I misspoke when I said we were going to Old World China. I completely misunderstood where we were going today. After an hour on a bus, we came to a village...a real live, poor, rural village. Chandler arranged this trip to the village for us because he knew how much we wanted to see life outside the city. He had never been to this particular village, either. (You always know when Chandler hasn't been somewhere because he brings his camera, too.) We visited the elementary school (I can't even describe the incredible sound of the kids voices when their teacher let them out on a break to come out and meet us), stopped for lunch at a little place in the "town square", walked the streets and just spent a couple hours taking in this place. This is the 80% of China we hear about sometimes... I suppose seeing this today meant so much to me because it is easy to forget about that 80% when your experience is limited to big cities and posh hotels. The area of An An's finding is like this...poor and rural. I couldn't help but think about her birthparents and wonder about their lives as I took in the faces of this place. It was a powerful way to spend the day, even in the rain. I hope the pictures provide a glimpse of what I mean.
Oh, and we got the much coveted "thumbs up" from the 'clothing police' here. It is very important to the Chinese that children be bundled up at all times. The kids here where this puffy clothing that makes you wonder how they bend their appendages. Anyway, all day as we walked around (in the rain, mind you) we were stopped by numerous ladies who checked the babies and offered their spirited opinions via charade about what we were doing right and wrong. K slept in her Ergo all day, so she was zipped up inside my jacket with the head thing snapped over her head. I'd just like to say that aside from one lady who happened to catch a glimpse of skin between K's mitten edge and jacket cuff, we passed the test every time and even got the coveted "thumbs up". Man, that Ergo is good. Tee hee.
Tonight we went out for dinner with our group, but An An had no interest in food (that's a first) and was quite crabby. So we came back to the hotel and now have been struggling to get her to sleep for a few hours. She fell asleep around 8:00 and Dan was actually able to move her to the bed without waking her up, but she stirred within an hour and we've been struggling to get her down ever since. She's a mysterious little creature, and we have to keep reminding ourselves that it's okay that we haven't figured everything out after 4 days. Her past--even her recent past--is a huge mystery, and that makes meeting her needs tough right now. I know it will get easier as we get to know her and she us, but in the meantime, we are a bit exhausted. :)
So, without further delay, some pics from today:
11 comments:
Awesome photos, guys. I commented yesterday but I think it got lost in the "finkainj" that is the blogger comment section (I'm using the word of the day!).
I love seeing your photos develop through the days...and how much adoration you communicate through the little close-up details of An An. We get to see you notice her, learn her, experience each other...and that's pretty amazing. Thank you.
Re: the fussy and the no eating. If it continues she might need a little more help from the glycerin/prune/hydration friends. Or maybe she's just chillin' out and recovering from the stress of it all. Or maybe she's just fussy today. Or maybe, or maybe, or maybe. If it helps, I'm on kiddo #4 and I almost never feel certain about what's going on! You guys are doing great! (And when in doubt, blame it on teeth. Always blame it on teeth!)
...Love the clown shot yesterday, btw. I was totally not expecting it, and it was totally fantastic.
Thanks, E. You always have a way of making me feel better. :) In fact, Dan and I--when struggling for hours to get her to sleep tonight--remembered what you said about your sleep issues with lil'E when we were decorating cookies at your house and it just gave us that bit of "it will get better" that we needed tonight. And thanks for commenting. These comments are my little connection to back home and I look forward to them! :)
And yes, it's 2am here. Ugh. ;)
I just got back from my first lunch with H! We ate some falafel balls in your honor (even though I hear you don't like them so much). So wonderful to get back to my desk and see your latest post.
E is so absolutely right. We're really on a journey with you through your posts and photographs. I think I check your blog 5 or 6 times a day. It's amazing to see the evolution of your family day by day. You have such an eye for details with photography, and it's those details that help us bond with An An and you guys from across the globe -- even when you're sleeping...which I hope you're doing right now.
