Last night was not a dream! We woke up and Amelia was right next to us in her crib. She slept until morning. I think I checked on her a million times during the night. We had tried to give her a bottle the night before and she would not take it. We thought maybe because of the stress of everything. We tried again this morning to give her a bottle and she still would not take it.
We had to meet in the lobby to go as a group to our government appointments. We got Amelia dressed, ourselves dressed and all our paperwork packed, and the baby bag packed. Off we went. We got on the bus, which was a little nicer than the one from the other day but, there was still no heat on the bus. All the babies were crying, but, it soon ended. Bruce and LiPing took us to an office building. They had told us to be sure and dress the babies in lots of layers. Bruce said that the Chinese believe that you can keep a baby well by keeping them very warm and bundled up. He said that when we are out in public to make sure all the babies skin is hidden,etc. or as he put it ,"you will be behind the eight ball".
Well, since we did not receive Amelia until after 10pm Tuesday night, we were not able to buy
her any shoes yet. So, I put two pairs of socks on her and wrapped her legs and feet in a blanket.
We were in the elevator going up to the 1st government meeting and a Chinese lady who was behind me took a hold of Amelia's foot and started scolding me in Chinese. I just looked at her and smiled.
We also were having a hard time getting Amelia to eat anything. I had a breakfast bar for myself to eat before our meeting. Janet suggested that I give some little bits to Amelia. I did and she loved it. But, another Chinese man pointed to the breakfast bar and then to Amelia and shook his head no. It was a bit frustrating. but, that is how they treat Americans. So I guess I was "behind the eight ball" according to the Chinese. We arrived at a large room with benches around the wall. We all sat down.
One family at a time, they called us in for our interview. They took our first family photo to attach to our paperwork. The interview was short. They asked us questions like, how much do you make, what are your educational plans for the baby, do you promise to never abandon or abuse your baby, and are you satisfied with your baby. We smiled and answered all their questions. Then at the end we had been instructed to give the interviewer a gift ( that we brought from the US) and a "donation" that we had be instructed to put in an envelope. We did this and then she gave us a gift also. It was a coffee mug.
Next, we had to go to another office. So we were back on the bus for another ride. The next building was the same. A large room with benches around the wall. Each family was called
up and asked the same types of questions. We then had to give another gift and "donation". After everyone had a turn, we got back on the bus, and headed for our 3rd stop where they video taped the babies individually. Bruce said that he does not know why they do this, but, they do.
We returned to the hotel exhausted. We stopped by the lunch buffet and after taking a wiff decided to eat KFC again. Janet wanted to go get the bucket of chicken and check out the Wal-Mart. She was ready to explore. So off she went. Vaughn and I read books to Amelia and played with her. We were starting to get to know her.
When Janet returned, we ate KFC in our room and felt much better. Later in the day, Vaughn went to a nearby grocery store and got bread. We had peanut butter sandwiches for dinner. Amelia was so exhausted from all the traveling she had done the day before. We put her to bed and she did not like it. She started crying and screaming for 1 hour and 45 minutes. It was so tough. We did not know if she was having trauma from leaving her foster family, just exhaustion, attachment issues, or did she really want the bag of M&M's laying on the bedside table. We just did not know. By the time she finally went to sleep we were all drained. We know it will take time for Amelia to learn to trust us, it just makes our heart ache to see her so upset. I again checked on her several times during the night. She slept for 11 hours.
January 23, 2008
All bundled up and asleep on the bus!
Daddy watches over Amelia sleep
1 of 3 government appointments. We are being interviewed. The man standing is Bruce.
He is our travel guide in Nanchang.
Janet entertains Amelia while Mommy works on the web site
Daddy shares his love for the Gators with Amelia. She is excited to become a Gator fan!!!
