International Adoption Kith

[Jamauk]

Hi Lady V! Welcome to the conversation!

[Cricket1]

Lady V!!!! I haven't "seen" you fon here or a while. Hope all is well--nice to have you back.

[Lady_V]

I have a way of disappearing, don't I? 2007 has been insane -- between the surgery, recovery and now the holidays. I managed to put the knitting needles down long enough to pop back in.

I was too young to adopt from China but I heard from friends who have that the wait is insane.

I thought of the whole process as a pregnancy of sorts, I nested, I glowed, I gained 15 pounds had a 22 hour labor (flight), complications (unplanned overnight in Japan) ... and she was a preemie because it was only 6 months from the time I walked in to the agency and I held her in my arms.

I also brought her home September 2, 2001... I was originally going to spend 2 weeks in Cambodia (which would have had me leaving September 12, 2001) but I don't know if it was my newly found Momma-ition, but I arrived there August 27, and had the papers rushed through because (this is where the false SN status worked) I said she was ill (which she was, lactose intolerant, and the formula they had was milk-free, but, had lactose. The more she ate, the more she vomited, the more she vomited, the more they fed her so she wouldn't be dehydrated. They didn't understand the label because it was in English) and I got her out on a medical emergency leave.

At that point, she had been so ill that she went through all her clothes, and I only had a skirt and shirt I had held aside, a set of sleepers and her coming home dress that I was going to put on her before we got off the plane at home in a seal-a-meal bag until I got to Thailand and showered. The director of the AOA had contacted me before I went and told me that there was an outbreak of scabies, so I left all the clothes I wore in Cambodia behind and changed in to unopened clothes once I was able to get to another country.

I arrived home over a week ahead of schedule, and I told NO ONE until I hit New York and we were processed and she was given her green card... wearing only a diaper and the necklace the Monks had given her. She had gone through everything else. I was wearing an airplane blanket as a toga too. I gave my family basically a 3 hour notice.

The flight from NY to Boston was something else. The coming home outfit was way too big for her, since I bought it back home, and knowing she was 15 months, I bought a 12 months... remember, she wore a 0/3 month with PLENTY of wiggle room!!!! So, I rolled her tights up a few times, the woman behind me gave me the idea to tuck some of the leg under her feet since she wasn't going to be walking and the shoes were too big, it wouldn't hurt her.... the red, white and blue sailor suit looked sooooo cute on her, since it looked as if it was a ball gown on her and not the knee-length it was meant to be.

I'll tell you more about the whole story some other time... but, don't let the waiting get you down.

psst -- JAMAUK -- You --KNOW-- you will have a daughter... break out the pink yarn, yes, you may not know how OLD she will be or how BIG she will be... but a pink teddy bear travel blanket hand-made and given by Mommy for the long flight home will keep you busy for a while. There are plenty of things to make... and if you don't know how to knit, sew or crochet... you have plenty of time to learn... and keep you busy... it WILL pass, and you WILL have your daughter!!

[Jamauk]

psst -- JAMAUK -- You --KNOW-- you will have a daughter... break out the pink yarn, yes, you may not know how OLD she will be or how BIG she will be... but a pink teddy bear travel blanket hand-made and given by Mommy for the long flight home will keep you busy for a while. There are plenty of things to make... and if you don't know how to knit, sew or crochet... you have plenty of time to learn... and keep you busy... it WILL pass, and you WILL have your daughter!!

Thanks Lady V - yes, she already has quite a collection of quilts that I've made as "practice"!