Day 11: Medical Appt, New Stroller, Americans!!!!

Happy 69th Birthday Mom and G'ma!!! We love you and miss you and appreciate you the whole world!!! xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Wow! So much to say and it's only 3:40 p.m. our time! BenBen just fell asleep for nap. Greg and Sam are trying out the pool for the first time. We walked by earlier and the water is extremely warm - almost like a hot tub!! The scenery is beautiful - a waterfall into the pool and a great kiddie pool. I can't wait till Ben checks it out....he seemed very eager but we wouldn't let him out of the stroller (it was raining a little too). He loves baths but is apprehensive (not sure that's the right word...?) about getting his head wet.

We started the morning by sleeping in (well, me and the kids). Greg was out walking the island at 6 a.m. - taking photos and checking things out. We slept in until 7:30 a.m. or so. Ben usually wakes me up by staring at me really close to my face and smiling really big when I open my eyes. Cracks me up! We played in bed (quietly because Sam was still sleeping) for about 10 minutes. We were whispering counting to 10, naming body parts, playing "this little piggy"....he's such a little sponge and loves learning all the new words. He's trying so hard and it melts my heart.

I must say, (and I mentioned it in my post yesterday) - the beds here are ridiculously hard. Harder than a floor...more like concrete! The pillows are huge (like, tall/thick) and I can't use them....nearly paralyzes my neck. I think I'll try a travel pillow tonight. Otherwise, the rooms are great. Loving having the extra 1/2 bath and the view from our room at night is fantastic...overlooking Guangzhou across the river with all the lights. This is more like vacation.

We skyped the kids first (they're doing great!!!) and then headed down to breakfast around 8:30 a.m. The breakfast buffet more than lived up to its reputation!!! EVERY imaginable and unimaginable item available. It goes on and on....located in a beautiful room, with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the river and the waterfall / koi pond on the other side. The waitress greeted us in cowboy attire - hat and all....hmmmm. We were seated right in the center of about 6 fellow American families all with their newly adopted Chinese children and even had a highchair! It was fascinating to say the least! BenBen was excellent and ate "congee" (rice porridge) for the first time (since we've had him) today. I could tell he loved it....his initial serving was small (we like to introduce him to a lot of different items in small portions to see what he likes). He signed "more" and slurped the congee bowl clean. I got him a cereal size bowl next and he ate most of it...and any meat we put in front of him. I had a few slices of wheat bread and some fruit. No low sugar oatmeal and flaxseed meal for Mama....so sad. Greg and Sam ate several helpings and all was good.

We had to meet our guide, John, at 10:00 a.m. for Benjamin's medical appointment. We walked to the appointment (on the island) and stopped first for Ben's Visa photo. Amazingly, we were the ONLY family at the adoption medical appointment!!! Normally, via blogs I follow, there are literally dozens and dozens of families crammed into a small, un-air conditioned waiting room...and it's an all-day process. We walked in / out in under 30 minutes!!! Ben did GREAT!!!

There were 4 different examinations:

1) a doctor reviewed his medical file and asked us how he's doing. Asked us to take off his pants, diapers, socks, shoes and lay him on the table. This was the only time he cried...heck, I would've too! The doctor listened to his heart, lungs and asked Ben to walk so he could see his walking skills. Thumbs up!

2) a different room, a nurse came in speaking very, very quickly in Mandarin. Ben seemed to understood what she was saying and he was responding. Our guide started laughing. Apparently, while taking his temperature very quickly, she asked him if he was nervous. He answered, "yes". Our guide said, "his responses were very funny"...but I'm not sure what was said exactly. The nurse weighed him - 32 lbs. (about 2 lbs. less than Jack!!) and took his height (although I don't know what it was). Thumbs up!

3) next stop, different room, different nurse. The "ENT" room. The nurse held a flash light to his face and moved it around. She then rang a bell on each side of his face to see if he responded. Then she made him say, "ahhhh". She checked his ears. Thumbs up!

