Wow, the past 24-hours have been crazy. The eight families that I'm traveling with went to the Civil Affairs office in Hunan at about 10 am. We were led into a room that had about another 50 families from other agencies. Some already had their babies and others were waiting. The room was really loud with all the crying that was going on. My agency rep, Allison, walked in and announced that I would be the first in my group to receive my baby and seconds later, Ava, along with her nanny and the orphanage director, came in and I was immediately handed Ava.
She didn't cry but just cautiously looked around. Within 10 minutes, she had already smiled at us. She smiles a lot. She has the most wonderful, sweet personality. She even laughs out loud- something I knew would eventually happen but wasn't expecting it the same day.
After everyone had their baby, we returned to the hotel. I changed, bathed and dressed Ava without any crying. She really seemed to enjoy all the attention. She is so adorable and so small. I weighed her on the bathroom scale and she is only 13.5 lbs. I was told that she was 14 lbs about 4 months ago - obviously that wasn't correct. The outfit I dressed her in yesterday was a 3-6 month outfit. The 6 month outfits are big on her but will do for now and the 9 month outfits I brought with us will return home unused. Ava likes her foods. She has no teeth so is eating only formula and cereal and some mashed vegetables that they have at the hotel buffet- they actually have a baby food section on their buffet since there are so many babies staying at the hotel. The hotel we're at is filled with families adopting. Everywhere you look there are American and European familes with their beautiful Chinese babies. They have the hotel rooms equiped with a crib, baby bath and even a baby bowl and spoon.
We had two other paperwork meetings yesterday afternoon so it was about 5 pm by the time we got back to the hotel and then had a group dinner.
Ava sort of slept well. She went to bed and 8:45 pm but then woke up crying about an hour later. I was able to get her back to sleep but not back into the crib so she stayed in my bed. She then went on to cry for a few seconds but not really wake up, I'd rub her tummy and she would fall right back asleep- we did this about 20-30 times last night. She didn't really seem to be awake so I'm not sure if it was night terrors . She got up for the day about 5:45 a.m. so we'll see how the next few nights go.
Ava holds a link toy in one hand and a teether toy in the other and always has one or other in her mouth. She is a really happy, beautiful baby. She can stand on your lap for a few seconds at a time but her legs are pretty weak. She doesn't sit up too well either - we'll have to work on her arm/leg strength.
We are doing really well together- much better than ever imagined. Ava's perfect!
Ava is always ready with a big smile. She just cracks us up. She is tiny but very fiesty.
Hunan University
Our travel group. We have met some really nice people on this trip.
Buddhist Temple
"Mr. Happy" is the bellman at the hotel and always has that big smile on his face.
Walking around the downtown with our AHH guide, Allison. She has been great with all the families.
Ava slept much better last night. She went down at 8 p.m until 3:30 a.m. without waking up once. I, on the other hand, was up most the night. After she had a bottle, she slept for another hour and then was up for the day. Like my niece, Kenzie, Ava does not wake up happy. She cries upon awakening- whether it's after a nights rest or just a cat nap. I think the reality of the situation finally hit Ava today. She cried a few times throughout the day, it was so sad. She is doing really well but the adjustment for both of us will take a while. She only had a half-hour nap today so she is already asleep for the night at around 7:30 p.m. Earlier then I would have liked but she was very cranky and really wanted to steep.
We bought some smaller diapers at Walmart yesterday. We are going through 3-4 outfits a day because the diapers are too big on her so they don't fit around her legs too well. Walmart was quite the adventure. The food store part had the strongest odor because of all the fish and meat hanging around. I couldn't take it and had to get out of there. We were able to get the stroller and another suitcase.
I think that Ava just didn't feel like standing that first day because she is able to stand on your legs for long periords of time. I'm sure this didn't just develop in the past two days.
Our hotel in Changsha. We're on the 26th floor- very nice hotel.
We started out today at the Jade Factory. They actually carve the jade right there where you can watch. Very expensive but beautiful.
If we were cold yesterday, then we were freezing today. The Great Wall was 1 degree but much colder with the wind. Don't ever recall feeling quite so cold.
The cloisoinne place was pretty cool. The raised copper is all placed down by hand. What terrible working conditions these people have to endure. There was no heating in the areas where all the people worked but of course the gift shop was kept warm.