I don't have any advice about parenting or poo or prunes (the 3 Ps), but I do know you're doing an AMAZING job. I can see it in the photos.
Love you guys!!
-C
Hey guys thanks for sharing a piece of An An's life with us. You could write a book using all your blogs and pictures.
You see the love you and Dan have towards your baby daughter in every picture you take of her.
I hope you get the well deserved rest you need. Thanks for blogging even when your exhausted.
Can't wait to see tomorrow's blog.
this is the post that did it for me, that is, the tears, of course i had them on multiple visits already, but seeing those wonderful images of those kids, so beautiful, major tears. thank you!
sleep, sleep, the elusive sleep. e is right, you are right, it will get better, but in the meantime it is enormously difficult. do you think that you could tire her out more somehow, physically?
okay, i had to look again! the little girls with the umbrella and their braids...awesome!
seeing an an in the bed on that last shot makes me really hopeful that you'll be getting more rest tomorrow. i have a good feeling about this.
still thinking about you and talking with p, do you know if she is used to quiet or noisy when falling asleep?
z would suggest you rub her ears.
Hi hK!
I know, those photos get me, too--and I also can't stop looking at them. I am so glad Chandler arranged that visit--talk about perspective.
As far as tiring her out, today she is allowing me to hold her hands while she stumbles around like a drunken sailor...a.k.a. assisted walking. :) Her legs are strong enough to support her weight, but she has no balance at all. It's kind of like walking a 9-10 month old around. She was so proud of herself--cracking into a smile a few times as she passed the mirror. We walked for a good 20 minutes and then again for another 10. She is determined, that is for sure. But she is nowhere near toddler; she is a BABY baby. I had to prep the Grandmas for that!
We've tried noisy (TV, us doing activities) and quiet sleeping, dark and light sleeping--nothing is particularly effective. She went in the stroller last night (YAY! Break for the back!) and fell asleep. I left her in there and parked it next to me by the bed and she slept straight from 1:00ish to 8:00.
And she woke up with a couple of nicely formed, very stinky poopers in her diaper! YAY! I can't believe how excited I am about poop.
Little by little. I have to keep reminding myself that I'm not supposed to know everything about her within 5 days. ;)
Thanks for the comments. I love reading them. I am hopeful for a decent internet connection at the WS, but we'll see... :) We leave for Guangzhou tomorrow morning at 8:00am.
yay for poop! yay for moving! yay for sleeping! yay for the awesome new mom and dad! so good to read your post this a.m.
WS internet was a good one for us.
save travels!
I know the challenge that is sleep. Been there, done that, have an ugly t-shirt. ;) If she continues to have sleep issues, let us know. Some of An An's experience and some of E's experience might match up, and maybe we can spare you some of the missteps we made.
In the meantime, if you can, just surrender to it as much as you can. Sleep is often the biggest (or only) awful in the early adoption experience, at least from what we've shared and heard. Lots of parents look for a medical reason, or a trick to get some sleep, and there's often an answer there, but I think more often than anything it's just grief and stress expressed at night when kiddos have their defenses down. And there's not much, unfortunately, you can do about that but give her time.
I know you guys are upbeat and more than capable, but don't get sleep challenges get you down (which, after a few days of sleep deprivation, can start happening). All you can do is try some strategies, be there for her, and over time it will start to even out. Not being able to fix it or figure out the problem isn't an issue of being new parents or dropping the ball in some way. It's just the reality of adoption...that incredible challenge of starting to know a person 15 months into their life and patterns, AND the incredible challenge of a child who's had such an enormous disruption in what they've known. I know you guys know all this stuff, but I dunno...sometimes in the sleep deprived haze it helps to be reminded that yes, you actually ARE doing a fabulous job. Keep it up. :)
And shoot...yesterday's word was a totally cool "fraggamub" or something like that, and today's is only litexc. Sounds clinical. ;)
Love the pictures of the narrow streets - it really looks amazing. :)
Will I see you on Sunday in Seattle? Shoot me an email!
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