never met us nor her. So having an open adoption with Solie's birth parents is quite different (in a very good way), they have expressed that they want a relationship with Tessi as well and view her as "a bonus daughter" we are already planning for big 1st Communions and Quinceaneras for the girls. Landon and I are so grateful to Mama E and Papa J, not only for giving us the honor of raising Sol-Alexa but equally for their love of Tessi and their willingness to share the Mexican culture with the girls and Landon and myself.
I've always said adoption is beautiful. Adoption of two special/medical needs children is more beautiful than I could have imagined.
June 2024
We wanted to send an update on Sol-Alexa. Her adoption was finalized in January of 2024, at which point her name changed to Maria-Jacinta (big sister, Thérèse-Marie *Tessi*, calls her Mimi). Our Mimi is pure sunshine! She lights up every room she is in. In late January, she was diagnosed with West Syndrome, which is an Infantile Spasm Seizure Disorder. Following a couple of hospital stays and an intense course of steroid treatment, she is in full remission. Unfortunately, the seizures caused damage, and so sweet Mimi is developmentally around 4 to 6 months old at this time. In good news, she doesn't seem at all bothered by her delays and spends her days rolling around after big sister, Tessi, making all kinds of noises, happy shouts, playing with her toes and cuddling with Mama and Daddy.
Shortly after her West Syndrome diagnosis, the neurologist asked us why we did not seem upset by the news that Mimi may not walk until 5 or 6 years old and possibly not at all. The answer is pretty simple, the seizures had taken her ability to laugh and smile, her ability to play with her sister. After treatment was finished, those things came back. Our happy, smiley, sunshine girl had her sparkle back. That's all we wanted for her. We wanted her to be able to enjoy her life with family. Any other milestone she masters is just icing on the cake.
Maria-Jacinta is the best, most pure example of God's love for us. she is happy to be held, cuddled, kissed, and cooed at. And in a lot of ways, that's how God wants us all to be. She reminds us every day to find joy in the small things.
Mimi's summer plans include trips to the zoo to see and feed the giraffes, swinging in her pink swing outside, swimming with Tessi, learning to sit up, and eating lots of applesauce, ice cream and chocolate pudding! And we can't forget her daily favorite, napping on the couch with Daddy!
