Krauss Haus: 7-25, Day 6 in China

Thursday, September 20, 2012

7-25, Day 6 in China

Day 6; July 25, 2012; Wuhan, China

Emalie slept until 0630 this morning and we all woke up with her. I fed her a bottle right away. We decided yesterday that she will be better off with bottles as her staple and any other solids as fillers. She needs the bottles and is quite calmed by them. We must coddle her as the baby she is and not the toddler she will be. She happily played while we got ready for breakfast. Breakfast was yet another frustrating experience. We were again seated in a back corner. I was again almost in tears because of the lack of service and cooperation by the staff. We tried to eat quickly and get out. I strongly dislike this hotel. A 5-star hotel full of business people is not where we should be. It is too expensive, too unfriendly and too user-unfriendly.

We think Emalie has not ben getting enough sleep. It is 1140 and she has been alseep since 1000. ....Today, she held her arms to me and let me pick her up for the first time. Better today than yesterday! We have also noticed that she is fine alone with us in our room but too uncomfortable and stimulated anywhere else. This time alone has been good for us. We will meet Joanna at 1400 to visit the orphanage.....

. . . . What a successful afternoon. We packed up our gifts, orphanage clothes and baby blankets I’d made. We were met by the same representative from the orphanage as we’d met on Monday at the C.A.B. Our first impression was a good one. The orphanage buildings are behind decorative gates with a guard. It is all very clean, cared for and modern. The basketball play area is at the top of the hill above the gate at the entrance. We were taken to an entry hall filled with calligraphy gifted from previous visiting officials. At the end of this hall is a gallery displaying the artwork of a 36-year old disabled artist (man) who grew up at the orphanage. He draws/paints with his feet. They were all amazing! Very beautiful and awe-inspiring. Here we were greeted by the Orphanage Director. He seemed to be a very nice man. We were first taken to the Half the Sky playroom. There were seven nannies and about fifteen kids. One baby was only two days old, one little girl was blind and one little boy appeared to have Down’s Syndrome. A nurse even let Nikolas hold the two-day old! The nannies were THRILLED to see Emalie- sweeping her sleeping body out of Sven’s arms and passing her around. They were so happy to see ‘zu-zu’ (‘little piggy’). Emalie smiled and held onto them but always continued to make eye contact with us and went back to Sven once. It was very humbling to see all the babies of all ages and to see the way the nannies carried them around. We gave them half of our nanny gifts, took some photos and said our goodbyes. We were then taken to the nursery next door. This is where the babies sleep. There were about thirty cribs and we were shown which one was Emalie’s. There were a few babies in the cribs and some being carried by the registered nurses who work in this room. There were two incubators. There was a premie in one who was so tiny. I couldn’t stop looking at him. We were told that because of Emalie’s low weight upon arrival at the orphanage that they thought she was a premie and she spent time in the incubator, too. It was strange to see the incubator she had been in and the crib that had been hers the past fifteen months. She was obviously loved but still very much an orphan. We were told that of the five hundred orphans in the orphanage, only thirty-three of them are healthy. That means there are 467 special-needs children who need homes. It’s unbelievable. We were so very fortunate to be given the chance to bring this beautiful, happy, healthy little girl into our home. She is so loved by all who meet her. We cannot wait to share her with our family and friends. We said our goodbyes, took more photos and headed back to the hotel.

We expected the worst from Emalie after this experience, but she surprised us-- no fits, no tears, only smiles, hugs and games. We were so incredibly surprised. When it became apparent that Emalie wouldn’t nap after her bottle (though she was very tired), we tried Richard’s advice. Sven took Nikolas to the pool, while Emalie and I were alone. The time with her was amazing. She sat on my lap, we played, I held her as we danced-- no tears, no screaming, no arched-back head-banging (did I mention I was going to start calling her my little metalhead because of the way she bangs her head when she’s upset?). And after this time together, she changed. She smiles at me, she comes to me, she lets me hold her! It feels so much more natural and better than to be rejected. I understand that she still needs Sven first for comfort but I also now see that she is willing to let me in. What a difference a day makes!!

I love this interaction I captured between Nikolas and Emalie after she first awoke:

"Where'd you hide the shoes?! I know they're around here somewhere!"

This trip is definitely exhausting for everyone.

Nikolas is tired, but he utilized Emalie's sleeping time to play his Nintendo without the curious little hands of his little sister! He's already learning......!