China Adoption Travel Tips

Lion at Victoria's Peak, Hong Kong

It's an exciting time for the remaining families in my Yahoo China Adoption group. Several are scheduled to leave for China this week! Last week, the others received matches for their beautiful children. I'm so excited for them. These are some tips I'd like to share with those who may still be planning their trip.

1. If you can afford to, bring extra money. With the US economy being in the tank, we owed more money for the orphanage fee. Also, our guides wanted us to tip bus drivers and even the hotel staff in Guangzhou, including housekeeping. Originally, we were told that tipping wasn't necessary. Also, tours are extra (of course), so that will factor into what you spend.

2. If your entry port isn't Beijing, leave a few days earlier (if you can afford it.) I wish we had done this. The sights we saw in Hong Kong, excluding Victoria's Peak, were not that exciting, definitely not the beginning I had imagined for our trip. I can't believe we flew all the way to China and didn't see the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square or the Forbidden City.

3. If you're single or only you or your spouse can travel, please bring a support person. You're going to need it. There was a person in our group who came by herself and I know it was a struggle for her to manage her child and everything else that was going on - luggage, etc. Sometimes it really does take a village. Mike and I were blessed to have my mom join us so there were three on our team. Mom was an amazing help.

4. If you have two rooms and you "think" you have late-day check-outs for both rooms, double check. In Guangzhou, mom received a call in the early afternoon "reminding" her that she needed to check out of the room or be charged an extra day. That information was never shared with us prior to the trip. All of a sudden, we were scrambling to more everything from mom's room into our room. That was some extra craziness we didn't need on the day we were leaving for Hong Kong.

5. Bring a small packet or two of formula with you on Gotcha Day. We had some Enfamil packs but they were at the hotel because we thought we would be given formula that morning. We discovered that the last time Maggie had been fed that day was at 6:30 in the morning. We received her between 10:30 and 11. Although I thought promotional material for our agency said they provided the baby with their first can of formula, this was not the case. Right after our Gotcha moment, we took a trip to a local super market to buy formula. However, Maggie was heavily crying before we reached the hotel because she was so hungry.

6. Our agency promised that staff provides water at each stop, so at each city. We received this at two of our stops, the first in Hong Kong after I commented how thirsty we were. If I hadn't said something, we probably would not have been offered this. In Changsha, our guide said she had never heard of this policy. So, I e-mailed our agency. In Guangzhou, water was waiting for us on the bus when we arrived. If the guides don't have water when you meet them, ask about it. If they act confused, e-mail the agency while you're in China. I get upset when agencies/companies promise things and don't deliver. Hopefully, the next family who stays in Hunan will get everything that is promised to them.

7. If you are in a taxi and get hit by a vehicle, don't be upset if the taxi driver orders you out of the cab and away from the scene. This happened to Mike and one of our adoptive parent friends. Mike learned from a friend who is from China that if the two had been at the scene when the police arrived, they may have had to stay in the country longer for the investigation, legal process. What they had considered rude behavior was a real time saver.

Pictures from Gotcha Day

Look at my baby girl - so tiny!

A wee bit emotional - I'd been waiting for this moment for a long time.

Yep - we're in love.

Checking us out.

A Welcome Home Gift

When we returned to our house on Thursday, we had to sift through tons of mail (lots of junk) that we had put on delivery hold while we were gone. But there was also a package from Fisher Price. Hmm...Mike said he knew what it was but I wasn't convinced. Perhaps I had ordered something before we left and somehow forgotten about it?

Before we left for China, I wrote Mattel and asked if there was a way I could purchase the "Going Home" Barbie. This Barbie features a Caucasian mommy with Asian baby. Adoptive parents used to received this set when they stayed at the White Swan hotel in Guangzhou. However, the hotel is being renovated so we did not get to stay there during our trip. I was very sad when I learned this. The White Swan and "Going Home" Barbie are a regular part of the China adoption process. I wanted Maggie to have a doll set that resembled our relationship.

Imagine my surprise when I opened up the box and found this. Thank you Mattel/Fisher Price!

I wish I looked as hip as this Barbie. I haven't had "nice hair" since I left for our adoption trip. :)

Hanging in there

Saturday night/Sunday morning was the first time since the trip that I woke up and realized right off the bat that I was not waking up in a hotel. Now if I could just get Maggie to sleep through the night. She has been up 3, 4? times already. I'm so tired, I lose count. She always manages to take a doo doo around midnight. She wanted to sleep through it tonight but I knew it would be massive so I got her up and changed her diaper.

