2 Weeks Home...

Has it really been 2 weeks tomorrow since we have been home - blimey, that went in a flash!! Actually, it has felt like a rather looong 2 weeks in many ways...but I'll get to that.

Oliver was an absolute champion on the flight home. He had a bottle on the way up and then we just kept topping up his tummy with watermelon and whatever else we could find and he was as happy as a lark...he even managed to have a little sleep in the bassinet for about an hour - and Mummy and Daddy got to have a little time out!

We arrived home at midnight and came out through immigration to see a very excited (and very tired!) Nanna and Poppy waiting for us. My poor dad had already made two trips to the airport that day, but I think this last one was the most exciting!! Oliver went in for a little cuddle and then quickly searched for his mummy again, which was lovely.

I think the whole airport knew about us by the time we left - there were lots of tears and laughter and the odd squawk of discontent from Master Oliver...well, it was after midnight and he was tired!

It was lovely to walk in to our beautiful house again...and I was reminded of what a great idea it was to clean it completely BEFORE we left for China...it would not have been nice to come home to a dirty house at that time of the night!

Since arriving home we have been keeping to ourselves most of the time. Initially this was to allow Ollie to have some settling in time, but now it's because we are EXHAUSTED!! The little monkey has decided that sleeping is for wusses, and is testing his mummy and daddy to the extreme by only sleeping for 20 minutes at a time during the day, and trying to survive on 8 hours sleep a night (broken up into small chunks of course!)....needless to say he is one cranky little monster a lot of the time because he is so tired...P says that I am also a cranky monster most of the time, but I'm sure he's mistaken....

So we are working on a parenting challenge as old as time itself...how to get the baby to sleep!!

We are strongly opposed to letting him "cry it out" as we think that for any child who has already been abandoned and possibly fears being abandoned again that this would be pretty traumatic. So, the balancing act comes from trying to meet his needs whilst at the same time teaching him to stay asleep (which requires a certain amount of self soothing)....tricky....

So our deepest apologies to all of your whose emails / texts/ phone messages have so far gone unanswered...and to those who have sent gifts to Oliver in the mail - thank you so very much!! We have been so excited to get a few parcels this week - they have provided a really bright spot in otherwise bleak days. I promise to do my best to get in contact with everyone in time, but realistically it is going to take a while....it's taken me 2 weeks to have 10 minutes to myself to write this!

Sorry to say, I haven't even had time to download the photos from the cameras yet, so I don't have anything to put on here today...but I will work on it. We haven't taken many photos the last week or so as this sleep-deprived fog we are in allows for the essentials only..,the occasional meal, and trying to work out how to get back to bed as quickly as possible!

Here's to getting some sleep! Fingers crossed!!!

T xxx
P.S. Oliver has cut his first tooth, and his second one is starting to peep through (which is no doubt contributing to the sleeping problems and the crankiness). I feel sad that his gorgeous gummy smile will soon be a thing of the past....

Just a Quickie...

We are safely in Hong Kong and have found a cafe that does great coffee and reasonably priced internet...but Oliver is getting grizzly (do NOT delay this boy's meals!!) so will be quick...

We felt a real sadness leaving China 2 days ago...and taking Oliver away from his homeland. It's hard to explain, but it felt like the breaking of yet another connection in his little life, and the guilt we both both felt over it surprised even us (and we had been expecting it!). There were many tears shed as the plane left the tarmac in Nanchang. I know we will be back, we have promised him that....but leaving is leaving, nonetheless.

We love Hong Kong (P calls it "China Light" - like China, but watered down). We are staying at a beautiful hotel with an awesome view of the harbour (yay for last minute internet deals!). It is comfortable, clean and has a lovely soft bed....bliss...not that I've gotten to use it much, as the little monster is still having sleeping issues....

Getting excited about being home in just over 48 hours...looking forward to:

Seeing family

Seeing our house

Seeing friends

Our bed

Seeing Oliver in his beautiful pale blue sailboat nursery

Seeing my Mum and Dad's faces when they hold their grandson for the first time (am looking forward to this the most of all!!)

No doubt it will take us a couple of days before I update this again....it may not happen until we are well and truly settled in....so thank you again to everyone for all your support, good wishes, e-love and cuddles, and friendship over the last fe weeks. We are so blessed to have you in our lives.

Here are some random photos to keep you going (I KNOW that's why you're here!!!)

Love,

T, P and Oliver xxxx

Heading Home, Mother's Day, KFC, and Galactic Peace....

What a week it has been! We arrived back in Oliver’s province on Wednesday, returned to the Galactic Peace Hotel (and yes, Sarah, its suspicious green Galactic Sculpture is still there!). It was a little bit like coming home…well, kind of!

We had one night back in Nanchang while we organized the visit back to Oliver’s Orphanage County (the Chinese equivalent of a small town...this one has (only) 100,000 people...), and then on Thursday headed back to the County where Oliver spent the first 8 month of his life. The county is small, about 3 hours drive from Nanchang…and is the real China. No frills, no fuss, and no luxury. We stayed in the county for two difficult, emotionally draining, confusing, enlightening, awareness-building days. We have gained a lot of information and insight into Oliver’s life before us, and we are so glad that we made the trip back.

But now, we’re on the way home. Nanna and Poppy are getting excited!!

We’ve decided to have a few extra days here in Nanchang to regroup after the visit to the county, and have been taking it very easy today.

