Rene's Reflections - version 2
joek...@insightbb.com
Sept. 3, 2007. That day, our emotions ran wild. We met our guides in
the morning to do paperwork. At that time, we received another page
of background information about Molly. Her favorite activity is for
her foster mother to hold her outside for playing or watching various
kinds of vehicles on the road. That is so amazing because I do the
same thing with Millie. Since she was born, taking her outside has
always had a calming effect, and just the night before we left, she
was upset. I opened the front door and sat down on the rug for her to
look outside. It was midnight, but still, that's what quieted her.
Also that morning, in the middle of the paperwork we were completing
(paperwork that had originated in China), there was Molly's footprint
stamped in red. "Holy moly," I said when I saw it. The other
families around the table were tickled, but her footprint was so big
it didn't fit in the space provided-and she is the youngest of the
group. I think her foot may be the same size as Millie's (sans extra
padding), but Molly is six months younger.
After completing the paperwork, we had three hours to kill before
meeting in the lobby to go get our babies. Joe had the idea of
walking to McDonald's. Almost everyone went. What else would we do?
So we walked and ate fries and quarter pounders that tasted just like
home. Then, we walked and sweated all the way back only to freshen up
and meet in the lobby again to drive to another hotel (one that is
combined with the officials' offices) to meet our baby girls. Many
babies were there included those being adopted by three more couples
staying at our hotel, the Majestic. Their guide works for The Great
Wall adoption agency.
When we got off the elevator and walked into the big reception room
(stage with podium, hardwood floors, no chairs), the babies from the
Beihei orphanage were already there, waiting in a room across the hall
from ours. Dawn's baby girl, Zoey, kept walking over to check us
out. She is a perfect match for her three big brothers. They do not
know what they are in for. Then, Susan came in to tell us that our
babies, Melody Wong's and ours from Jingxi orphanage, were stuck in
traffic. And the waiting began . . .
We arrived in the room about 3:20 p.m. or so. At first, we were told
the babies would be announced in the order our names were listed on
the hotel reservation list. Joe and I were next to last, so we were
offering to hold cameras for others going before us. Most of the
Beihei families gathered near the door because they could catch
glimpses of their girls playing across the hall. Then, they said they
saw a baby arrive that looked like Molly. Turns out it wasn't her but
my hives certainly didn't know the difference. I was glued to the
window, watching the busy world outside and praying for things to
speed up.
Then, about 4 p.m., Susan came in to say that the Jingxi babies (ours
and Melody's) would be announced first with Melody's baby's name
called before ours. But when Glen called the first Chinese name, it
was Molly-"Zheng Li Wan," he announced. We scrambled to distribute
our cameras. In walked the orphanage director with this beautiful,
tiny, full-head-of-hair baby girl who was not smiling or crying-just
eyes wide open, taking it all in. "Ma ma. Ba ba (daddy)," the
orphanage director said. I was saying "Hi baby," and preparing for
her to cry. I showed her the little toy I was holding, and she came
to me. I don't know if she reached out or not. It may have been my
reaching and the director handing, but she was in my arms. She was
sort of pulling back to check me out a bit.
We moved over to the side where our bags were and began offering Molly
different things (vanilla wafers, which she sucked on while I held
them for her, and a book about Tigger). Like Maggie, she was most
interested in our identity tags which had her picture. She put them
right in her mouth, just like Maggie. That's when we noticed two
beautiful teeth on bottom but none on top. She was hot, so we poured
some cold bottled water in a sippy cup. She didn't know what to do
with that cup. Finally, she got a little drop of water, so she kept
working to get more. She was fascinated with that cup. She was also
very satisfied when Joe held her in the crook of his Indian-style legs
to read her God Makes Nighttime Too. She loved that book and would
smack the pages in delight.
It wasn't long before she gave us some smiles, and believe it or not,
we even got her to laugh right in those first few moments. I tossed
her in the air a bit (nothing like Joe does, I promise), just letting
her go a little. Her hair went flying, and she chuckled. I did it
several times to be sure, and it was indeed a chuckle. Joe got her
tickled playing peek-a-boo and shaking the back of his head near her
belly-the same way he does with Millie. We took her sandals and socks
off for "this little piggy." She loved having her feet bare, and she
didn't seem to be very ticklish. When Joe carried her, sort of using
his arm like a basket with her little bottom hanging below, she would
kick her feet, which were just as long as they looked on that
paperwork. She has long, thin feet and fingers.
