Namrata Hepsibah Ninan

This morning, we welcomed Namrata Hepsibah Ninan into our family.

We had begun to hear last week about this little girl who had been matched to our family, and came to Bangalore yesterday to meet her.

I am now blogging well after midnight....it has been an action packed day!

Namrata is almost six months old. This is the first picture we saw of her.



She is small for her age, weighing only about 5 kgs, (we do not know exactly how much yet) but looks a lot like Anand. She seems to be much quieter. We have hardly heard a squeak from her all day, except when she is hungry. She does not seem to eat as much as Anand used to....is that because she is a girl? She also seems to have a respiratory infection right now, with some fever.

As the day progressed, she began to seem more at ease, and we were treated to her beautiful smile from time to time.

I've tried to upload some of our first pictures onto Flickr. You will have to click on the photo to see a larger view, and then click on a small magnifying glass that appears above the photo, to view an even larger view. Another option is to sign in to view these photos with your Yahoo account.

Anand meets Namrata

The two beautiful women in our family now


The rest of the day went by in an excited blur. Phone calls from friends and family. A steady stream of visitors. Philosophical discussions. A health scare, and a couple of urgent Xrays (which were normal). A Homecoming Cake-cutting party with a fabulous cake baked by Joanne. Video chatting with family in Delhi. Trying to set up new routines (feeding bottles, milk and boiled water, nappies, etc, etc) and so on.

Anand has taken the changes exceptionally well. He brought a gift with him from Vellore to give to his baby sister, and has been excited and happy all day. He also seems to be trying to do his bit to make his sister feel comfortable and happy, and to help his mother.

I will be going back to Vellore on Monday, but Arpita, Anand and Namrata will stay on in Bangalore till it is possible to take the baby to Vellore. Please do pray for the adoption process.....especially that all the legal paperwork will be completed speedily, and without any unexpected complications.

Just a short explanation about why we have chosen this name for our baby daughter.

Namrata Hepsibah Ninan.....doesn't it sound like a mouthful for such a tiny person!

Namrata : We took this name from Matt 11:29 ("I am gentle (नम्र ) and humble in heart") and from 1 Pet 3:4 ("let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle (नम्र ) and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious.)

Hepsibah from another verse (Isaiah 62:4) which seemed precious and especially appropriate for us and for this precious child...."You shall no more be termed Forsaken.....but you shall be called (Hepsibah) My Delight Is in Her"

Please do continue to keep us in prayer, especially as we are going to be in two different places for some time....