Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Well our amazing journey to pick up our daughter ended as it should . . . with us home safely. The flights home went as well as could be expected for 24+ hours of continuous travel. Katie did better than we could have hoped for on the flights. Still being on planes and in airports that long is not easy, but finally having our daughter home made it all worthwhile. We were overwhelmed by everyone that came to the airport to support our family and welcome our daughter. It was a pleasant surprise and an absolutely great way to end our trip. Also thank you to everyone that has followed our trip on this blog. We really can not thank you enough, it meant so much to us. We also greatly appreciate Joe & Jennifer doing such a wonderful job putting the blog together and updating it so quickly. Keegan is doing very well. We really are so proud of how well he did while we were gone. His new sister already adores him and watches his every move, making it easier for Mom & Dad to get some things done at home. We are happy to report that this family of four is safe and sound at home and are ready for the new adventures that await us.

Here are some random thoughts (helpful and maybe not so helpful) about our trip for families traveling to China to pick up their daughter or son:

* Do not overpack – laundry is relatively inexpensive and the same clothes can be worn repeatedly.

* Learn some Mandarin (Pimsleur CDs work great on commute to/from work) – knowing a limited amount of the basics helps make you feel comfortable to explore.

* Feel free to rearrange your hotel room to suit your family – this is your home for the next two weeks.

* If you have a laptop take it with you.

* Bring a laptop backpack. It can also serve as your diaper bag/camera bag/food bag/paperwork bag on your daily trips.

* Skype is probably the cheapest way to talk to family and friends (if you take a laptop – download it prior to the trip though).

* If you have children staying in the States utilize Skype and webcams to talk to them – it is not the same as being there but is much better than just talking on the phone.

* Bring a good book for the flights over (or some other way to pass the time).

* Unless you can sleep for extended periods of time on a plane get an aisle seat for the long flights. It is nice to have the option to get up and walk around without constantly inconveniencing someone

* Download a few movies or some of your favorite shows to your laptop – great way to pass the time when you can not sleep in the middle of the night (make sure to take headphones though).

* Get out of your hotel room as much as possible – it will make the time you spend in China much more enjoyable, passes the time, and lets you get a feeling for what China and its people are really like.

* If you take formula make sure to bring at least two large cans (one will not be enough…we barely made it home with two.)

* On the return trip home put extra formula in a ziploc bag . . . keep the formula cans - they can be used to pack small breakables on your return trip home.

* Bring at least a couple days of baby supplies – in case you are unable to get to a store right away.

* Try to save a few American diapers you bring for the return flights home (also carryon a change of clothes for the baby and yourself just in case).

* Have a snack and diaper change ready for shortly after you meet your child. They may have traveled several hours that day to meet you without eating or a diaper change.

* Bring a small amount of comfort foods with you (peanut butter & Ritz crackers worked well for us). Some afternoons/nights you are so exhausted that eating is the last thing on your mind . . . a handy, quick snack is just enough to keep you going.

* Bring some $20 bills to convert towards the end of your trip…hotels will convert US $ to RMB but not RMB to US $.

* Tylenol PM works nicely on an occasional basis when you need to get at least a few consecutive hours of sleep.

Our trip went more smoothly than we could have ever anticipated (from Katie, flights, no major sicknesses . . . ) and we were still exhausted at times . . . think that is just part of having a new child and traveling half way across the world.