Back at the hotel, we saw the orphanage director again. My guess is
she is spending the night here. We meet back at the consulate's
office at 9 a.m. I doubt she could have made the 3 hour each way
return trip home that night and back this morning. She had bags of
formula and rice cereal for us. She also had the box we had mailed
Molly in July. I couldn't believe it. Like Maggie, the box reached
her, and she has heard our voices for about a month. We also received
her bottle and food from the foster mom who had prepared and sent some
of Molly's favorite treats.
In the box was the disposable camera we had sent. We will develop
those pictures, but in the meantime, the director gave us another
photo album. They include early pictures of Molly, the earliest dated
picture is February 15, but three were of her at an even younger age.
The foster mom is in several of the pictures. She is older and
clearly loves Molly. She holds her close and smiles in every
picture. There is also a picture of Molly on a mat with two other
children, one an older girl (maybe 7 or 8) squatting down behind Molly
and holding up a peace sign. Her long pigtails are braided. Then,
right next to Molly is another infant. Maybe these are the foster
mother's family members (the older girl looks as if she could be her
granddaughter) or other children the foster mother watches during the
day, but I was amazed to see almost our exact family configuration-one
older child and another close in age. Molly's smile is biggest in
that picture than in any other.
Back in our hotel room, we showed her around. Luckily, it appears the
crib the hotel provided is similar in shape and color to the bed in
the pictures the foster mother sent. Molly was just taking it all
in. We tried to feed her, but she didn't seem hungry. I changed her
diaper, and I was amazed by how little Mongolian spotting there was.
Also, I'm amazed by how slight she is-very thin. She is also very
long, which increases her thinness. We weighed her at 15 pounds, just
one pound from where Dr. Shawn predicted she should be, but I wonder
what her length is. We'll have to figure out how to measure her
length.
When I hold her, she feels as light as a doll. I'm used to Millie who
only weighs about 5 pounds more, but Millie is so strong. It makes
you feel you are carrying something more substantial. I sat Molly up
on the bed to look at the toys returned to us in the box. I ended up
needing to prop her up with pillows behind her back. She would play
for a few seconds and then reach out for me to hold her. I stood her
on the floor and held her fingers. She bounced at the knees, and Joe
asked her if she were dancing. But she never took a step. I stood
her next to the bed, and she held on to the top. I thought she was
going to cruise because she took two steps, but then I got distracted
by her hair, running my hands through it to see all the way down to
her scalp. She started to fall back and that was the end of the
standing. It was the first time she had cried. She gave me a big
broken-hearted frown and appeared very disappointed in me for almost
letting her fall.
As always, Joe is the sleep hero. Before meeting the group for dinner
in the hotel restaurant, Molly sent us signs (big yawns) she was
sleepy. We went on. I held her while Joe fed her some congee (water
rice soup) which she seemed to like. I had to run upstairs to get a
document to turn in. By the time I got back, Joe was holding her
across his chest. Her eyes were glassy but open, and then she finally
gave in. The other dads at the table accused Joe of showing off
because most of the 18 month old girls from Beihei have been slow to
warm up to their daddies. In truth, they probably haven't seen many
men because most orphanage workers are women. Even the directors of
our two orphanages are women.
After a short cat nap, Molly awoke. She took in the sites at the
table. She gave Susan a few smiles as I held her, and then we headed
upstairs. We made another bottle, but she still didn't seem
interested. We put some PJs on her, ones Millie had outgrown. She
needed every bit of the 6-9 months (washed and dried many times)
length, but the body was very wide on her. Once again, Joe settled in
the chair, held her across his chest (she prefers one arm to be behind
your back in this position) and "rocked." I kept checking with Joe.
He would shake his head no, saying she was still staring at him, but
after I took out my contacts and washed my face, she was asleep. Joe
put her in her bed. It was about 8:30 p.m., and we have not heard a
thing from her since. So much for worrying about Molly's disturbing
Millie's sleep in their shared bedroom. She's slept 8 hours and
counting. My sister said Millie slept 10 hours last night. I'm
thinking they will be fast friends.
Steph....@gmail.com
who is so at ease with his babies. You two are amazing and wonderful.
robin.c...@education.ky.gov
times. Molly is beautiful and she looks like Maggie. With the
exception of delays and waiting...it sounds like this trip is pretty
calm. What is your hotel like?