Gotcha Day and Zhengzhou

Gotcha Day


Pictures of Zhengzhou

We arrived in Zhengzhou in the evening and if I expected there to be a difference in the heat due to time of day or location, I was sadly disappointed. But there we were once again staggering with luggage in the heat, headed towards yet another bus. The airport was nice, quiet and clean with regular toilets and not just squatty potties - hey there was even toilet paper!
The plan was to get into town, settle in and meet out babies the next day. This was an absolute killer for me. When we went to get Ev I was in Jiangxi approximately the length of the bus ride before I reached out and grabbed her to me. Well, we got in, settled in and braved the elements for dinner. We had a 15 minute walk from the hotel to a Pizza Hut and it was along a busy street, 4 lane street and there was construction on the sidewalk along the way- very typical walk in China. We were stared at by almost everyone as Adoptions in this province are not yet commonplace. The other thing that I noticed was all of the children! This was the one place in China that seemed to have a great balance of adults and children. I mean kids of all ages running about and laughing and talking. It was torture to be seeing all of them while still wondering what my son would be like, how big he would be, what his hair would feel like- I had a hard time not snatching some of those babies right out of their Mom's arms for a quick fix and snuggle.
We also hit the Wal-mart for essential supplies. It gets pretty hard to keep up with your water needs simply by the little boil pots in your room. Water rationing becomes a real issue while in China- it's hard to get enough to make bottles and drink and brush your teeth with. Also I was struggling to keep Ev from having potty issues. The Wal-mart was interesting as always but I remember the one in Jiangxi being much better.
Ok so.
The next morning we ate a very nerve wracking breakfast at the Hotel and climbed aboard the bus for a looong 15 minute ride to the Civil Affairs building. On the way our guides told us that there had been some pretty serious flooding in Henan and that since we had 8 babies coming from 8 different places that it was hard to say which ones would be here and maybe some might have to come in the next day! WHAT?!!!? I quickly settled myself and I just KNEW Liam would be there. As we pulled up, I had Les turn on the video camera- just in case. We walked up the stairs and into the room. It was a big open room with a couple of couches against the walls and a desk for official stuff and a long table or two. Beyond the tables was an enclosed play area. I was taking all of this in when, our guide Rita, grabbed my arm and said, "He's here! Your baby is here- go play with him!" I felt my heart leave my body and I walked over as fast as I could to lay eyes on him. He was there, in the play area, wearing an outfit that we had sent, bent over a blue plastic truck. He was pale and had some scabies marks but he was SOLID and real and there.
We three spent the next few minutes trying to get him to do something- anything other than worry about that truck. It took a snack. And some juice. But we finally got his attention.
His hair was back. He had huge liquid eyes.
We were all smitten.
Also the whole time we were meeting Liam for the first time? The orphanage had sent a camera guy to film us - "for their records". That wasn't incredibly nerve wracking or anything.
After a while I could not take it anymore and moved him over to my lap, this is where I learned that this kid was/is a chunk. He stayed there for only a few minutes before he was off- demanding his truck.
The room got louder and louder as more babies made it on from where they were to meet their families. I remember looking up form my Liam haze at one point and seeing everyone smiling and clutching babies and handing out snacks. There was crying and some screeching as well.
I had to get up at one point and pay some Official Fees and hand over our Gifts to the Orphanage Rep that was there. She was a very nice lady and she handed me an envelope filled with pictures form the camera that we had sent. I cried over these and she patted my arm and smiled. She asked through and interpreter if we could exchange e-mails so she could know how Zhuang Zhuang was doing- I gladly agreed and it was here that I first realized that Liam may have been a "favorite". Eventually the Orphanage folks sort of waved and quietly backed out and left and that was it- we were left alone with our guy. He was ours.
About 35 minutes into my relationship with my son I heard our guides calling to get on the bus. That's when I smelled it. Messy diaper. And then I freaked. It was hot and I was stressed- taught would be the word. And now I was going to be changing a diaper in a public venue. Let's say that there was no trash can in the bathroom, nor anyplace that looked remotely like a place you would want to change a diaper. I had to holler for Les to come and find me and help me- just for moral support you understand.
Well, Liam boarded the bus wearing nothing but a diaper as his entire outfit was....umm....not clean. Nice.
We went back to the hotel for a bottle and some Elimite and his first nap. I sat in a chair holding my heavy son and we napped together and it was bliss.

The rest of our time in Zhengzhou was filled with quiet days of getting to know each other, bottles and meals and swimming in the pool. Playing with his sister and resisting naps.
We ran into some Orphanage behaviors that have already faded significantly. Behaviors like a complete inability to share, food hoarding, huge expression changes meant to encourage or discourage what we were doing. By day 3 he was sharing toys with Ev and had slowed down on the food issues (though this is still our biggest issue to date).
By Day 4 he got hurt or something and cam running to me to pick him up. That was HUGE as it took Ev nearly 2 years to do this.
This is the way we move forward. Quiet days filled with some sleepless nights. He did have and still does some Whimpering in the night and an occasional Night Terror. Oh and he drools- constantly like a faucet, so I got really good about washing bibs in the sink.
6 days here and we were off to Guangzhou and The White Swan.......