Lydia slept amazing the first night we had her. We had to wake her at 7:30am so we could get her dressed and fed before our appointments. She seemed very pleased with her new shoes! :) She is also very attached to the soft stuffed panda that we brought for her and carries it with her everywhere we go.
We ate breakfast in the executive lounge and she mostly ate dumplings and scrambled eggs. We have noticed that she will not pick up her cup to drink. She will only eat when we suggest to eat and drink when we suggest to drink. :( We don't think she's had many choices during her time in the orphanage and was used to a very structured and small life. When we suggested drinking the orange juice she guzzled it!!
We met a new guide in the lobby and went back to the civil affairs office where we met her the day before. Tuesday's pictures were much happier in that place! We went through a short formal interview with a civil affairs official and signed our name many times to finalize her adoption. We also posed for our official adoption decree picture! Our next stop was to drive to the notary office where we had to wait for a bit and then go through another short interview in order for our documents to be official. The notary asked many questions (a lot which seemed out of curiosity) about our family size, meeting our children's special needs, why we are adopting again. It was nice to be able to share with him about our love for China, our honor in raising all of our kids and our willingness to provide medical care for our children. We are so thankful to have the resources we need in America to give them a life of happiness and HOPE. Life in China with thalassemia is not a life of hope due to limited medical resources.
After the meetings we drove back to the hotel and then ate lunch in the Cantonese restaurant in our hotel. This is the first time we really saw Lydia start to use imaginary play! A waitress gave her a plastic bowl and spoon to use while we waited for the food. Lydia was pretending to mix food and then feed multiple imaginary people near her. Honestly, she was most likely mimicking how the nannies in the orphanage feed all the babies and go down the line giving them bites. Kind of sad if you think about it, but we are choosing to be thankful that she knew how to use her imagination and mimick things she has experienced in her life.
After lunch Bryan put Lydia down for a nap. She drank a small bottle and he laid her in the pack in play. She fussed a little but he patted her back and held her hand and she quickly went to sleep. I took a nap also, and she and I both slept for over 3 hours!
When Lydia woke up she was so thrilled to sit on the couch and play with all of her little toys. She can be very possessive of her new belongings like any other two year old-- but we also suspect she has not had many things that were truly HERS. She happily played on the couch for 45 minutes. I've never seen a child her age sit still for that long. Bryan then moved her to standing up next to the couch and she stood there for at least 25 minutes. We have noticed that when we put her in a position it does not occur to her to move. She can move her arms and legs normally like any other child- but it's almost like she hasn't had the chance to explore and play. We suspect (and our guide also confirmed) that she likely spent most of her time in her crib at the orphanage, both because of the sheer volume of kids there and because they viewed her as fragile due to her thalassemia. When standing she didn't know how to bend down to pick up something she dropped or transition to a sitting position. We are hopeful that with time, experience and maybe a little physical therapy she will make great strides.
We loved watching her feed her baby, pretend to distribute food into different little cups and talk on the phone. When we FaceTimed my mom she pretended to talk on the phone to her! I even taught my mom how to say "wei" when she would 'answer' her phone because that is what they say in China! :)
Bryan in total 'Dad mode' protecting her from hitting the corner of the table while she plays and he watched football!!!
Daddy listening to her lungs and heart- she is still battling a bit of congestion and sounds like a purring kitten.
I gave Lydia her first bath with us and thankfully she did not cry. Again - she mostly sat still and clung to the new stacking cups I gave her. She tried to play with them a little but she was mostly concerned with not losing them. You can see in the bath pictures and when I got her out of the tub just how distended her belly is. This is from her untreated thalassemia (her spleen and liver are enlarged) and should get better with time as she gets more regular transfusions. It could take up to a year or more to get completely better, though. It is hard to see some of the physical characteristics of untreated thalassemia in her and know that all of those things could have been avoided :(
Baby girl played more after bath and repeated the previous nights routine of happily drinking her bottle in my arms, then laying in her pack n play and peacefully falling asleep! She slept all night except for a small whimper or two, and is still sleeping now as I write this. It's almost 7am here.
Today (Wednesday) we are free all morning and only have to go to the passport office at 3pm to apply for her passport.
Thank you for reading along as I document our time here (mostly for my benefit and the benefit of Lydia's grandparents!). We appreciate your prayers and support for us and feel so encouraged to know how many people care about our family and our new daughter. <3
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