Forget Sleepless in Seattle….we are sick in Shanghai….

It's 5.30am and we're all awake....well, P is semi-comotosed, but O and I are up...grizzly, but up...

All three of us have caught the dreaded cold, and poor P seems to have a tummy virus on top of that…he's not slept a wink all night (neither have we)...not happy, Jan! We have had another rough night, with our little snotmonster becoming quite upset as he became more congested…and when mummy tries to wipe his nose (he HATES it!!)….needless to say the end result is not at all satisfactory….there will be no photos today :- )

Apart from various viral bugs, we are trotting along pretty well. Oliver seems to be starting to feel OK about being with us, and is going to sleep a little easier than he was a few nights ago which is fantastic…for all of us!

We have been really enjoying Shanghai – it’s such a vibrant, energetic city. Recent adoption groups have hated it here, and I have to say I have trouble understanding why..but each to their own. We have visited the beautiful Yu gardens, had a lovely dinner in an old factory converted into the most wonderful rustic restaurant in a hutong-type area of old Shanghai, seen the stunning light display on the river, walked up and down Nanjing Road, spent a fortune at the underground Children’s market, and enjoyed the satisfaction that can only come from a fantastic mocha grande from Starbucks…

We love Shanghai so much that we have decided to extend our stay here by 5 days before heading back to Oliver’s province where we will spend another week (not part of the adoption process, just us on our own). We are looking forward to having some more free time both in Shanghai and in his province just to hang out, look around and soak up the sights, sounds (and smells – gotta love fermented tofu – not!) of his birthcountry. We also think that having extra time in China as just the 3 of us will help cement our little family together a bit more before day-to-day life at home gets in the way….

We cannot believe how far Oliver has come in just over a week with us. We are learning more about him every day – yesterday we leant that he actually will drink water…but only from an eye dropper…a slow, but effective hydration technique. We can also now tell if he has filled his nappy purely from the look of satisfaction on his face (useful now that P and I are crook and can’t rely on the nose detector). He is such a darling, happy little baby….we are beyond blessed.

I started this post early this morning and am only finishing it now, at 9pm- life is like that these days! I have Ollie on my lap so will sign off before he hits the delete key again…little monster loves to hit the keys when mummy's typing!! No photos from today…P has not lifted his head off the pillow all day except to help me go and collect the washing…gastro and a cold doth not make him a happy camper….he is weak as a kitten and looks dreadful...fingers crossed he will feel a lot better tomorrow as his is absolutely miserable right now.

I’ll leave you with piccies from previous days…sans snot.

Oliver says uytuytuiyt98y809089 - what a clever boy!! Time for bed now Ollie!!

Goodnight!

T xx

With daddy the first day we met...about 1 1/2 hours after meeting

The eyes have it.....Oliver cruising in his sling, with muslin head dress :-)

One Week....

Well, it's been one week since our lives changed forever...one week since we held our darling Oliver in our arms for the first time.

What a week it has been!

Less sleep

More love

More cuddles

Less bathing

More Congee (rice soup that Oliver loves to eat)

Less time together with P

Less sleep

More spit

Less clean clothes

Less sleep

More smiles

....and did I mention less sleep and more love?

We have all laughed and cried a hundred times this week...our emotions (all of us) have ben put through the wringer...but slowly, ever so slowly, we are all getting back to our normal selves. It is going to take a long time, but we will get there, and we will find our own groove as a family soon.

We had a great flight the other day. Oliver was a real pro and took his bottle on the way up and down, and slept during the flight itself. What a champion - and so clever and handsome!

We are in Shanghai now and we love love love it (and no, not just because it has Starbucks...although that doesn't hurt!!).

We underwent the Australian visa medical procedure today - it was far better than I had feared it would be, and once again Oliver amazed us with his calmness and strength. He is one special little boy. We were so so proud of him.

Daddy got his stethascope out this morning and did an initial medical exam on Oliver to try and get him used to being poked and prodded....I really think it helped. Oliver then promptly fell asleep with the stethoscope and would not let it go. I hope he's not getting any ideas for future professions!!!

I know you are all here for the photos so I will not disappoint you all.....here is Oliver!

Love to everyone,

a very happy T and P....and the amazing, gorgeous O xxxxx

Oliver, gorgeous boy

My darling boy is not settled at all tonight so while daddy has a go at getting him to sleep, I thought I'd quickly share some photos....

Oliver is feeling much better, thank you all for your thoughts. We are flying to Shanghai tomorrow, so positive vibes for a smooth plane ride please...especially since his little gums and ears are still hurting....poor darling.

All in all, things are going really well. He continues to delight and surprise us, and has us in stitches with his funny little ways.

We are head over heels in love.

Thank you to everyone for your emails/texts/comments. We are reading them all, but have not had the time to answer you all - so sorry! We really appreciate your thoughts though.

My little monkey is stil not settled, so I'd better go and give daddy a hand....we are ready for bed, but it seems that Oliver is not....don't quite know when the packing is going to get done??!!!

Talk to you from Shanghai!

T xx

A Really Quick Hello

Hi everyone.

We have him...he is beyond beautiful....

We are a family of three and we could not be happier (or more exhausted!)

Promise to write a proper post soon, but it is so busy at the moment as Oliver will not settle without being in our arms, so we are quite restricted - and there's lots of things to do (who knew having a baby was so hectic!).

Oliver is grieving quite a lot, and is clearly quite frightened of us a lot of the time. He is also sick and we have spent quite some time this afternoon at the hospital which was traumatic for all of us....nothing serious, but he's crook enough to make him feel pretty awful lot of the time. Still, through all of it we are getting gorgeous toothless grins, some brief giggles, and increasing amounts of eye contact...all good signs that he is starting to take to us a little bit.

We are absolutely head over heels in love!!

So enough of that.....here he is....Oliver

Love to you all,

T, P and O xxxxx

45 minutes

to go.....

don't quite know what to do with ourselves....P has decided to iron something (don't know why?!), so I am sitting here...neither of us can really speak much.

42 minutes to go...