Wednesday, August
18, 2010
OUR FINAL DAY IN GUANGZHOU
Well, Todd and I had another very late night! Last night
Harper’s whole torso was one big hive! Since there is no ice in
our room we tried to be creative and put cold soda cans on her
belly and back. She must have really felt miserable because she
let us roll them around her without any complaints. We started
giving her more Benadryl so we will see how that works today.
Our biggest fear is that her throat will swell and I am so
nervous to feed her anything. I am so surprised that the hives
were not mentioned anywhere in her file. I mean surely she had
these hives before meeting us. I now wonder if those scabs and
scrapes on her lower legs are from her hives or the mosquito
bites. Her legs are pretty scarred up. Apparently there are not
too many window screens here in China so the mosquitoes
definitely can get to those little legs quick! Poor baby! Each
day, we get to really scan her body more and more to see her
little skin marks. We have been pretty careful not to overwhelm
her or scare her by our constant searching. It is so funny to
think this little girl that we don’t know much about is ours!
She is so tiny! I am not sure if that is being conveyed through
the pictures! Everything literally falls off her waist even if
we tighten the waistband and safety pin the skirts!
Today we will be taking it easy and our only plans is to meet
our guide this afternoon to receive Harper’s Visa and say
good-bye to our travel friends. We decided we would meet them
earlier to go to one of my favorite spots – Starbucks! Prior to
travel I remember thinking what a welcome relief the Starbucks
will be in Guangzhou! I thought I would be going there every
chance I got but we had other plans of being cooped up in our
hotel room with Harper and her hives! Well now I am looking
forward to my Caramel Macchiato.
I took Harper to breakfast by myself today, what a mistake! Todd
needed to start packing our luggage and since he is the master
at organization I let him handle it all and stay out of the way!
Harper barely ate and once again everything was all over me. I
literally have to stand over her when I feed her. It must be
such a site! I am sure I look like I have no clue what I am
doing but it is the only way I can get some food in her. I just
shovel it in like the way the foster mother did! It is so neat
to see all the families at breakfast. It is like our own little
adoptive community and all the kids seem very happy with their
new parents. After eating Harper walked around and flashed her
smile to anyone that would want to give her attention. Harper
seems disappointed in the waitresses here since they don’t give
her the same one on one time the other waitresses did at the
Galactic Peace restaurant. I guess she thought waitresses were
there to just amuse her while she ate!
Supposedly there is a very large playroom here at the hotel. The
only problem is I can’t find it! Every time I ask someone that
works here they point to one area or floor and then I go there
and can’t find it. I really wish I knew more of the language!
Harper has no clue what I am trying to find. If she was older she
would probably be flipping out that I can’t find the toys! Right
now she just seems to be content to be on my hip walking in
circles around the hotel. I am getting really frustrated not
being able to understand what people are saying especially when
I want to just find the playroom! I don’t think she would even
care to be in the playroom honestly. She does not seem to want
anything to do with kids her age or with toys. After an hour of
walking around I gave up on finding the toys and we just walked
around outside to see the scenery. We still have not made it to
the pool and I guess since this is our last day I don’t think we
are going to! It is shame because the pool grounds are just
beautiful. It looks just like a resort on the U.S. Virgin
Islands. I would love to just sit at the pool and relax but I
think relaxing at a pool is a distant memory now. There is no
way Harper would ever let us sit and relax! After wandering for
a while we went back to the room and I got in a little photo
session with my baby girl. She loves the camera and the camera
definitely loves her!
Harper took a decent nap and we then we met Brandon, Robin
&Hadley. I can’t believe that we will be saying
our good-bye’s today. It felt like we just got here and in such a
short time this family has impacted our life forever. We were so
lucky to have traveled with such a wonderful couple and to see
them with their daughter makes you realize that the world is
filled with everyday angels. Although it is not talked about
much, many people, after coming to travel, decide to disrupt the
adoption after meeting the child. They may feel they child is
not a good fit for their family or that the child’s medical
needs are too great for them. Before Todd and I traveled, we
agreed that no matter what we would not disrupt. For us we felt
that Harper was our daughter the moment we signed the Letter of
Intent. I remember anxiously waiting our pre-approval from the
Chinese government. It took two weeks last February and the day
after my birthday it was granted to us. I remember Todd and me
both thinking the worst and wondering how we would live if she
wasn’t ours. We were so in love with her from the moment we saw
her sweet face in those referral pictures. Many people would
have been scared off than to deal with the medical issues Robin
and Brandon’s child had the past week. She was really sick
but they were sincerely committed and now their little angel is
starting to feel better and pretty soon they will have her on
American soil where she can get the best care possible. I swear
some people are just truly remarkable! When I asked her how they
were doing she always responded, “We are putting all our faith
in God and he is the one keeping us strong.” This couple truly
knows what it means to rely on faith alone! I am in awe of them
and their relationship with each other and God.
