Today was a good day. Like most days we had business to take care of, then the rest was free. We had a medical exam first, then rain the rest of the day, so pretty relaxing. The best thing about the day was that we got more of a glimpse of our baby girl's personality. While shopping one Chinese lady said she was "spicy." She should fit right in with us.
Amelia Belle woke up smiling at Thatcher. We got dressed and headed to breakfast. As usual, Amelia Belle at mostly congee (basically watery, cooked rice flavored with meat) and dim sum--a steamed bread with filling, these have peanut butter. Interesting that she is almost two and eats the food that we would feed a much younger child. We brought bottles, we were told to, to fix milk mixed with rice cereal, but she doesn't really do bottle, better with the sippy cup. And better with one with a hard top. We found this out through trial and error. She drinks more enthusiastically with the right cup. She does well with a juice box. We also discovered she really likes oranges. She is trying lots of new things, with some ill effects that manifested themselves later during dinner. More on that in a bit.
After breakfast, Kristi, Amelia Belle and I joined the other 4 families for U.S. Visa photos and the medical exam. Both went without a hitch. The medical exam was done in a Chinese community clinic that does these every week for adoptions and it is really a formality. It was interesting that the doctor, after listening to Amelia Belle's heart, asked through Zhou if it had been surgically repaired. Knowing that her condition, VSD, will often close on its own makes us very hopeful.
During the medical exam, rain started coming down. We did not have an umbrella and we were a few blocks from the hotel, so we put Amelia Belle's hood on her and ran back, ducking under awnings when we could. Many Chinese people were taking cover under the porch of the Victory Hotel's other building, and when they saw us pushing a baby, they pointed and got very animated. We could tell we were being chastised. The Chinese are very funny about these kinds of things. We were told that the baby's head and shoulders always need to be covered, no matter the weather. If not, old people will stop you and tell you to do so. We hurried past the upset people and got our baby back to the hotel. She was a little wet, but no worse for the wear.
We were going to go back into the city to shop, but because of the rain we decided to hold off. Instead, we fed the baby and put her down for a nap, and ordered a pizza from Papa John's. Meanwhile, Thatcher got an invitation to go downstairs and play with his friend Ana, another 5 year old with a family in our group.
After naps and play, the weather looked too bad to try to go into the city, so we decided to shop close to the hotel. We got lots of Chinese clothes for the baby, but I'm really getting tired of being accosted every time I ask the price of something. Every price is negotiated and these people really work hard to try to get you to buy things. As a salesperson I respect this, but it gets annoying after a few days of it.
After shopping for a while, we needed to bring the baby back to the hotel for a diaper change. During this time, the rain started again. This has been the only bad weather we have seen since we got here. We were expecting hot in Guangzhou, but it is really pretty cool. You usually need a jacket when you go outside. The weather was bad, and even though our first experience at the hotel restaurant was not very good, we decided to eat there again.
Dinner was ok, but with Amelia Belle trying new things, she had a bit of an adverse reaction. She had an explosion and Kristi had to bring her upstairs. We are having a bit of a dilemma, because we were not expecting her to be quite so skinny. She weighs 24.2 pounds and is 33.7 inches tall. We brought several 18 month old sets of clothes, which are too big, and several 24 month old, which are way too big. We had to go buy her clothes after dinner.
As I mentioned before, Amelia Belle's personality really started coming out today. She is really playful with Thatcher, but is really possessive of anything she sees as hers. This is to be expected of an institutionalized child. Also, she will get loud if you are bothering her or trying to take what is hers. Or if I try to pick her up and sometimes Mimi. She does not really get like that with Kristi. When dinner started, Kristi left to go make her some rice cereal (she loves it), and she watched Kristi go. She only calmed down a little when the waitress brought our drinks. She reached for my Diet Coke. Grasping for straws, I let her have a drink and she wanted more. I was going to try it as a bribe, then Kristi got back and I lost her attention.
During dinner, when Kristi had to change her, she was so messy she had to bathe her. The last few nights she got really withdrawn afterwards, but tonight she came around much more quickly, maybe because she came back down to dinner, not getting ready for bed.
Also, when we got back to the room, Kristi put her on the bed and I laid down next to her. Kristi was able to go into the bathroom and take a shower without Amelia Belle getting too upset. She would not look at me, but she lay next to me and I talked to her while Kristi showered.
When Kristi returned, we played some more before bed. She watched Kristi put something on her face, and using a toy, she touched the toy and wiped her face with her hand, imitating Kristi. We laughed about that, then Amelia Belle spontaneously reached out and touched my face. Kristi then touched my face and Amelia Belle did it a few more times. Might not seem like much, but it made my night. When it got time for bed, she fussed a little, but she got calm very quickly. We checked on her and kissed her in her crib. It was a good day and hopefully tomorrow we will have more progress. We go to the zoo and ride the subway. Just a relaxing day of sightseeing before the rest of our group arrives and there are too many of us to do group activities.
