She's Here!

My group met at 9:30am to fill out paperwork and had an unexpected surprise...an updated photo!
Then at 2pm it was time to leave to go get Maeve. After a short drive to the Civil Affairs Office and a quick trip on the elevator to the 14th floor, we were there. The place was organized bedlam, as there were several groups of families there completing their paperwork. Everyone else had their babies, so it was easy to spot the nannies with our babies. They were in a separate room. The walls were glass so of course we all flocked over and stared. I picked Maeve out right away!
Now it was time. One at a time they called the families to meet their new children. Dad was videoing and Mom took pictures of it all. And here she is...


Some of the babies never even cried, not my daughter, she has a set of lungs and knows how to use them. Don't worry, it is a good sign! After spending some time on the last bit of paperwork, we were able to speak to the nannies. Maeve's favorite nanny answered all of my questions and it was obvious she was very well loved while in the orphanage. I am happy to say she is healthy, not even a runny nose and completely beautiful. All the girls from Xiu Shan Orphanage had the same cute little outfit on and all looked wonderful! After all this excitement, it was time to go back to the hotel. Maeve took it in stride only crying a little along the way. She was starting to stare at me when she thought I wasn't looking, but looked away as soon as I looked at her. I had put her in her baby carrier and that really helped calm her down. She loves her baby carrier (Thank you Aunt MaryAnn!!)

When we got back to the hotel, we met with our guide to go over Maeve's schedule for feeding and sleeping that the nannies had given us. It was in Chinese so Michael interpreted for us. Then it was time for a diaper change and a new set of clothes. Although Maeve wasn't happy about either of these things, it allowed me to get a close look at her and check to make sure she was healthy. She is and a good weight too. She is a year old, and is fitting into the 9 month sizes that I brought along. Later, she took a little bottle, but not much. She was still looking around and getting use to her new surroundings, but now she didn't look away when I looked at her. She was definitely clinging onto me at this point. So, what's a new family to do? Off to dinner of course. :)

We went to the hotel restaurant and Maeve took it all in. She watched as I ate and tried a little rice and a bit of the congee I ordered for her, but she still wasn't that interested. She did start to babble and I think I almost saw a smile (or at least she thought about it) when we were playing with her keys. After dinner, we hung out with Mom & Dad for awhile, while Dad downloaded all of his pictures for me. Then it was time to walk the hallways. :) Maeve was tired, but not interested in sleeping just yet. I know they play music at her orphanage, so we walked and sang a lullaby. She loved that and stared at me the whole time I was singing. The nannies also said she liked cartoons, so later we sat on the bed and watched Chinese cartoons and played with her toys. She still cried every once in awhile, but just short little bursts and then she was done. At 9pm it was time to put her down for the night. I was a bit nervous on this one. Sure enough, she wailed when I set her down, but just for a minute. She then flipped over, looked around and literally just sprawled out to go to sleep. The funny part was when she suddenly jumped up and hurridly looked around the room until she saw me. It was like she was thinking, "That's right. I must stare at her still for awhile." I gave her her keys and she proceeded to go all around her crib, alternating playing with her keys and staring at me. She had quite the day!

Currently, she is sound asleep and I can already tell a difference in her from this afternoon to this evening in her disposition and how she is getting along. She went from utterly terrified to calm, from not even wanting to look at me to staring right back at me, to pushing away any new toy given her to playing. She was starting to babble before I put her down and definitely likes to be held (again thank goodness for the baby carrier.) By the way, she doesn't suck her thumb, but the two middle fingers of her hand. It is so cute.

Posted by Laura at 9:54 AM