LWB Community

Formula for Babies: LWB’s Featured Project of the Week

Quality formula, which comes at a premium price, is essential for babies to grow and thrive, particularly when they have medical needs. Last December we received the unexpected news that Nestogen, our formula of choice, would no longer be available in China. We have switched to Lactogen, a formula that is produced by the same company and has a similar formulation; however this formula comes with a price tag that is almost twice that of Nestogen. Read more.

Gracie

We first learned about little Gracie when she was enrolled in one of our nutrition programs in Guangdong Province. As soon as we were sent her photo, we began to get opinions on how to best help her. We learned from several physicians who looked at her pictures that she was most likely born with a condition known as Treacher Collins Syndrome.

Children with this condition have issues with their facial structure, but they usually have normal intelligence. We first posted Gracie’s photo to our Facebook page several months ago, and the response was just incredible. Read more.

Jiangmen: LWB’s Featured Project of the Week

These little ones, lined up to have their photo taken, are part of our nutrition program in Jiangmen, Guangdong Province. The program started in 2011 when an adoptive parent brought to our attention the need these children have for nutritious formula.

Our program is small as it is new, but we serve about ten babies and toddlers. We send a shipment of formula quarterly and receive new photos of the children in return. With rising formula costs, it is becoming harder and harder to keep our babies’ bottles full! You can make a difference in the life of a child through a suggested monthly sponsorship of at least $20 per month or a one-time donation in any amount. Read more.

An Adoption Story: PeiPei

From time to time, we love to feature adoption stories of children who were profiled on the LWB blog. It’s incredible to see children who so many hoped and prayed to find a family finally have that opportunity! We think you’ll enjoy reading this adoption story about a little boy who was in an orphanage that is part of our orphanage assistance program. His winsome smile and sweet expression touched the heart of his future mom, and this is the story of how they became a family.

In 2003 we adopted our first daughter, Sophia, a beautiful infant girl from Hunan, China. Four years later we adopted our second daughter, Aimei, a precious two-year old girl from Anhui, China. We were pretty sure that we were “done” adding to our family. But, there was always a nagging thought that perhaps one more, a boy, would be just right. Read more.

Mickey’s Shy Smile: Worth the Wait!

In the interest of adoption, LWB Community will be profiling some waiting children whose orphanages have asked for help in finding families for them. However, we do want to be clear that these children are not in LWB programs, and we have no personal knowledge of them.

Some kids can’t get enough of the camera, hamming it up and grinning like movie stars. Mickey is not one of these kids! The woman taking these photos had a difficult time persuading him to face the camera. So she waited and waited to catch the moment he smiled. It looks like her patience paid off in these darling photos! Read more.

Life’s a Stage for Leo

Little Leo has been featured on our blog on several occasions (“Little Leo, All Bundled Up” and “Snuggly Leo”) and always looks so sweet and cuddly. Well, now that he has turned four, Leo is as darling as ever!  Even as a toddler, he loved singing and dancing. Now that he is older, he listens to the teacher very carefully during music class. Once he learns a song, he shakes his head in time with the rhythm when singing and sings without stopping. If the music has a strong beat, he seems to dance instinctively. He becomes absorbed in the music, and it’s fun to see how much passion he has. Read more.

Nutrition: LWB’s Featured Need of the Week

LWB provided nutritious formula to two orphanages when it first began over eight years ago. Since that time our nutrition program has expanded to serve children residing in numerous orphanages throughout China. Quality formula is essential for babies to grow and thrive, particularly when they have medical needs. We use only quality formula, which, unfortunately, comes at a premium price.

In December we received the unexpected news that Nestogen, our formula of choice, will no longer be available in China. We plan to switch to Lactogen, a formula that is produced by the same company and has a similar formulation. This formula will meet our babies’ needs but comes with a price tag that is almost twice that of Nestogen’s. We now have the difficult task of telling the orphanages that, without additional funds, we must send half the amount of formula. Please help us keep our babies’ bottles full! Read more.

Care Packages to China

Over the holidays, we had a call from an orphanage who had been sent a care package from a kind and well-meaning adoptive parent. Unfortunately the package had been stuck in customs, and since there were multiple items inside the parcel, the customs agent was insisting on charging the orphanage a $60 fee to pick it up. The orphanage staff had to go into the city several times to fill out paperwork before the package could be released, which took quite a bit of their time as well. Once we had worked out the details of this last package, the orphanage director suggested that while they appreciate the good intentions, perhaps we could let adoptive parents know that packages often cost them precious money and time to pick up, depending on each city’s customs rules.

We know everyone sends packages with such good and kind intentions, but we felt it was important to point out some of the issues that can arise when a package is mailed to an orphanage in China. One orphanage was once hit with a $125 customs fee for a large box that a parent had sent. Read more.

Counting Down Our Top Ten Photos of 2011: Peeking Out

Number three in our Top Ten Photos of 2011 is preciouis Yi. Baby Yi is part of our nutrition program in the Guangdong Province. She is a very sweet baby with a mild personality who loves to smile when her nannies tickle her. Yi was born with thalassemia, and she needs to go to the hospital for blood transfusions once a month.

We love this beautiful photo of her peeking out of her crib. Her nanny says she loves to be held most of all… and we think very few people could resist picking up such a beautiful little girl. We hope that a family will choose baby Yi in 2012 so that she can continue receiving the medical care she will need long-term.

Counting Down Our Top Ten Photos of 2011: He Did It!

When we first saw this photo, we laughed out loud as little Guang looks like he is firmly placing the blame on someone else. As part of our orphanage assistance program, families can send baby formula to their child’s orphanage as a gift, and this photo was taken shortly after a shipment had arrived in Xinyang. We are so happy that Guang was adopted this year, and we have heard the great news that his family is completely in love! Read more.