Wow - my blog has become all about sleep and poopy diapers. Nice.

Jet Lagged

Wow - this jet lag and missing out on sleep over a 24 hour period is rough. Plus, Maggie has her days and nights confused. After all, she took naps on the plane, but we didn't get that much rest. I still wake up sometimes and wonder which hotel we're in, then it slowly dawns on me that we are in our own comfortable (and soft!) beds.

Watching and listening to Mike wake up can be quite comical. I guess he's a deeper sleeper than me. Last night, he asked where the light was. Tonight, after I asked him to make a bottle, he said, "I was going to go to the bathroom. I guess I'll go downstairs." (We only have one level.) Then I had to direct him towards the bedroom door so he could find the kitchen. He still managed to stumble into the door. Once he saw our hallway, it dawned on him where he was. I waited until he left the room before I burst out laughing.

I still can't believe we're home. Jack was pretty excited when we picked up the boys. Liam was a bit confused. It was heart breaking. There was no way I could fully prepare a 14 month old for our long trip. I hear even Jack had his moments. Once we arrived home, I think it started clicking for Liam who we were and where we were. He started checking out all their toys. We kept both boys home from daycare today so we could spend it as a family. Liam came more out of his shell. Mike said he even saw Liam give Maggie a hug. Of course, Liam also lightly hit Maggie's face one time. Mostly though, he pats her head and feels her face like a blind person feels an object for the first time.

If I keep waking up at 3 in the morning, I will eventually start posting pictures of our trip!

Back Home!

Praise be to God we made it back safely last night. I was so grateful when we touched down in St. Louis. We are all a little exhausted and could probably sleep for the next 24 hours but that's not going to happen. Eventually, we'll catch up. Hopefully, I'll have time to post more about our experiences in China during my time off from work.

We are picking up our boys later. I miss them so much. Once I get them in my arms they may need to work real hard to get themselves back out.

We are grateful for your prayers.

Changsha Update

I keep meaning to update my blog at night but tend to fall asleep when Maggie does at 8:30 p.m. I have her crib next to my bed and try to hold her hand through it. A half hour later I wake up and realize that I'm too drained to attempt to make sense on the blog.

Some updates...

On Wednesday evening we went to one of my dad's favorite restaurants - Pizza Hut! And it was much better than back in the states - less sauce, more cheese. Dad, I told you to join us. :)

On Thursday we headed to Martyr's Park a place dedicated to the revolutionists. We saw demonstrations of tai chi, women singing, koi fish and beautiful bridges. Afterwards, we went to the Hunan Embroidery Research Institute China Hunan Embroidery Museum. Embroidery goes back 2000 years in China. They do amazing work at the museum. They can embroider two different images (front and back) on one piece of silk. We bought a small embroidery piece with koi fish for Maggie. Her province is famous for its embroidery work and I wanted to make sure we took something home for her. Of course, the boys will love to see the koi fish too.

In the afternoon, we received Maggie's birth certificate and an official sheet with her finding spot information. Last night, Mike and another dad from our group ventured out to buy food at an authentic Chinese restaurant. We had received order information in Chinese from our guide. They showed this to the staff and they laughed. Then they were directed to a lower scale Chinese restaurant that Mike compared to a Burger King. They also laughed but ended up with some food - some beef that didn't look like beef that we didn't eat. Mom ended up eating plain rice while I ate the rice and spicy broccoli. The boys also picked up a delicious cranberry cake.

Today, we will meet with a calligraphy expert who will create a document with Maggie's Chinese name at the hotel. Later we will receive Maggie's passport and head to the airport for our flight to Guangzhou. In a week we will be back in St. Louis. I can't wait to see my boys again and for them to meet their baby sister!

Changsha Update

It's Wednesday morning in Changsha and my intentions to keep this blog updated have not gone as planned. Besides the technical issues, I am worn out by the end of the day when Maggie Rose or Qing Qing, her nickname, goes to bed. I lay in one of our hard beds and put my hand through her crib to let her know that I am not far away.

