China-Travel Journal Day 8 November 6, 2008

Travel Journal - Day 8

Day 8: I am not sure who likes bath time better, Christopher or Lucy. Every time I turn around he has her in the sink splashing around. She LOVES her bath! She likes to play with the bubbles and she likes having water poured over her head. It is a riot watching her and Christopher play together. Last night she got so interested in watching the bubbles in the palm of her hand that she did not notice that Chris had left the room. I got a full 3 minutes of bath play time all to myself. It was awesome!

Today was our first full day in Guangzhou. As promised, the breakfast buffet was awesome. Lucy is such a good eater. She will eat just about anything. She even eats broccoli. She had McDonald's french fries for the first time at lunch. She could not shove them in her mouth fast enough. I used them to bribe her so that I could get a couple minutes of lap time.

At breakfast we were reunited with the other half of the families. We were all together in
Beijing but then split up to get our babies in separate provinces. It was so great to see all the other couples with their new babies. They are all so beautiful. Lucy enjoyed making new friends.
Today's outing was to the medical center. The babies had to go through a series of 3 quick examinations. Lucy did so well! She did not cry at all during the ENT exam. She let the doctors weigh her and measure her without complaining. She is 17 pounds and some ounces. I did not hear the exact number of ounces because we were in a small room with many screaming babies. The sign on the wall said "quiet please." Yeah, right. She did get a little annoyed at the physical exam but at least there was no screaming.

She is getting more and more relaxed around us. She will now sit in her stroller and let us push her around. We have had 3 meals where she sat in her high chair. This is huge progress. For the first 3 days she had to be in Daddy's arms all the time. She sat in her crib today and played with her toys. I think this is a sign that she is feeling more secure and confident.

Watching her laugh and smile is so amazing. She is very quick to smile. She smiles at strangers and has no problem going to other people. At a department store today she let 2 sales ladies hold her while Chris used the bathroom. She would not let me hold her at all. (How embarrassing. I could not explain to the sales clerks why this beautiful baby screamed every time I tried to hold her.) Even though I wish she would come to me more often, it is clear that she knows I am "someone special." Just by the fact that she will go to others but not to me says that she recognizes me as different from everyone else. Eventually she is going to get tired of rejecting me. In the meantime I am pretty happy with the few minutes that she gives me.
She wants to walk so badly! She and daddy have been walking their way around the bed. Lucy puts one hand on the bed and holds Daddy with the others. She is so close to taking off on her own. I bought her a very special pair of "Hello Kitty" shoes today because she does not have any others that fit.

This afternoon I met with all the other Moms (and a couple of Dads ) to do paperwork for our consulate appointment. It is surprising how tiring paperwork can be. It took nearly 2 hours to get through it. Chris stayed in the room and taught Lucy how to drink a juice box.

So far I have managed to not discuss baby bathroom habits. However, I cannot resist sharing one story. Most of the babies did not wear diapers before we got them. In China the babies wear split pants. Eventually they are held over the potty (a "squatty potty," not a toilet like we are used to) and they will do their thing. Some of the other couples have tried a technique where they get behind the baby and put one of their hands underneath each baby thigh. Then they back over the toilet and hold the baby over the opening. Well, we tried it tonight and had success! It was the funniest thing! I was very excited. If we can master this technique we can save hundreds in diapers. (Can you say "college fund?") I don't really anticipate doing this but it may be a sign of early potty training. We will have to wait and see!

China-Travel Journal Day 7 November 5, 2005

Travel Journal - Day 7

Day 7 was passport day and travel day, and of course, filled with little miracles. Other than the trip to the passport office and the flight to Guangzhou, we did not have much on our schedule. We were both thankful for this as we are getting very tired. Fortunately we are starting to sleep a little bit longer. Lucy is a dream sleeper. Once she crashes, she is out for at least 7 hours. Hooray!

If you are a waiting Mom I would just like to say a few words about the beds you will be sleeping in. There are 2 beds in each room and they are just a bit bigger than a twin bed. (somewhere between twin and full size.) The mattresses are the same firmness as a box spring. It is a bit like sleeping on the floor. It is almost funny because the pillows and the comforters are fabulous. I guess you could say it is like camping with really good linens. Even though there are 2 beds and a crib, all three of us are sleeping in one bed. Baby won't sleep without Daddy, and Mommy does not want to be left out. Chris is calling us a "HuiMin sandwich." I would like to tell you that the mattress situation improves in Guangzhou but it does not.

