We had a good night with Tam but it reminded us of when our son was a newborn, waking every couple of hours for a feeding/diaper change. We are still kind of screwed up timewise from the jet lag, so no big deal. She really seemed hungry or just looking for comfort when she awoke, which was such a relief, as I expected her to still be crying because we are strangers, but she did not have that same frightened look as when we first met her. The more time we spent with her the more we got a gauge of her motor development. I would put her at 4-5 months rather than nearly 9 months. She is trying to roll but does not. She cannot get to a sitting position, but she can sort of stay there when propped. She does this super cute half ab-crunch maneuver. She wants to sit but she hasn't had enough practice. She does this funny dancing kind of bob and weave motion with her head and sometimes her whole body. She has good tone but is lacking some coordination. That is probably the cause, but we call it dancing.
She ate rice cereal with gusto and was interested in more solid food like the Gerber puffs we brought, but she had a hard time with them. It did not seem like she had much experience with solids, which we confirmed later when we were able to speak more to the orphanage director. It seems that babies who take to the solids are fed them and the ones who need more help with them just stay on the bottle. They do put rice cereal in the bottle, but it is not enough.
We started the day with another huge breakfast buffet. (We have yet to eat dinner in China!) We had a flavorful noodle dish that is local here in Nanchang. Not spicy but flavored with peppers. Also ate dragon fruit for the first time. More pics of the hotel as we headed out.
Today was a big day of paperwork and interviews but our guide walked us through every step. We spent the most time in the registration office. We moved from room to room, having a family photo taken, a picture just of Tamasyn, an interview with the adoption registration official, and then various fees to pay. We had to wait a while during the fee paying part in a large room with a large group of adoptive parents from Spain, as well as some others. Tamasyn was wearing some booties courtesy of my good friend Debbie, but they were a bit big for her feet and trying to fall off. Lots of folks kept pointing that out.
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| Registration official |
We next headed to Walmart to get a few baby supplies, including a pair of shoes now that we know how tiny her feet are. We also got a cool baby bottle that has a nipple and a straw so babe can drink with the bottle upright. Being a city Walmart, it is multiple floors but something I've not seen before is an escalator where the stairs flatten but still has ridges so the shopping cart does not move. That was pretty cool. We picked up a couple of shirts there for Tamasyn but it was hard to find ones small enough for her.
Tam had a medical exam today. The pediatrician came to our hotel room. She is tiny (13 pounds), so he gave us some advice about feeding her. He also prescribed some vitamins. She probably has not been outside much, so a little outside time every day was also advised. Our guide also thinks she may have low calcium as she has seen that in other babies who sweat a lot at night and have a distinct shape to their head. We will have her checked out again when we get home, but the overall feeling is that all of the issues can be corrected with proper diet and stimulation within a few months.
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| Dancing at the passport office |
We go everywhere by taxi here. The driving is still crazy but not as crazy as Beijing in my opinion. The taxis are very cheap but can be hard to get when it is raining. We saw a motorbike taxi where the driver was wearing a helmet and a mom holding her baby in her arms were the passengers (!).
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| Laundry service |
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