We got our girls on Monday. That was an amazing emotional experience. We walked into a room that smelled old where a couple of families where already waiting and saw three members of Maggie's orphanage staff. One of them was holding our precious girl. We were besides ourselves - was that her? She looked so tiny, much tinier than in her updated pictures. We were taking pictures and video from afar. Then the rest of our group's precious girls arrived. Paperwork was checked which took a while, passports examined. Then, we were the first to receive our baby girl. We asked the orphanage staff questions about our little girl and took pictures with them. It was hot in the reception room and Maggie was wearing a strawberry sweatshirt. She was sweating profusely. After we left, we went to a store to buy formula, crackers and water.
Later at the hotel, our guide showed us Maggie's finding announcement which is a black and white copy of the original. You can't even see her face but our guide was able to translate it for us. It is another piece of the puzzle to Maggie's identity. At 3 in the conferenc room of our hotel we filled out paperwork in preparation for our appointment at the CAB the next day.

On Tuesday, we met in the hotel lobby around 9 and arrived at the CAB around 9:30. We were there to fulfill the paperwork of Maggie's adoption. We promised to give her a good education and never abandon her. Were we happy with our referral - OF COURSE! Maggie had her right foot stamped, we paid the necessary fees and then we were done. Maggie is our's!!

Now we can rest a little easier until we leave for Guangzhou later this week. We will receive Maggie's passport this week. Mike has been out with members of our group to explore areas around the hotel. Today (Wednesday), we are going to a local Walmart which should be a very interesting experience.

We love our precious baby girl. I can't say enough just how tiny she is. She is also delayed which is to be expected. She is 7 months old but acts more like a 3 to 6 month old baby. Her paperwork stated that Maggie could crawl but she has little neck muscle. I wonder about their definition of the word crawl. She wears 3 to 6 month old clothing.
On Thursday, we hope to go to Martyr's Park. I'm sorry that I have not been able to post pictures. Mike has been tagging me on pictures in Facebook so hopefully some of you have seen Maggie's precious face.

Thank you for all of your prayers. They go with us everywhere we go.

Changsha Update

It's Wednesday morning in Changsha and my intentions to keep this blog updated have not gone as planned. Besides the technical issues, I am worn out by the end of the day when Maggie Rose or Qing Qing, her nickname, goes to bed. I lay in one of our hard beds and put my hand through her crib to let her know that I am not far away .

We met our girls on Monday. That was an amazing emotional experience. We walked into a room that smelled old where a couple of families where already waiting and saw three members of Maggie's orphanage staff. One of them was holding our precious girl. We were besides ourselves - was that her? She looked so tiny, much tinier than in her updated pictures. We were taking pictures and video from afar. Then the rest of our group's precious girls arrived. Paperwork was checked which took a while, passports examined. Then, we were the first to receive our baby girl. We asked the orphanage staff questions about our little girl and took pictures with them. It was hot in the reception room and Maggie was wearing a strawberry sweatshirt. She was sweating profusely. After we left, we went to a store to buy formula, crackers and water.

Later at the hotel, our guide showed us Maggie's finding announcement which is a black and white copy of the original. You can't even see her face but our guide was able to translate it for us. It is another piece of the puzzle to Maggie's identity. At 3 in the conferenc room of our hotel we filled out paperwork in preparation for our appointment at the CAB the next day.

On Tuesday, we met in the hotel lobby around 9 and arrived at the CAB around 9:30. We were there to fulfill the paperwork of Maggie's adoption. We promised to give her a good education and never abandon her. Were we happy with our referral - OF COURSE! Maggie had her right foot stamped, we paid the necessary fees and then we were done. Maggie is our's!!

Now we can rest a little easier until we leave for Guangzhou later this week. We will receive Maggie's passport this week. Mike has been out with members of our group to explore areas around the hotel. Today (Wednesday), we are going to a local Walmart which should be a very interesting experience.

We love our precious baby girl. I can't say enough just how tiny she is. She is also delayed which is to be expected. She is 7 months old but acts more like a 3 to 6 month old baby. Her paperwork stated that Maggie could crawl but she has little neck muscle. I wonder about their definition of the word crawl. She wears 3 to 6 month old clothing.

On Thursday, we hope to go to Martyr's Park. I'm sorry that I have not been able to post pictures. Mike has been tagging me on pictures in Facebook so hopefully some of you have seen Maggie's precious face.

 Thank you for all of your prayers. They go with us everywhere we go.