Well my Starbucks’s run ended up being a huge disappointment. I
decided to order a “green latte” it sounded so Asian! And well,
I figured since it was one of my last few days in China I should
try something daring! I should have stuck with the American
drinks! It smelled good then I opened up the lid and saw green
slime. I took a sip and didn’t take another. It was definitely
not my taste! I was really impressed with the Starbuck’s shop
though. It had a beautiful southern style white porch outside
and then inside it was like a metropolitan Starbucks. There were
teens in groups chatting, business people on laptops and parents
with their children. It was extremely busy especially for being
late in the afternoon. We found a seat outside when a bunch of
teenagers asked if they could take their picture with us. They
were so excited and they definitely were a bunch of characters!
Our travel buddy, Robin, is definitely picky about the germs, as
am I. We made it through this whole trip with bottles of hand
sanitizer and Robin even brought hospital grade soap. We did
pretty good considering the situations we were in to not get
sick. I am especially surprised I have not caught anything
on this trip. I came armed with an arsenal of over the counter
medications. Well here we are in the last day in mainland China
and the teenagers were cozying up to us in pictures. It was so
funny to see Robin’s face as they snuggled up to her cheek to
cheek smiling. I guess they thought it was pretty funny to take
pictures with Americans. We were glad to have brightened their
day and my stomach hurt from the laughter of it all. However, my
laughter stopped suddenly when I looked down at Harper and she
was covered in perspiration. I had no clue what was wrong and
assumed it was something with her heart and the larger dose of
Benadryl we gave her. I was a mess and started to panic. She was
not looking too well so after just a few minutes out and about
we decided to return to our hotel. It was not the goodbye I
thought I would have with our travel friends but I just
desperately wanted to get Harper back in the room. We said quick
goodbyes in the elevator and everyone got off on the second
floor while Harper and I stayed on. The door closed and there
were my travel buddies on the other side starting their long
journey home.
Todd and I are definitely learning quickly what it takes to be
parents. It is full of unknowns, and apparently chaos! Harper
sweated profusely for another full hour. Then it just seemed to
stop and she began to run around the room making kissing faces
with Todd through the double doors. Instead of going out to eat,
we decided to order in and little Miss Harper enjoyed taking all
the food off the table and putting it on the floor! I still had
some souvenirs to pick up so I ran out for an hour to finish my
shopping and left Todd with the mess and Harper! He loves caring
for Harper and we are so happy she has finally come around to
him. I felt bad leaving her and told her I would be back really
soon. I had a feeling she would be asleep before I got back
though. It was a surreal feeling to be by myself on the elevator
now. There was always Harper glued to my hip. I felt a bit free,
vulnerable and a tad sad. I really feel like a mom now. Maybe it
was because my friends had left and now Todd and I were
literally by ourselves, or maybe it was because all the big
adoption stuff was over. I guess it is how some women feel after
having a baby. We did not have time to hype up this trip. We
were so focused on the paperwork and approvals that before we
knew is we were on a plane. We just went with it and rushed
around until the moment we left. We also did not have time to
focus on our feelings and I surely had no time to just sit and
ponder how it would feel to be a mom and all the
responsibilities that come with that title. Or just maybe I was
actually feeling nervous tonight because this was our last day
on the mainland and tomorrow we would start our trip back to the
states. We would be leaving Harper’s country behind – a country
that apparently has no room for its little girls. Whatever was
causing my stomach to drop changed when I hit the street and
felt the energy of the night. Cars and mopeds were zooming
around me, tons of people were walking the streets chattering in
Chinese and all I could smell was the humid night air and the
fragrant flowers along the park pathway. I paused, closed my
eyes for a second and told myself to relax and enjoy this
moment. It would probably be a long time before I had any time
to myself and it definitely would be my last chance to
experience the nightlife of China. |
Our little baby girl waking up!
She melts our hearts with those beautiful eyes! Sometimes we do
not know if she is going to laugh or cry!
Harper and her bedhead!
Don't forget to pack me!
I want to go to this place called "Home"!
The Koi pond and the breakfast area in the background
Harper and I did not find the playroom but we did find "The
Lucky Color Skin Care Center"!
The hotel grounds are just gorgeous!
Harper gripping tightly to her daddy
The dad's and their little girl's in front of the Guangzhou
Starbucks
The teenage posse posing for pictures with us
Green slime, anyone?
Harper eyeing up the room service platters and those shiny
utensils!
|
