We are parents!

Chongqing, October 13, 2008

She’s sleeping!

First of all, her name. Last night we had narrowed it down to four, and by the time we woke up this morning it was down to one: Nika. Nika is her first name, and Xue Fei is her middle name!

We woke up at 4:30am and could not go back to sleep. At 9:00 we were on the bus, and we arrived at Dianjiang right at 11:00. After the drive we thought it might be nice to visit the facilities before receiving our babies. The ladies went to the 2nd floor and as we were taking turns…Brent came upstairs and said, “Hey, they’re giving us the babies.”

I thought he was joking! We went downstairs and he showed us into a room, and there was Wolfgang sitting there with Nika sleeping soundly in his lap!

As the room filled with commotion around us, they sat there peacefully together, and eventually she woke up. She had the toy we had sent in July, played with it a little, and also checked out Wolfgang’s fuzzy face. We had a few smiles then!

Anna translated our questions, and we showed her the infant pictures I had found online – yes, one of them certainly is baby Xue Fei! We also received her finding ad, which the orphanage is required to place in the newspaper – the photo would have been taken at one or two weeks old.

We gave out the gifts and donations to the orphanage staff. Unfortunately we were not able to meet the nannies. I so wanted to meet the Pink Nanny who is holding her in the March photos.

We also received the camera I had sent, but I suspect no one used it to take photos as the dial says 0 on the roll. We’ll find out when we get it developed at home.

We had a short tour of the orphanage – just up a few floors where we viewed about 8 sleeping infants. All but one had cleft palettes, and they were all so petite. Babies with cleft palettes are designated as special needs, and we were told the special needs babies are in high demand now.

Up one more floor where we looked at a room full of inflated mini swimming pools. We were told the babies really enjoy the exercise.

Then we filed out into the courtyard and there were many onlookers. I think the Dianjiang SWI is more than an orphanage. It is also a residence for adults who need some form of care, and some senior citizens.

Next it was the finding place photos. Nika was found at the gate to the orphanage.

We piled into the van and drove out the tiny narrow alley, onto the street and just around the corner, where we filed out and went into a restaurant. We had a private room, and Anna started ordering food.

Around this time, Nika/Fei Fei started to clue in on the fact that she was now with us. Wolfgang sat with her in the corner and while she cried, we heard the occaisional “Maaa.” It became clear that I was not the correct one! Later on Anna told us that a week ago all the babies were returned to the orphanage from their foster families. Fortunately Wolfgang has the magic touch and was able to comfort her. I managed to get some noodles and egg into her with my deft chopstick technique. The bottle, however, was a no-go.

From here onwards, until about an hour ago, Wolfgang has been the main object of her attention!

Back on the bus, all the babies passed out within about five minutes. Fei Fei was sprawled out on her back across our laps.

Once we got into the hotel room the truth really set in. Wolfgang held her, cooed and jostled her for about two hours, while any direct eye contact with me brought on renewed tears! She cried for Ma a lot.

We thought some TV time might help, and the first of many future viewings of Deutcher Welle (German news TV) with Daddy was enjoyed. This gave me a chance to go out and get some hydrogen peroxide for Wolfgang’s blocked ears, which has made him a bit uncomfortable the last few days. Anna was on the elevator so she accompanied me to the pharmacy and translated for me thanks to her cell phone dictionary!

She was looking for a favorite spicy noodle spot she had visited three years ago, so I walked with her and got noodles too. We took them back to the hotel. When I came in, Wolfgang and Fei Fei were playing really sweetly on the bed. But when I started eating the noodles (they were spicy!) she sat up and we knew she was hungry. She let me feed her again (leftovers from lunch) while we were waiting for the congee to arrive from room service. I got about two tablespoonfuls of congee down thanks to my deft spoon technique (and thanks to Char who loaned us the spoon) (I forgot to pack the spoons).

Finally, we got the bottle situation resolved, and she drank the whole thing at once. I was getting a bit worried that she’d gone the whole day without one. So, I'm the food lady, but Daddy is her play thing! They played handsies and feetsies and she was a much happier baby after that bottle. Then we gave her a quick sponge bath, fresh diaper and baby lotion massage. She also has some eczema that is clearing up, and I got some eczema cream on her.

Now the change of clothes – the 12 month old jammies I got her were too small for her chubby legs! So thanks to Granny Gail and Poppy for sending us the perfect fleece jammies. Once we got her into them, she was out like a light.

She’s sleeping in her crib tucked in with Wolfgang’s Euro 2008 T-shirt. She has some mild chest congestion, which we’ll ask the doctor about tomorrow morning.

I’m sure Wolfgang would want to add some comments but he’s passed out too!