Gotcha Day!

Good morning! It's about 5:30 am and I just got out of the shower. Leah's still sleeping and Deana just got in the shower. I think Leah got the best night sleep of all of us (she slept through the night). Both Deana and I woke up on and off throughout the night and caught ourselves just staring at her. She's so sweet.

Gotcha Day was great. Unfortunately, our video camera died in Beijing, but we’ve made some great friends here who videotaped it for us. Yesterday morning we arrived in Guangzhou at about 11:15 a.m. and arrived at the White Swan Hotel just after noon. After gathering a few things, we were off to get Leah. We took a bus to the local Civil Affairs Office…where the babies were waiting for us. The babies took about a 6 hour bus ride to get to the office. One-by-one, they began calling out last names and handing over babies…we were about in the middle of the pack. As soon as they handed Leah to us, she was bobbing her head back-and-forth like she was listening to music and began smiling. It was pretty amazing—she took to us right away. She’s absolutely, completely healthy and a VERY happy baby. After about 30 to 45 minutes, they asked the orphanage nannies to come in and answer questions we might have about our babies. While we were waiting for our turn, we noticed one of the nannies from across the room looking and smiling at us. It was obvious that she was trying to get our attention. We walked over to her (she didn’t speak English) and she immediately reached for Leah. We handed her over and the nanny began playing with her. Through our facilitator and translator, we asked if she was the nanny who took care of Leah…and she was. By looking at Leah, it is VERY obvious her nanny loved her and took wonderful care of her. After everyone’s questions were answered, they brought all of us back to the hotel. It’s amazing; she truly seems to have bonded with both of us wonderfully and equally. They say initially the babies sometimes prefer one parent over the other…that’s not the case with her. Leah played with us and her toys for quite a while before taking her first bottle. Some of the children go days without eating as they adjust to their new environment. Leah was chewing on the nipple (and clanging a couple toys together) for a little while and then just started eating. She ate most of an 8 oz bottle of Chinese formula and rice cereal mixture. I’m sure the consistency was not exactly what she's used too, but she didn't complain. Before it was time for bed, she got her first bath. She's quite a little splasher! We brought in a few stackable cups and she didn't stop playing the entire time. She fell asleep at about 8:00 pm and stayed asleep until we woke her up at about 6:45 this morning.

Today we have a busy day with adoption registration and a few legal appointments. I met up with 12 other Dads last night (Mommy's stayed home with the babies) in a meeting room here in the hotel and started to complete MORE of the required paperwork. I hope I didn't screw anything up! We'll find out today.