Our first miracle of the day was the diaper change. We had our first diaper change ever that did not involve screaming or crying (from any of us.) I had to sing 4 verses of Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus" to get the job done but I am willing to do whatever it takes. I may have altered the lyrics a bit but no one seemed to mind.

Our little girl is extremely social. I am already anticipating notes from her kindergarten teacher. "Lucy is very active and likes to be around the other children. Unfortunately, she stole blocks from Emily and bit Katie on the nose." She is definitely not shy! We have really enjoyed watching all the other little girls come out of their shells. Some are taking longer than others but slowly we are staring to see their personalities. Lucy took almost no time at all. At breakfast time she likes to go around and see the other babies, flirt with the waiters, visit the girls in the business center and be held by the other Fathers. She did let me walk her around a bit this morning without Chris. She wasn't exactly happy about it but she let me do it anyway.

What can I say about packing up to go to Guangzhou? How do you describe what it is like trying to fit a massive explosion of baby junk into 2 suit cases? If you are a Mom I am sure you know what I am talking about! These are the times when Lucy's preference for Chris really comes in handy.

Once we got the room in order we headed out with the other families to pick up the baby passports. Lucy was sleeping when it was time to leave and I just hated to wake her up. We put her immediately into the hip hammock and she did not seem to mind too much. The hip hammock is Christopher's best friend. He refers to it as part of his "tactical gear." I know that there are lots of opinions out there about the hip hammock, but for us it is a life saver.
As we were traveling to and from the passport office we were able to spend a bit of informal time speaking with our local guide, Mary. I asked her if she had any children. She responded that she has 2. According to Mary, she is sometimes hesitant to tell people that she has 2 because they want to know why she is able to have 2 when most people only have 1 unless they are a minority. Mary explained that she had to hide during her 2nd pregnancy. She said that there was a day that someone from the government came looking for her but her neighbor warned her and she was able stay away. Mary says that if her pregnancy had been discovered that she would have been forced into an abortion. Once her baby was born she paid a very large fee in order to keep him. Even though I have read quite a bit about the one-child policy and its effects, hearing Mary's story had a strong impact on me.

We picked up Lucy's Chinese passport. The photo was taken on our first day together and she was screaming her guts out. But she still looks cute.

Every day we see little bits of progress. Not only did we get a good diaper change today, Chris got her to sit in the stroller and the high chair. She will not stay in either for very long (total monkey-girl) but every little bit is progress. He wheeled her around the business center while I tried to catch up on e-mails. As long as she has someone to flirt with she seems to be okay. She also let me walk her around for about 15 minutes today. She still whined for her Daddy but it was a little less insistent.

She did great on the plane ride to Guangzhou. It was only a 1 hour flight but the whole process was exhausting. Guangzhou is a whole different city than Nanchang. It is very big and very western. There are lots of neon lights and lots of traffic. We are staying in a Marriott hotel that has a Starbucks in the lobby (Thank You Lord!) and a McDonalds and 7 eleven within walking distance. The rooms are far to fancy for two people with a baby and I feel badly that we are going to trash it. I feel even worse that the beds are just as small and hard and the last ones. Oh well.

We got to our room, ordered room service, created our little HuiMin sandwich and called it an early night!

China-Travel Journal Day 6 November 4, 2005

Travel Journal - Day 6

Day 6 was a good day! After breakfast we had a miracle! We were hanging out in the restaurant having some coffee. Lucy was on her Daddy's lap, as usual. She was laughing and playing. She held her arms out to me. She does this a lot but when I got to pick her up she pulls away. (psych!) But on this day she came right to me!

She laughed and played with me for 20 minutes! It was the best ever! I have been telling Chris the whole time that it is going to have to be her decision to come to me. He has been wanting to "fake her out" into spending mommy-time but she is way too smart for that! After a bit she went back to Daddy.

