[tarynbrook]

We finally know who our child is! It's a girl, and her name is Tabita! She was born July 20, 2003, although we think she looks older than 7.5 months. We are so excited, and we anxiously wait for her lab results to come back so that we can proceed with her adoption! We hope and pray that she is as healthy as she looks! The process in Haiti may end up taking more time than we had hoped, but after seeing her little face we have no choice but to wait! We are thinking of calling her Tabitha Ashlyn. I just had to share our joy!
~ Taryn

[tarynbrook]

I'll try to attach the photos...

[tarynbrook]

here's a close up of her!

[saj]

she looks much older then 7.5 months. I would peg her at least 1year old. Look how she is pulling herself up. And her hair is sooo long. She's a doll. Is she in a safe place? Things are so ugly there now.....prayers are with you.
Sincerely,
Saj

[nikki1217]

She's such a cutie! I love the name. Yes she has to be older than 7.5 months! I'd say ATLEAST a year old, if not close to 2 yrs old. Good luck to you!

[Jeanne21]

She is absolutely adorable... I would love to adopt from Haiti one day...

As for her age, I would look at her teeth... see how many she has as a way of telling her age... My friend's baby is 1.5 and at 6 months, whenever she brought him out, everyone though he was 1+ years. He was just a big baby. Also, babies from Haiti tend to develop gross motor skills before babies in the US and Canada. This is because mothers (or nannies) tend to work and develop their baby's muscles more. This means that it would not be uncommon for a child of about 9 months to be walking. I would not take her ability to raise herself with her hands as meaning she is older either...

[Jensboys]

As a mother of two aa children and two cc children, I also think that aa children, particularly if you are not aa yourself or around lots of aa kids, tend to look older in pics to cc people.

My aa sons pictures around 4 months of age -- most think he is a year. LOTS of hair, darker skin, bigger eyes all contribute to an older look.

Also, my nephew (cc) was walking at 6 and a half months -- ALOT is genetic, ALOT is environment (our bio son didnt walk until 16 months, same age as I walked at).

My 20 month old neice (aa) had her portrait done and EVERYONE thinks she is at least 4.

So saying all that -- read the doctors reports carefully ... but she could very well just be a well fed 8 month old

Also, my prayers are with you. You must be SICK watching the situation down there.

[spaypets]

The photos brought tears to my eyes because that so solemn look with those big brown eyes look like the photos of my daughter when she was in the orphanage in India. We never saw a picture of her smiling (she didn't smile until we were in the plane over Greenland). Now she's the happiest, smiling little girl.

It's hard to tell in photos how big a child is -- my daughter looked huge because she was held by a tiny woman. She was only 18 lbs at 18 months though.

[fang_grl]

Taryn,

I'm not adopting from Haiti (although I'd love to) but I had to tell you that Tabita is beautiful! Congratulations!!

~ b ~

[tarynbrook]

Thank you all so much for your kind words and personal advice! We are very much in love with this little girl and are still waiting to hear more news and information on her. I hope that we can put a smile on her face soon, in fact that was the first thing her Daddy said when he saw her. I appreciate all of the messages, and I will stop in to tell you when we find out more about her age and health. Bye for now!
~ Taryn

[autumny]

Congratulations! She is absolutely gorgeous! She looks about 8 months to me. My african american neighbor has a dd the same age as my 16 mont old. She started walking, by herself, at 9 months! Some babies are just strong and busy. That fat neck and those chubby cheeks say less than a year to me. My dd is asian and was pulling up and starting to cruise by 8.5 months. I think they are on the money and you have a very healthy little baby waiting for you. You are all in my prayers.

Autumn

[ModernMother]

Wow she sure is a doll!!!

[redhedded]

Though I am a little late, never looking at this board, I wanted to extend my congratulations! Tabita is a beauty. I cannot imagine how hard the wait is for you; I hope that you will all be together soon.

[tarynbrook]

Thanks for all the new congratulations! We are still waiting to hear more about Tabitha and we can't wait for the Haitian government to start moving with adoptions. It may be a long wait, but we aren't going anywhere and as soon as it is safe to visit her, we will be on a plane to Port Au Prince to meet our baby
~ Taryn