Changsha

We made it to Changsha after a gate mix-up and extra hour wait tonight. We flew China Air and the service was better than we experienced on our long United flight from the U.S.

We are at The Dolton Hotel. We learned that Maggie Rose is in Changsha already! The Daoxian orphanage staff brought her to the city a day early because the SWI is approximately six hours away and we are meeting her at 10:30 tomorrow morning! I doubt if she is in this hotel because it's a bit ritsy but it's amazing to think that my little girl is almost here.

I am not sure if I will be able to post pictures. I am so disappointed. We need to go through our connection at home and I shut that down last night (unknowingly) when I shut Mike's laptop down because the power was low.

We have already witnessed some crazy Chinese driving tonight. I am not too worried since we are being transported in a nice van. Sadly, it's almost entertaining to see how people get around here. However, the honking outside right now from my 30th floor window is not so entertaining.

We have a crib in our room and a Hello Kitty baby tub in our bathroom.

We are in Hong Kong!

We landed in Hong Kong yesterday afternoon after flying more than 15 hours from Chicago. Boy, that was a brutal flight, especially towards the end when it seemed to slow down even more as I stared at the computer screen counting down the last hour

When I got off the plane, I said, "We're in Hong Kong" as if to remind myself of reality. So much of this is still a bit surreal. Our guide Matthew was waiting for us at the airport. Today, we took a tour with Paul, Shelley and their son from our agency travel group and everal people from Holland. We visited an over priced jewelry store and enjoyed the view from Victoria's Peak. Mike took a sampan boat tour. Mom and I passed on the boat ride. We don't do very well on choppy water so we stayed in the air conditioned bus. I think there is probably enough pollution in the water. I don't need to be adding to it.
We are staying at the Hyatt Regency in Sha Tin and it is a beautiful hotel. We will fly to Hunan, Maggie's province tomorrow afternoon. We get our girls sometime on Monday.

Hong Kong is beautiful but the curvy roads got to me afer a while. We are a bit disappointed that because of our small group size we were not taken to a dim sum meal. Sorry, no pictures right now. We hope to post some tomorrow

Countdown to China

We are so blessed that Jack's and Liam's daycare provider is going to take care of our boys while we are in China. She is a very sweet woman who loves our little stinkers. To help Jack get a better idea of how long we'll be gone, I created a chain for each day that we're away. Each chain either says where we are or what we're doing that day or contains an interesting fact about the places we visit.

For example, did you know that Hong Kong means Fragrant Harbour for the amount of incense that came through the area? I gave the boys' daycare provider an incense stick that they can see and smell. Do you know which animal you are in the Chinese zodiac? Jack's and Liam's friends will soon discover their zodiac animal.

We are leaving Thursday and will arrive in Hong Kong on Friday. We will leave for Maggie Rose's province on Sunday and receive her on Monday. I am very excited but I have to admit I'm still in a bit of denial. It's hard to shake that off after five years.

We are blessed to have the loving support of family and friends while we are gone. Please continue to pray for us - for safe travels and for Maggie to be able to adjust to her new family and eventually bond with us.

Coming soon...more travel information!

We received an e-mail from our agency today. We will receive our final travel packet tomorrow or Thursday and take part in a travel conference call on Friday. I can't wait to see the information about our in-China travel and find out when we'll receive Maggie. A friend who recently brought home her daughter told me that while she was in China, people who received referrals from the Hunan province received their daughters on Sunday. That would be September 18!

It's been an exciting day for us and for some of our Yahoo friends. Lots of referral calls were made today. Lots of beautiful babies. One friend even received a referral for twins! Tomorrow they will receive additional pictures of their daughters. Oh happy day!!

Flights Booked!

After being on the phone waiting for a customer service representative from Expedia twice today - an hour each time, I finally said, forget it, and booked our flights directly through United Airlines. So, our flights are booked for China! We are leaving September 15!! Please pray for safe travels. After all these years, it's hard to believe that we will meet Miss Maggie next month. I'll probably wake up from this surreal state when she starts screaming at me on Forever Family Day. Yes, I'm imagining the worst, praying for the best. 

TAs & Visas!!

Our agency, CCAI, received our travel approval today! With the Mid-Autumn Festival taking place September 12, it looks like we will leave between September 14 - 16. I joked on Facebook that we are now accepting Frequent Flyer miles, but seriously, now is the time for that long-lost distant (and rich) relative to step forward. :)


Hopefully, we will learn of our definite departure and return dates in the next few days so we can book our flights. That's the next biggie on our list.