My first mother’s day (yay yay yay!!! Finally!!!) was spent making a trip to Wal-Mart for essential supplies (nappies, more cute little short sets for Oliver, and Oreos) and having a “special” lunch at KFC. Now, we don’t eat KFC at home….so why on earth we thought it would be a good idea to have KFC in Nanchang, I have no idea. It was awful – just awful. I think the chicken died of old age! Thank goodness we had bought Oreos (as a side note….it always amazes me that wherever we go in the world – Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Bulawayo…there are always Oreo cookies in the local shop, and they are always cheap!).

“My Boys” (I love saying that) and I also skyped Nanna, Poppy and Aunty J, and this afternoon caught up with P’s sister and her lovely family on Skype – they watched Ollie have his dinner (fascinating stuff!) and, like us, were amazed by the amount of food one little 9 month old boy can eat!! Groceries are going to be more expensive……

So that’s where we’re at. Just hanging out here for a few days and then having a few days in Hong Kong before heading home late Saturday night.

Thank you to everyone who has asked about coming to meet us at the airport – we really appreciate your excitement and support. We have decided to just keep the airport for Nanna and Poppy though…they have been waiting for every minute of the 7 ½ years we have been on this journey, and we think it would be nice for them to have some quiet time with their first grandchild when we first hit homeland soil. I hope you all understand?!!

Must run….my darling little boy has gone to bed quite early and given me a mother’s day gift of some precious time with daddy tonight. We have a bottle of wine (I won’t get my hopes up!) and some room service on its way…..sounds perfect.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mummies out there. I finally know what it’s like to be in your exclusive club…and I like it!

T xxxx

On the Road Again....

We've packed up and moved on from Shanghai - absolutely loved it though, so know that we will be back.

We've had a few ups and downs over the last few days...a few pretty bleak moments as a result of lack of sleep, frightened baby, viruses, Oliver's grieving, and walking the floor 2 nights in a row collided. Thank you to our darling friends who showered us with empathy and understanding, we really appreciate your support.

We also had some nice moments though...like visiting a park and then having lunch with a fellow adoptive dad who is now living the expat life in Shanghai, and walking down Nanjing Road early in the morning and watching the traditional fan and sword dancers practice their arts next to the group doing line dancing to "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to".The contrasts between old ad new in Shanghai are phenomenal.

It seems like things are on the up at the moment (long may it continue!). Oliver is a happy, contented, gurgly little baby today - he coped very well with the flight from Shanghai to his province, and is lying beside me on the floor doing major damage to a vegetable flavoured rusk.

Tomorrow we are heading to his hometown and orphanage for 2 nights. We are really not sure what the trip back will bring, but it is our hope to do all possible to get information about his life before us that may (or may not) be important to him throughout his life...we'll have to see how things pan out, but we are hopeful of filling in a few gaps and coming away with a greater understanding of his life before we became a family....fingers crossed things go well....it's going to be a tough few days both physically and emotionally I think.

We haven't taken many photos over the last few days, but I'll leave you with a couple to keep you going. We are back online over the weekend, so will probably update again then.

Sending lots of love to our friends and family. We love you. Thank you again for your messages and support - sorry we're not answering many emails (Internet access in Shanghai was incredibly expensive, and time has been tight) but we are reading and enjoying them all.

Love,

T, P and O xxxxxx

Take a book they said.....

When you are preparing for an adoption trip, and self-respecting parent writes lists…and hunts out other people’s lists on the internet, and then makes lists of their lists, and checks their lists against other people’s lists…packing lists are pretty high on the lists of lists that are needed before heading off to meet your baby…and let’s just say, I was the queen of packing lists. I have lists of my packing lists.

But have the lists been useful?

Yes, and no….

Many BTDT (been there done that) China adoptive parents listed books on their packing lists, with the rationale that once your darling angel is fast asleep at night, there will be many, many hours of Chinese TV time…and once your bore of CNN, you will want a good book to help pass the hours and hours of boredom you are sure to have to endure.

Obviously, these people were all on drugs.

Free time? Hours and hours to watch TV? Hours of boredom? Not in my hotel room baby!!

Our TV is currently being used as a drying rack for bibs, muslins that have been puked on, and various items of baby-fied clothing. The second Oliver is eventually asleep we are cleaning up, washing dishes and clothes, and getting ready for tomorrow's onslaught before dropping dead tired into bed...

There has been no need for a book…unless you can hang washing on it, eat it or change a nappy on it, it’s just not necessary!

So packing lists have their place....but not books...

We have had a quiet day today, we’re all still feeling quite under the weather so it has been goof not to have any commitments at all today.

Our batch all went home yesterday, and there were a few tears when saying goodbye to our darling friends. We are so blessed to have shared the past few weeks with a few couples that we are so lucky to be able to call our friends. Some existing friendships have deepened over the last few weeks, and another has developed…we are grateful for all of them. It’s going to be lovely for Oliver to have such gorgeous Aunties and Uncles and China-cousins when we get home.

So we are now on our own in China. The plan is to stay in Shanghai for a few more days and then head back to Oliver’s province for a week. We’re not sightseeing, just hanging out as a family and learning more about Oliver’s life before we met him.

As I type this, my little munchkin is sitting on the couch next to his Dad and I, playing with daddy’s thermometer (first the stethoscope, now the thermometer…is there a pattern here?) and looking absolutely adorable in his Bonds light blue fluffy onesie (thanks Nanna!). Honestly, he gets more and more beautiful every day…he really does.

Tomorrow’s plan revolves around following Oliver’s needs for sleep and food (we are letting him dictate the family routine at the moment) and having lunch in the park with a fellow adoptive parent of two China babies who is now loving in Shanghai. We’re looking forward to it immensely.

I’ll leave you with some photos of my little emperor playing on the couch right now, and sucking on his toy cow earlier today – isn’t he beautiful?

T xxxx