--Gene
Amelia Belle woke up smiling at Thatcher. We got dressed and headed to breakfast. As usual, Amelia Belle at mostly congee (basically watery, cooked rice flavored with meat) and dim sum--a steamed bread with filling, these have peanut butter. Interesting that she is almost two and eats the food that we would feed a much younger child. We brought bottles, we were told to, to fix milk mixed with rice cereal, but she doesn't really do bottle, better with the sippy cup. And better with one with a hard top. We found this out through trial and error. She drinks more enthusiastically with the right cup. She does well with a juice box. We also discovered she really likes oranges. She is trying lots of new things, with some ill effects that manifested themselves later during dinner. More on that in a bit.
After breakfast, Kristi, Amelia Belle and I joined the other 4 families for U.S. Visa photos and the medical exam. Both went without a hitch. The medical exam was done in a Chinese community clinic that does these every week for adoptions and it is really a formality. It was interesting that the doctor, after listening to Amelia Belle's heart, asked through Zhou if it had been surgically repaired. Knowing that her condition, VSD, will often close on its own makes us very hopeful.
During the medical exam, rain started coming down. We did not have an umbrella and we were a few blocks from the hotel, so we put Amelia Belle's hood on her and ran back, ducking under awnings when we could. Many Chinese people were taking cover under the porch of the Victory Hotel's other building, and when they saw us pushing a baby, they pointed and got very animated. We could tell we were being chastised. The Chinese are very funny about these kinds of things. We were told that the baby's head and shoulders always need to be covered, no matter the weather. If not, old people will stop you and tell you to do so. We hurried past the upset people and got our baby back to the hotel. She was a little wet, but no worse for the wear.
We were going to go back into the city to shop, but because of the rain we decided to hold off. Instead, we fed the baby and put her down for a nap, and ordered a pizza from Papa John's. Meanwhile, Thatcher got an invitation to go downstairs and play with his friend Ana, another 5 year old with a family in our group.
After naps and play, the weather looked too bad to try to go into the city, so we decided to shop close to the hotel. We got lots of Chinese clothes for the baby, but I'm really getting tired of being accosted every time I ask the price of something. Every price is negotiated and these people really work hard to try to get you to buy things. As a salesperson I respect this, but it gets annoying after a few days of it.
After shopping for a while, we needed to bring the baby back to the hotel for a diaper change. During this time, the rain started again. This has been the only bad weather we have seen since we got here. We were expecting hot in Guangzhou, but it is really pretty cool. You usually need a jacket when you go outside. The weather was bad, and even though our first experience at the hotel restaurant was not very good, we decided to eat there again.
Dinner was ok, but with Amelia Belle trying new things, she had a bit of an adverse reaction. She had an explosion and Kristi had to bring her upstairs. We are having a bit of a dilemma, because we were not expecting her to be quite so skinny. She weighs 24.2 pounds and is 33.7 inches tall. We brought several 18 month old sets of clothes, which are too big, and several 24 month old, which are way too big. We had to go buy her clothes after dinner.
As I mentioned before, Amelia Belle's personality really started coming out today. She is really playful with Thatcher, but is really possessive of anything she sees as hers. This is to be expected of an institutionalized child. Also, she will get loud if you are bothering her or trying to take what is hers. Or if I try to pick her up and sometimes Mimi. She does not really get like that with Kristi. When dinner started, Kristi left to go make her some rice cereal (she loves it), and she watched Kristi go. She only calmed down a little when the waitress brought our drinks. She reached for my Diet Coke. Grasping for straws, I let her have a drink and she wanted more. I was going to try it as a bribe, then Kristi got back and I lost her attention.
During dinner, when Kristi had to change her, she was so messy she had to bathe her. The last few nights she got really withdrawn afterwards, but tonight she came around much more quickly, maybe because she came back down to dinner, not getting ready for bed.
Also, when we got back to the room, Kristi put her on the bed and I laid down next to her. Kristi was able to go into the bathroom and take a shower without Amelia Belle getting too upset. She would not look at me, but she lay next to me and I talked to her while Kristi showered.
When Kristi returned, we played some more before bed. She watched Kristi put something on her face, and using a toy, she touched the toy and wiped her face with her hand, imitating Kristi. We laughed about that, then Amelia Belle spontaneously reached out and touched my face. Kristi then touched my face and Amelia Belle did it a few more times. Might not seem like much, but it made my night. When it got time for bed, she fussed a little, but she got calm very quickly. We checked on her and kissed her in her crib. It was a good day and hopefully tomorrow we will have more progress. We go to the zoo and ride the subway. Just a relaxing day of sightseeing before the rest of our group arrives and there are too many of us to do group activities.
--Gene
It is great to hear about such a good day.
ReplyDeleteI am so happy to know that Amelia Belle is doing so much better.
ReplyDeleteGene and Kristi,
ReplyDeleteI am so glad to hear y'all are having better days!! That is wonderful. And they will continue to only get better. Hope y'all are enjoying your stay in China. Tell Mimi, Thatcher, and Amelia Belle hello and we love them. love y'all jami
Each day is getting better. Hang in there Gene! Your day is coming!
ReplyDeleteGene,
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to you, Kristi, and Thatcher. I can't think of anyplace better for Amelia Belle to be than in your home. It was good to talk with you this morning, it's been way too long. Drop me a line when you guy's get down to L.C.
Ron