Tuesday, August 15, 2006

It is official




August 15th, evening

Sophia is doing wonderfully. She is starting to come out of her shell and we have gotten some really good smiles from her. Katie is the best at getting her to laugh and smile. This whole process is amazing. We are really beginning to figure her out. We definitely know when she is tired, she can get very cranky and clingy. We are also pretty good at figuring out when she is hungry. She is a good eater. We gave her some cheerios, congee (rice cereal/soup that is feed to all the babies here… adults eat it with dried fruits in it as well), potatoes and watermelon. She likes to finger feed herself. We figure about 1/3 goes into her, 1/3 on her and 1/3 on the floor. Feeding her the congee ensures her belly is full. She likes her bottle and drinks about four a day.

For lunch she had some turkey, potatoes, rice and congee. She enjoyed it all. She slept through dinner tonight. We all went out to a Sichuan cuisine restaurant. The food is very spicy. It is believe that if you eat spicy food, you will sweat and then be cooler. I don’t know about that. I do know that I did sweat after a few of those dishes. Sophia had a much milder dinner in the room afterwards, rice cereal and prunes. The diaper changes should be fun tomorrow.

After dinner a few of us asked to be taken to a store. Some people had to buy a stroller. We wanted a few more clothes for Sophia. We packed very lightly and she has spit up on some outfits so we are running low. The shopping was an experience. Our guide took us, thank goodness. We went to a French department store with a name that starts with a C. I could not believe how big this was. If Shihong wasn’t leading us through it, asking people where the stuff we were looking for was, we would have never made it out of there alive. The store was packed. There is no personal space her in China. People stand right (and I mean right) besides you. They push if they want to get through. I guess it is survival in a county that is so heavily populated. We got stares before we got the baby but now we can’t walk anywhere without being stared at. We are also out of Beijing and I think this city sees a lot less travelers. People come up to us and talk to us in Mandarin. They admire the baby and touch her. It got very overwhelming after a long day in this hot weather.

It is over one hundred degrees here today. It was hot at 8:30 this morning and did not cool off at all this evening. The humidity is oppressive. Chongqing is called one of the three furnaces of the world and I can attest that it is true. I have never felt anything quite like this. Many stores do not have AC. It is something which words can not describe. We will be looking forward to Thursday when we got to the mountains to visit the panda reserve. We will get some respite from this heat.

The driving in China is frightening. Apparently the rules of the road are merely suggestions. It is rare that cars stop for red lights. Cars cut over into your lane without a blinker. There have been three cars driving to merge in the lane we were driving at one time. It is a game of chicken. None of the cars want to give in, so they sped up and try to be first into the lane. There are no seat belts or car seats in China, so we have the babies on our laps. It scares me to death every time we get into a taxi or our van. I can’t look out the windows.

And the most exciting, although that is not the most accurate word, part of the day was our appointment at Adoption Registration Center at 2:00 today. This was the moment that Sophia officially became part of our families. We were merely babysitters on a trial period before this “ceremony.” We all went in for our family pictures. This becomes part of her adoption paperwork. Sophia was sleeping and we had to wake her up for the picture. She did not like that at all. She kept falling back to sleep before the guy had time to snap the picture. We then were fingerprinted as part of the form. We were handed her adoption decree and a little gift, a gold etched plate in a wooden box. It is beautiful. It was a very meaningful moment to know that Sophia is officially ours. It is a good thing because they are not getting her back!!!
We have a small copy of the offical picture but until we can get it scanned and on-line the picture that Katie took above is all we have. (Linda do you recognize Hollie's dress. We got more compliments on that dress today. Tell Hollie Sophia thanks her and can't wait to meet her.)

One neat thing is that there were nannies from the same orphanage many the children from our travel group were in. We watched the babies and the nannies interacting with the babies. Just as we were leaving the families arrived. They are also staying at our hotel and I am sure we will bump into them tomorrow.

Sophia is asleep in her crib. Last night she would not go in it without screaming so she slept with us. It is important to the bonding process that she knows we are there for her and she is not being abandoned again. She has had some major changes in her life in the last day or so. We was separated from her foster family and then given to this doting family who doesn’t look, smell or talk like people she is used to. All in all she is doing great with the transition.