We had some good mommy-time after dinner as well. She let me hold her hands while she walked around the restaurant visiting with all the other babies. Other than these two times, she is still Daddy's girl. She will go to almost anyone else but always comes back to Daddy. She still screams bloody-murder if I try to pick her up on my own. Chris is getting very good at getting himself showered and dressed in about 2 seconds flat.

I am feeling much more optimistic about things. She loves her Mommy. She just wants to establish who is in control. (Obviously she is!) In the meantime, Chris and I have worked out a pretty good routine. I am thankful to have my hands free to make bottles, clean up and feed Chris. Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us. We are feeling your prayers and they are working!

In the morning we took a field-trip to a local village. It is important to us to understand the environment that Lucy comes from. We also want to know as much as possible about her history so that we can share this with her as she grows up. The village we went to was not far from the city and is considered one of the "nicer" areas. It is all relative. The conditions were so far outstide of anything I could imagine. These people have nothing. They live in small dirty rooms with chickens and pigs and dogs. They farm in the fields nearby to feed their families. It is easy to see how a family could not afford to take care of multiple children.

Despite the living conditions, these people seemed genuinely happy. They were very gracious to us and allowed us to take photos and look inside their homes. I am not sure what they thought of us! Some of our group took photos with their digital cameras and then showed them to the people. It was really fun to watch their reactions! One woman in our group speaks a little Chinese. She spoke with one of the local ladies who said how lucky our babies are. Obviously we think we are the lucky ones. Did we see more split-pants? You bet we did! We saw them on babies, young children and on make-shift clothes lines. If we could figure out the timing on this whole bathroom thing we could save a fortune in Pampers!

Afterwards we went to a small porcelain shop. (Known as a China Shop in America!) The Jiangxi Province is famous for its porcelain. I did a little bit of shopping. In hindsight I wish I had bought a few more things. The porcelain is beautiful and the prices are very good. I am just not sure how much room I will have in my suitcase. Also, I am hoping for some good shopping in Guangzhou. I did buy a handful of gifts and 2 things for Lucy.

When we got back to the hotel we took a nice long family nap! Hooray! Lucy is sleeping through the night but Chris and I are not. Our body clocks are still a mess. After the nap we had a photo session. I cannot stop taking photos of this little monkey. Every time I turn around she is doing something cuter than before. Chris, despite my strong skepticism was able to get Lucy to wear a hat. I was so impressed! Not just one hat, but two different hats. She wore one of them to dinner. I continue to be impressed with his parenting.

As long as I am bragging on my little monkey, let me say that I am surprised at how well she plays by herself. She loves her toys, especially her purse and cell phone that was a gift from her cousins, Lauren and Annie. She will sit and play for an hour. She also loves her stackie cups and books. When she's not playing with her toys she is making faces at Mommy. All of this is done within the comfort and safety of Daddy's lap.

One more thing. THANK YOU to everyone who has sent e-mail. It is so cherished! I am not likely to have time to respond to all of them but please know that Chris and I are reading them all and loving them.

A special note to friends of Taya: Amy and Dana have shared with me that some of you are following Lucy as well. (Some of my friends are also following Taya.) Thank you all for your well-wishes and prayers. I am being blessed by them more than you know!

China-Travel Journal Day 5 November 2, 2005

Travel Journal - Day 5

Today is Lucy's birthday! We started the morning much as we ended the evening, with Lucy insisting that she be touching Daddy at all times. I am not sure that Chris got much more than 2 or 3 hours of sleep. Anytime we tried to move Lucy to her crib she would wake up and scream for Daddy. We finally gave in and let her sleep with him.

After breakfast we got on a bus with the other families and went to some historical building with some historical meaning. All I remember is that there is a copy of this building at Summer Palace. Now that we have our babies I am not sure that any of us are able to completely listen to the historical information. We're too busy staring at them.

The building was very pretty and had interesting tile decorations and some beautiful murals. There was also a good amount of souvenir shopping, which is what most of us did. There were lots of inexpensive Chinese trinkets and jewelry. I am hoping to buy several small gifts to give Lucy every year on "Gothcha Day." I was able to find a couple of potential gifts. We also saw a short stage show of Chinese opera and dancing. The music was wonderful and the costumes were bright and beautiful. Lucy really seemed to enjoy the music.