We also received our Passports and Visas today. We are slowly checking off our to-do things and getting closer to Maggie.

With TA's sent, there is hope that referrals are around the corner for the next group of people who are logged into China. Fingers crossed that it's a big batch!! I love referral time!!

The Waiting Game

When wil we travel? Right now, I imagine it will be the first or second week in September. The good news is that our Visa applications along with our Passports are safely at the US Consulate. Hopefully, we will receive our Visas in a week or so. If anyone is looking for a courier, I highly recommend Denise Hope at There's Always Hope. She has been great to us.

Meanwhile, we're building a monster pile for our suitcases. All kinds of goodies for Maggie - clothes, prunes (hee, hee), diapers (etc) and then some snacks for us. We'll be taking plenty of granola bars and peanut butter for treats to tie us over.

Our agency released its monthly newsletter today. Last month, the agency received referrals for just three families - we are one of those blessed families. I had the great fortune of being contacted by one of the two families in our group. We have been communicating since then helping each other with the Visa applications and figuring out what to pack. I've said it before and I'll say it again, there's nothing like being a member of the adoption community. I have experienced the warmth of friendship and kindness so many times from members of this caring community.

I ordered a 3 to 6 month swimsuit for Maggie Rose since we will be in three toasty locations during our stay in China. I hope to receive the suit soon and post a picture of it. My CCAI friend found us a 6 to 9 month swimsuit in case the one I ordered is too small.

Our Yahoo friends received their baby girls today. One friend posted about the day on her blog. Wow - it's incredible to see her precious pictures, knowing that we will have our own special day next month.

Now, we sit back and play the waiting game for a little while longer. We hope to receive our travel approval this week which will allow our agency to ask for a date with the US Consulate in China which will help them figure out our travel dates!

Dear Maggie Rose

Dear Maggie Rose,

We are finally going to see your precious face tomorrow. Your mother, father and two brothers, Jack and Liam, are so excited! You will have two wonderful playmates when you arrive home. They are awnry sometimes but also very loving. Once you get to know them, you'll probably think they're some of the funniest boys you've ever met.

I have wanted you in my life for a very long time. When I was a little girl I wanted a little sister so badly. My mom finally told me, "You'll just have to have your own little girl someday." It's been many years since then, and more than five years since we began our China adoption journey. And now, it's time baby, time to get to know you through a picture and a few descriptions. Your daddy and I are so blessed. I hope you will one day love us as much as we already love you.

Love with lots of hugs and kisses,

Your Mommy

Here Comes Maggie - Tomorrow!

                       

7/27/2011                       Matches Arrived!!!
We just received a group of matches for our families who are logged in July 7, 2006.  We did not receive any matches for our families  who are expedited due to Chinese Descent.  We do not know the official cut off date at this time as the CCCWA has not updated their intranet  site.   Congratulations to our matched families!  We will be making match calls  tomorrow.  We will update this website when more information becomes available.

We will get the call tomorrow and finally hear about our precious girl! If my head could spin, it would right now.

China Update

This update was posted on our agency's website this afternoon:

7/20/2011

Preparing to work on Matches

The CCCWA is preparing paperwork to begin to work on matches. We do not know the log in dates for the next group of matches at this time nor do we have any further information.

We will update this website when more information becomes available.

So, if referrals are finished this week/early next week, we may just see Maggie Rose's face for the first time next week. I'm in a state of disbelief about China right now and about the amazing moment I may be experiencing soon. Maybe it's time I start waking up.

Maggie Rose's Quilt

When Mike and I began the China adoption process, I learned of a tradition among adoptive parents - the 100 Wishes Quilt. The quilt includes 100 different pieces of fabric, or in our case 130, from family and friends. Family members and friends also provide a wish for the child with a piece of the fabric to be placed in a scrapbook. That way, the recipient always knows who gave each wish and material.

With Maggie Rose's referral nearing, mom has been working hard to sew these blocks together and she has done an amazing job. I can't wait to go home this weekend and touch what I am seeing in these pictures. To me, quilts are a work of art. There is a lot of hard work and love invested in each one. And this one is for Maggie Rose. Isn't that beautiful!