Oh, and one last thing. She is beginning to crawl. She likes to be carried and probably hasn’t gotten much floor time. I am sure she will be full out crawling by the time we get home.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

We're glad you got the official paperwork because, as you said, I'm sure you could not give her back. Your description of the heat and humidity there makes us feel cool in our 90 plus in both. Katie, just imagine you are in the pool and keeping cool! We're glad to hear eating isn't a problem for Sophie... we'll be sure and dust off the high chair before you get back.

Not to offer hassles in the midst of all this joy, but Skip wanted to know if you know about the recall of Dell laptop batteries. I cut and pasted this from the Dell website.

Name of product: Dell Notebook Computer Batteries
Units: About 22,000 in the U.S.
Manufacturer/Distributor: Dell Inc., of Round Rock, Texas
Hazard: These batteries can overheat, which could pose a fire risk.
Incidents/Injuries: Dell has received three reports of batteries overheating. The incidents involved damage to a tabletop, a desktop, and minor damage to personal effects. No injuries have been reported.
Description: The recalled batteries were sold with the following Dell notebook computers: LatitudeTM D410, D505, D510, D600, D610, D800, D810; InspironTM 510M, 600M, 6000, 8600, 9200, 9300, XPS Gen 2; and Dell PrecisionTM M20 and M70 mobile workstations. The batteries were also sold separately, including as secondary batteries and in response to service calls. The batteries insert into the battery bay located on the underside of the notebook. "Dell" and "Made in Japan" or "Made in China" are stamped on the batteries. The identification number for each battery appears on a white sticker. Customers should have this number available when they contact Dell to determine if their battery is part of the recall.
Sold at: Dell sold these batteries with the notebook computers, as part of a service replacement, and as individual units on its Web site and catalogs from October 5, 2004 through October 13, 2005. The computers with these batteries sold for between $900 and $2,650, and individual batteries sold for between $99 and $179.
Manufactured in: Japan or China
Remedy: Customers should contact Dell to determine if their notebook computer battery is part of this recall. If it is, consumers should immediately stop using the battery as a power source for their notebook computer. Dell will provide a free replacement battery.
Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Dell, at (866) 342-0011 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, go to the firm's Web site at www.dellbatteryprogram.com, or write to: Dell Inc., Attn: Battery Program, 9701 Metric Blvd., Suite 200 Austin, Texas 78758.
CPSC Recall Hotline: (800) 638-2772
CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908

Hopefully there isn't a problem for you, but we thought we'd be sure you knew about this ... "better safe than sorry".

Well, hope you are all having sweet dreams as I write this at 11:16 PM your time. But then again, what could be sweeter than what is happening in your awake life? We are soooooooooo happy for you all!!!!!!!!!!!
Love, Mom and Skip

Anonymous said...

Congratulations!!! Sophie looks beautiful in Hollie's dress. Hollie recognized it right away. She asked for a picture. As it was printing, she yelled into the printer, "hi sophia" I think she really thought she would come out. Sounds like fun prune times! Usually a teaspoon or two will do the trick without any explosion. I guess she wanted to initiate you into parenthood. Mommy and Pat are planning their trip to Maryland (hotel rez and everything) and Mom asked me if I will be able to let the dog out enough. I was planning on going, but she wasn't even asking knowing that I was planning on it. I have a meeting at OLOV on Monday and Pat doesn't want to travel on Sunday. She said the traffic is awful on Sunday. Also, we would have to make arrangements for Sable. I really want to come. Hollie and Stephanie would love to see Sophia before she gets around too much. (me too) I want to hold her. She is adorable. I have to see what I can work out. When do you plan to come to CT for your shower/meet the baby? The panda reserve sounds like it will be fun. I am sure Sophie and Katie will enjoy that too. It must be stressful doing all the traveling that you are doing with a new baby! Enjoy every moment. This is without a doubt one of the best moments of your life. love, auntie linda

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