It is interesting to see the reaction of the Chinese people to our little girls. Most of them are very friendly and very interested in adoring our babies. Many of them want to have their pictures taken with them. They are especially interested in having pictures taken with anyone who is blonde. We spoke with one Chinese man outside of the historical building. He asked how old she was (at least I think that is what he asked) and I was able to communicate to him that today is Lucy's birthday. He was very happy and excited for us.

On the way home it was decided that we would all order Pizza Hut pizza for lunch. I am not exaggerating one bit when I say it was the absolute best meal we have eaten in 5 days.
After lunch we were joined in the playroom by some of our new friends for Lucy's 1st birthday party. It was a wonderful event! Lucy was in a very happy mood and was laughing and playing for a whole hour. First, Lucy and her friends Taya and Margaret Jane had fun playing with balloons. Then we all sang happy birthday and clapped for the baby. She loved it. She is a total ham. She was cheesing for the camera the whole time! Then we had birthday cake. The hotel gave us a complimentary birthday cake. It was mostly whipped cream and Lucy loved it! After the cake we let Lucy open her birthday present. It was a little white stuffed cat that Christopher bought for her in August at the Mall of America. She loves her new kitty. She laughed and played with it. Then she and Taya and Margaret Jane all tried out the rocking toys in the playroom. Taya and her Mommy Amy even got in the big box with the plastic balls. Lucy did not think that this was a good idea.

We took so many amazing photos at her party that it will be very difficult to choose 3 or 4 for the website. She had these great faces that she makes. The one she likes the most is sticking her tongue out as far as possible. It isn't very lady-like but it makes us all laugh!

After the big party we went on a little walk around the hotel grounds with Taya, her Mommy and Daddy Amy and Dana, her Grandparents Judy and Conrad, Margaret Jane and her parents Jonathan and Emily. Lucy fell asleep about 2 minutes into it and slept for the next 2.5 hours!
As usual, she had to be touching Daddy they whole time she slept. Normally Daddy is content to lie on the bed and watch TV while baby sleeps. Until he has to go to the bathroom! I am proud to say that we were finally able to pull one over on her. With much effort I was able to sneak into Daddy's place so that he could have a few minutes on his own. To do this, we had to put a blanket over her face so that she would not know who was next to her. While this is not particularly good for my self-esteem, it did get the job done.

Finally we woke her up to go to dinner and she became the center of attention. She is so funny! She was cracking us up all through dinner. She was even making Katie and her Mom and Dad (Scott and Kristine) laugh. She will play and play with me just as long as she is still in Daddy's lap. She even let me kiss all over her cheeks (best moment so far!) but she will not sit on my lap or let me hold her. Later we went to the business center and she was making all the ladies in there laugh.

She is so much fun. She loves to play with her toys and take a bath. She has the cutest laugh. She loves to shake her head and stick out her tongue. I can hardly wait to see what she is going to do tomorrow. She is wearing her Daddy out. She is very, very strong and has a vice grip. He is getting beat up by her but I think he likes it. He is such a good Daddy!

China-Travel Journal Day 4 November 1, 2005

Travel Journal - Day 4

Day 4 was Daddy Day. All Daddy. All the time. Daddy good. Mommy bad. Lucy continues to bond with Christopher. He is her best buddy. When she woke up this morning she lay down with him and fell asleep on his chest. They are a very cute pair. Unfortunately Daddy doesn't get to do other things like shower or shave. She is not yet a fan of Mommy.

Chris is doing great with her. She took a whole bottle from him this morning and ate some fruit and banana bread at breakfast. Chris put her in her high chair for a bit but she is not a interested in sitting still. She much prefers to stand in the chair and then try to stand on the tray. Perhaps we have a gymnast on our hands.

After breakfast she went into hysterics when Mommy tried to hold her. Chris finally got her calmed down by running the water in the sink. After a while she put her toes in. And then her hands. And then her whole body, clothes, diapers and all. We finally got her clothes off and she had a great time in the bath. She loves splashing the water and playing with Daddy. But not Mommy. Mommy had a minor breakdown but managed to pull it together before lunch.
We joined the rest of the families for lunch. (More Chinese food.) Lucy spent some time with some of the other Daddies in the group so that Chris could have a break. She seems to be fine with any of the men. I'm not sure why. The caretaker that brought her to us was a male. Maybe she just prefers men.