4) last stop, different room, different doctor. Normally Ben would have his TB test taken at this point. BUT, Beijing requires a TB test for all adoptions so we merely had to supply the certificate from that test (taken last week just prior to Gotcha Day) and it was satisfactory. Thumbs up!

Whew!! I can't imagine going thru that with dozens+ other families. So glad that's behind us!!

We then came back to the hotel to fill out some paperwork for our guide in advance of our US Consulate appointment later this week. Tomorrow is a tour day with John and we decided to try the Xiangjiang Safari Park. It is the largest Safari Park in China and is China's leading zoo. It holds a 5A class Tourism Attraction Level, the highest level obtainable and the only zoo in China to hold this level. It is home to over 20,000 animals including Giant Pandas, Polar Bears and Koalas. It is the only zoo in mainland China to display Koalas and is the only zoo in the world to currently have koala twins, an extremely rare occurrence. The zoo also has over 100 white-tigers, half of the worlds population. The zoo is broken into 2 sections a "Safari on Foot Section" where guests walk around a modern zoo, and a "Safari on Wheels Section" where guests board road trains and travel through an impressive open plains zoo with three main sections, Asian Plains, Predator Island and Africa Savanna. It's about 50 minutes from the hotel and we thought BenBen would enjoy it most. We've heard wonderful things about it...just hope the rain holds off. Fortunately, the rain here is like the afternoon showers in Florida....rains for 15 minutes and sunny again. We're meeting John tomorrow morning at 9:30 a.m.

After John left we decided to check out the infamous White Swan play room and Ben loved it! First thing he ran to was a ball! The kid loves balls. He played really well independently and with us. He knows how to play and really seemed to enjoy it. He loves anything that makes sound or he can sit on. Initially we were the only family in the room. After a while another woman and her 2 daughters joined us. Her oldest is 7 1/2 and adopted at 13 months from China. Her youngest, age 3 1/2 was adopted the same day as Ben. She's a single mom from Arizona with Holt International (11 other families from Holt are here on their same schedule...such a big agency). It was SOOOOOO nice speaking to her. So many of the things we're experiencing with Ben she is experiencing with her new daughter. I even hugged her at one point I was so relieved. Another few Holt families joined the room and it was so fun seeing them all play together, speak Mandarin, and bond with their families....while the adults all commiserated together!

This is a difficult journey (tiring - mentally and physically exhausting while burdened with jet lag and the anxiety of meeting a new child that can't communicate with you and who is grieving their lost family/life. In addition, we're missing our family, friends and kiddos back home, etc.)...but this journey is also one of the most rewarding, enjoyable and fulfilling things I've ever had the privilege of doing. These beautiful children are gifts...miraculous little gifts and we're changing their lives forever and they're forever changing ours. They are not something owed to us....nor are they perfect. They are little human beings terrified of the transition occurring in their lives. It fills my heart with such love to see Ben giggling and bonding with Sam and starting (albeit barely on the edge) of trusting us. This is a journey....and it will take us all time to adjust. But, Ben is amazing. Truly, truly amazing. We love him so much and we're so inspired by his strength and humor and courage through it all.

A lot of blogs naturally shed light on the positive....I've tried to be real with my posts...well, as real as I can be without scaring people! :) Ben can be a handful and he's very determined, but what child isn't at 2 1/2? He's learning so much every day....and trust and communication are the biggest. He has to know we're there for him. He has to know that when we enter Subway he will get to eat....albeit not the second we enter the door. He has to know that when I leave the room, I'm coming back. He has to learn there are rules. * He has to learn what a family is....how they operate and love and trust.   

* In China, I've been told - small children/infants are completely spoiled. Parents do not discipline their children until age 6. This is a VERY consistent theme from all the American parents we spoke with today. Regardless of Foster vs. Orphanage care...these kiddos are spoiled......and loved.

