I know, I know....scroll down and drool! I know you probably aren’t even gonna read the post today, huh? Well I hope you come back so I can tell you all about her transition today.
Yeah! You ARE back! Isn’t she absolutely amazing? ALLLLLLL THAT HAAAAIRRRR! They had to have her hair professionally cut and styled! She wins the "most hair" award in our group. Everyone enjoys touching her hair and commenting on it. She is 8 mos old and all that hair! I didn’t even make a budget for HAIR PRODUCTS, let alone the cost of haircuts!
(insert giggles)
After landing at the airport and rushing to the hotel, our guide quickly took us to a market and we bought formula, rice cereal and snacks. The hotel has hot boiled water in the hotel rooms. We rushed back, poured hot water in the bottle liner; zip locked some formula, and bussed to the Civil Affairs Office for babies!
In a short ten minutes we were there, elevator up to floor 26, and walked into a beautiful room. When I stepped inside, I looked to my left and was greeted with none other than a sweet nanny holding..........Savanah........and all her hair! lol She was also holding Alyson's baby Paige, and they were dressed alike! Their yellow outfits were matching, and later we were told that Paige and Savanah are best friends! Kinda neat because they will be forever living an hour of each other for life!!! Neat, huh?
The nanny saw me and started saying, "XiXi....Mama! Mama!" She pointed and Savanah looked and looked at me. We had to step aside and wait a few minutes, so we watched all the babies. Savanah just looked and studied all that was going on. She never cried, she just absorbed it all in.
I had wanted to be last so I could see everyone's moments. And I was! We helped each other with pictures and videos. The director gave us a beautiful book of our daughters, the orphanage, their room mates, history, etc. I will bring it to the "meet and greet" ...it is amazing! The nannies also returned our care packages and cameras.
The video shows you how calm Savanah was when they handed her to me. She is so peaceful and intent. It still seems so surreal. But I know she is mine forever. While we were there, she sat and looked at everyone and everything. She LOVES Lisa, and Lisa got her to smile.....GUESS WHO HAS A DIMPLE????? lol She has that small "shirley temple"dimple close to her lips on the right side.
Savanah is in love with her tongue! She sucks it and her top lip, and she always shows it! It is the cutest thing. We tried a pacifier, just to see....she "might" take it in time. Being only 8mos old, she still needs to suck a lot.
I am not sure of her size. Size 2 diapers are just right, but it will only be a few weeks more I think. I am glad I have a few size 3 packs at home. She only takes formula, and is not at all familiar with anything but the bottle. Her little foot can’t be anymore than a size 2. She is not chubby at all, but her thighs do have some meat on them. I betcha she is 14 lbs. and probably a size 9 mos. and maybe some 6 mos. Her feet are teeny tiny!
Savanah seems calm, peaceful, laid back, shy but will smile if she knows you and its worth giving you a smile. When we got back to the hotel room, we just played with her. She had a little bit of bottle and then really cried hard, nearly screaming with anger. Then she stopped. The whole time all I could feel was a touch of sadness for the loss she might have been feeling, but a calming peace that her new life was going to be filled with many happy memories. I just rocked her and sang in her ear. After a much needed bath, she really calmed and relaxed way down.
Savanah sat in my lap, we played with her feet, teased Auntie Lisa with them, and Savanah watched the pictures of her and the video repeatedly and with much intensity. She would smile and looooooook, and was mesmerized! Soon she was kicking her feet, and cooing, and slapping her hands up and down. So very relaxed!
It probably helps that she LOVES the Gerber melt away treats in cherry flavor. She was leaning forward, reaching for them with an open mouth. Later she even laid on the blanket on the floor and smiled at us. She is ticklish and has a beautiful laugh. She is so petite.
I had to do some major paperwork on the tenth floor so Lisa put her to sleep. Savanah has slept through the night so peacefully. What a lucky momma I am! She is more than I imagined, and I still cannot believe it. I am looking forward to getting to know her more and more. But I gotta tell ya, it seems so odd to me, that I will have an attached cute little booger on my hips forever and ever.