After lunch we had a notary appointment and then shopping at Walmart. Christopher looks so handsome with a hip hammock on! He carried Lucy while I attempted to navigate a huge, over-crowded Chinese Walmart. Yikes! It is very hard to find the baby isle when you don't know the Chinese symbol for "baby isle." We managed to walk out with a stroller, a few ugly baby clothes (all the cute ones had split pants) and a fresh box of Cheerios. We also grabbed a few chocolate bars and some Pringles just in case we have trouble choking down another meal of Chinese food. By the time we finished shopping Lucy had fallen asleep. Chris had to use the bathroom so we had to transfer her to me while she was still asleep. We made sure she didn't see Daddy leave. She slept for about a half hour so I got to hold her longer than I have so far. As soon as she woke up she started screaming for Daddy. NOTE: If you are an adoptive Mom packing for a trip to Jiangxi, bring enough baby clothes to get you to Guangzhou. The clothes at the Nanchang Wallmart are not cute and not worth buying. I don't know about the clothes at Guangzhou. I'll get back to you on that!

After Daddy got Lucy calmed down we had some fun sticking out our tongues. She cracks herself up. She still won't leave Daddy but she will make some cute faces at Mommy. She is very coy and seems to have a great sense of humor. Unfortunately the face making only lasted until diaper change time. She HATES getting a diaper changed or changing her clothes. This is probably because she is used to split pants.


The rest of the evening was more of the same. We went to dinner and Lucy had fun with Daddy. We invited another couple to join us for coffee and dessert. They, two are dealing with the "Daddy good, Mommy bad" syndrome. It was good to have someone to talk with.
After several more crying fits and one final Mommy break down, Lucy has fallen asleep on Daddy chest and refuses to be moved to her crib. Oh well, maybe she will like me better in the morning. In the meantime I am concentrating on making bottles, keeping track of paperwork, finding a way to get food to Christopher and trying to keep our hotel room from looking like a small explosion.

Sorry about the delay in posts. We can't get the internet in our room and Chris cannot get a break from Miss Luciana long enough to go to the business center.

China-Travel Journal Day 3 October 31, 2005

Travel Journal - Day 3

Yesterday was Gotcha day. What a day! I was not able to write last night because by the time we got Lucy to sleep we were exhausted and too scared to make any noise! Here's the story of our day.

Those of you that know me will be very surprised that I did NOT blubber my way through the entire day. I woke up on Monday feeling very detached. For the sake of my mascara I decided to ride that wave for as long as I could! Our plane to Nanchang, Jiangxi did not leave until 11:00 so we had a bit of a lazy morning. We spent the morning getting organized, having breakfast (the only meal that we look forward to!) and chatting with the other parents.

Once we got to the airport we still had a good bit of time before take off. Amy, one of the other mothers. (see "Taya" in ladybug journals!) had brought along the copy of her daughter's finding add. This is an add that is placed by the orphanage in an attempt to find the birth parents. The paper she had carried hundreds of baby adds. Each had a small photo of the baby taken the day that they were found, along with their finding date and approximate birth date. It did not take the rest of us long to figure out that all of our daughters were found within a couple of weeks of each other. Suddenly we were all scouring this paper for signs of our babies. Eventually we found all of them. We caused such a commotion that people were coming over to us wanting to know what all the excitement was about!

Just before we touched down in Nanchang I started to get very nervous and anxious. It was that same feeling of dread that you get before giving a big speech or (for me) going to a doctor appointment. I expected to feel excited and emotional but I was mostly just scared! I talked to a couple of the other first-time mothers and they agreed that they also felt the same way. When we finally got to the hotel we were given instructions to go to our rooms, gather certain documents, money and orphanage gifts and then bring them to our guide. It was very good for me to have tasks to accomplish because, by this time, I was a spinning bundle of nerves! I sent Chris down to the lobby to change out some money. When he came back he said that he saw the babies coming in and that he waved at one of them. I am so glad that he was the one who went downstairs and not me. I would have accosted those poor babies!