After John left decided to stroll down by the pool with Ben in the stroller. Apparently I wasn't doing something right when pushing Ben up the steps and the stroller collapsed and broke....not good. We visited the White Swan concierge but it couldn't be fixed. Next stop? Stroller shopping!!! But first, we headed upstairs for our dirty laundry....it's very inexpensive to have clothing laundered and folded on the island. So, we headed to the nearest tourist/stroller/laundry shop (right next to the hotel) and bought an awesome new stroller for $25! It even folds back for napping and has a rain cover and mosquito net. We will pick up our laundry tomorrow after the Safari Tour. BenBen will be so happy to have clean socks. He does NOT like anything dirty :)

We then headed to a Subway down the street for lunch....takeout...and walked to a nearby Starbuck's for Greg to grab a drink and we ate on their beautiful patio. A nice breeze, sunny out, a shady table and absolutely gorgeous scenery. Ben was great!!! He ate a chicken teriyaki sub, some chips and a cookie. He's so American already!!

We stopped at a 7 Eleven for Coca Cola Zero and beer and headed back to the room for BenBen's nap. Housekeeping left our "Going Home" Barbie today!!!! A blonde American barbie (by Mattel) holding a Chinese baby. Another White Swan classic! (and great souvenir for Ellie!). Ben wanted to take a bath and I thought it would calm him down for a nap anyway. Our tub has a shower sprayer and he's not a huge fan of that. He also wants more bubbles...but the bath soap we brought (Aveeno for sensitive skin) isn't really bubble bath. It made one bubble and he followed it around the tub for 5 minutes! It was so cute.

Sam and Greg finally arrived back to the room from swimming around 5:00 p.m. It's so nice for Sam to have kids to swim with in the pool. Greg got to meet a lot of fellow adoptive parents and kids too. Such a sense of community here - we love it!! We finally woke Ben at 6:00 p.m. for dinner (he could have slept till morning) and headed to the Cow and Bridge Thai Restaurant, walking distance from the hotel. It's a very "kid friendly" restaurant - we ordered Ben congee with seafood! He was in heaven!! Couldn't slurp it down fast enough! They gave him a high chair and his own special plastic bowl and spoon....and moved all the plates and silverware out of the way as soon as we were seated. You could tell they've done this kid thing before!!!

We ordered fried won tons for appetizer. Greg ordered a shrimp dish ("prawns" as he likes to refer to it) -- they still had eyes. GROSS! -- and a banana shake. Weird. Sam ordered deep fried spare ribs with garlic and a lemonade drink with a flower....he didn't really care for either. I ordered fried rice with chicken - Thai style. It was yummy and a Chinese beer, of course. Ben was good but he has absolutely zero patience once the food is on the table. It was all served steaming hot and he does NOT understand the word, wait. This has to be our next sign language word. He is a "one track mind" kind of guy when he sees food, he wants to eat....and eat a lot immediately! He's very focused....wanting to shove as much in his mouth as possible at once. We've taught him to open his mouth and say, "ahhhh" after each bite to ensure he's properly chewed and swallowed before taking another bite. This is another common issue with children from orphanages (hoarding food, storing food in their cheeks, overeating, etc.). It's a trust issue and will lessen with time....we hope!  

We left the restaurant and it was POURING rain....we had umbrellas, but also BenBen in the stroller. We had to run in the rain for about 4 blocks to our hotel. Ben wouldn't let us take his shoes off so they're soaked...and his stroller and our shoes. Hopefully they'll all dry before tomorrow's Safari Zoo trip.

Sam and Ben took a warm bath, we skyped home for a quick call, and then Sam and Ben were off to bed....both exhausted. Greg and I are updating the blog and photos and not far behind them. Ann (our "personal shopping guide" with Red Thread Care Packages just called and we're touring with her, off the island, on Friday at 10:30 a.m. Can't wait!!