Finally it was 4:00. Time to meet the babies. We headed down to the 3rd floor where we were to meet the babies in a conference room. When we got there the babies and their caretakers were in the room and the door was open. There were a few babies out strolling the hall as well. All the other mommies were peeking in the room trying to spot their babies. The babies all had tags on their backs with their names and their referral photo. I looked into the room but could not find Lucy. Then one of the other mothers called from the hall and said "Teresa, come here, I think this one is Lucy!" Sure enough, it was Lucy!

She was standing in the hall with the help of her caretaker. I cautiously went over to see her. I think I was much more scared than she was! Chris was videoing and taking photos while working a tiger puppet. He gets extra points for multi-tasking! She did not cry at all but was definitely tentative. Her caretaker (a man) was very wonderful with her. He was helping me to get to know her and talk to her. I got to hold her for just a little bit but then I had to give her back and go into the conference room. I couldn't have her "officially" until the orphanage director got there to hand over the babies.

As I was sitting in the conference room getting instructions I could look out into the hallway. Our little Lucy was hanging onto the railing looking down into the atrium. She was wearing a pair of split pants and her little bottom was hanging out! It was so cute that I could not stop taking pictures even though I was supposed to be listening to instructions.

China-Travel Journal Day 2 October 30, 2005

Travel Journal - Day 2

The Great Wall!! Other than meeting Lucy, this was the day that I was most excited about. I was not disappointed. The Great Wall is really amazing. After seeing it so many times on "The Travel Channel" it was really exciting to see it for real. Chris and I were ready to tackle as many steps up as we could. We spent the last 3 days sitting on a plane and sitting on a bus so we were happy to have a little exercise.



It is a challenging hike! The stairs are many and they are all different heights. It reminded me a bit of hiking up Camelback Mountain. People heading up were encouraging each other while the people heading down gave assurances that it is easier on the way down! There is something very unifying about a bunch of people all trying to achieve the same goal.
Chris and I made it to the 4th guard post. There were 2 or 3 people who made it all the way to the 6th guard post. I decided that it would be a good idea to be able to walk tomorrow so we headed back down while we still had control of our legs. It was absolutely beautiful up there. At the last guardpost we met two girls from Hong Kong. They told me the name of the best jewelry store in Hong Kong. They assured me I could get "good quality, best prices."
Before going to the Great Wall we all attended a church service at the Beijing International Christian Fellowship. Due to local government regulations, BCIF is open only to foreign passport holders. We were asked to bring our passports to prove foreign citizenship. I was very amazed to find out that not only do they hold Worship Services; they are an entire Christian community with small groups, child care, bible study opportunities and various other ministries. Apparently they have been together as a church for 25 years! It was so wonderful to walk into a service in China and be able to praise the Lord with people from so many countries. It was an added treat to experience worship with many of the same songs that we sing at home. We have so much to be thankful for and so much that we need God's guidance for now that we are becoming parents. I did not think it was a coincidence that even though the lesson was from the book of Isaiah, the speaker referenced one of my favorite passages from Jeremiah "For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you.' I hold fast to this verse as I venture into parenthood. And I rest in the knowledge that the Lord has had a plan for Lucy since before she was even born. I trust that he will guide us and teach us how to raise her as a child of God.



After service we visited the Jade Factory where I purchased a small jade pendant for me and another for Lucy. They had many beautiful things and the sales people are very well trained! I was lucky to get out of there with only two things!
Then we ate yet another meal of Chinese food (somebody get me a pizza!) and then off to the Great Wall.



Once again, the best part of the day was getting to know the other families. The bus rides are getting to be more fun as we are all getting to know each other and enjoy each other's company. One family brought their 24-month-old Chinese daughter with them. She is so adorable. She has become quite popular with all of us waiting parents!



Tomorrow is the big day and we are all so excited! Our plane leaves tomorrow at 11:00 am. According to our guide, we should have our babies around 4:30. It is going to be a very long day until 4:30! Tomorrow is the day that changes our lives forever. Bring it on!