Daddy's starting me out young!!

Update

So Chloe is sick. She has a cold...poor thing. She has a bad runny nose, but I can't seem to find any medicine for it that is ok to take at her age.

I bought some Tylenol Plus Cold & Cough, but it did nothing for the runny nose. I then called the pediatrician's office, and the person who answered the phone recommended Pediacare decongestant and cough.

We had to stop at Walmart, so I checked there. I asked the Pharmacist and he said that Pediacare didn't make it anymore. So I left and called the pediatrician's office back. She said he was full of it. So I stopped by Walgreens and they had it. However, the active ingredients were the same as the tylenol, so I asked the pharmacist, and she confirmed that it wouldn't help the runny nose. She said I would have to give her benedryl for it... So go figure.

She seems to be doing a good job bonding to me. She suddenly cries when anybody else holds her, and then she'll stop when I take her. She cries and/or wimpers when I leave the room, and always has to have her eyes on me. So that's good.

I'm trying to work on her crawling, but it's kind of hard with the dogs, as they all want to be up in her face all the time.

She still gets up a few times during the night.

She is slowly coming around to the dogs. She used to cry whenever they looked at her. She would wail if they licked her. But now she occassionally smiles when they lick her.

I think that Sammi and Raj are feeling a little left out and are needing a little extra attention.

We are now trying to get everything unpacked and put away and generally get the house organized, which is proving to be quite the task!

I will post more later, along with pictures.

Poor Bella!!!

Poor little Chloe!So she had her six shots on Friday...One was a TB test, which Marksays doesn't count as a shot, but the still stuck her! I'm sure thepediatrician wouldn't have had a problem if I said I didn't havethat many, but at the time I was just thinking...what would thedifference be between 3 and 5? Might as well get them out of theway....So the pedicatrician also ordered a bunch of lab work. She wantedto retest for HIV, Hepatitis, Syphillis, etc. So I took her thismorning. I didn't realize how much blood they would have to draw!I'm at the lab at the hospital and they try to get blood from herleft arm. They can't get it, so they dig around in her arm forabout five minutes! At this point, she's hysterical. Then theymove to her right arm, again the same thing, can't get it and theydig around! Again, she's hysterical.At this point they keep saying things that were annoying the crapout of me, although I might just have been ultra sensitive:1) "What's wrong baby? Why are you crying?" They kept saying thisover and over again. I wanted to be like, "WHAT DO YOU THINK ISWRONG WITH HER!?!?! You keep sticking her with needles and pokingaround in her veins!"2) "Will she take a paci??? Can you give her a paci???" Well, Isuppose I could give her one, but it's not going to change the factthat you guys are sticking needles in her all over the place andshe's screaming because of it!So then they try to get blood from her wrist...again doesn't work.So at this point, they decide to send her up to the pediatric unitof the hospital. They finally got the blood, but they had to get itfrom her skull!I don't think I'll be able to take her to get blood work done again!

Awesome Heart Hotel

Here is the front lobby of the Heart Hotel:

Trang with Chloe:
They both LOVED Chloe!
The Heart Hotel staff threw us a party to celebrate the adoptions. As you can see, they really went above and beyond. They spent all day cooking and preparing all this food! This is traditional Vietnamese Feast food. This hotel definitely was the highlight of our stay!
Here is most everyone!

Randoms images of Cuteness...

We're Finally Coming Home!!!!

We had our second interview today!!!! It was a breeze, took about two minutes. Barring any unforeseen circumstances like natural disasters, computer glitches, etc., we will pick up our Visa Monday and make our flight Monday night. That means we'll be back in Indianapolis around 2:00 pm Tuesday!!!! We were hoping that they might issue Bella's visa the same day, but no such luck. But I'm not going to complain.

It's kinda bittersweet because there are two families who didn't have their second interviews today. I am hoping that they get their appointment Monday!

So on the way to the Consulates office we road in a taxi. Not sure if I have conveyed this, but in Vietnam they don't use car seats or seat belts. So the babies simply sit on our laps.

Well, we are driving, and suddenly the driver slams on the brakes!!!! HARD!!! We all went flying forward and the seat in front of us went flying up, even though someone was in it! One of the babies smacked her head on the seat... It sucked.

Anyway, Chloe is waking up, so I'm going to grab her...just wanted to share the news!

Bath Time

It was bound to happen eventually, and tonight it did. Yes, Bella peed on during our bath. Gross! :) :) :)

Frustration

So I am frustrated. For various reasons. Mostly I just want to get home. No word on the second interview. So it's not looking good that we will make our flight on Friday or Monday. Which means we will be here until at least next Wednesday.

I'm frustrated because Chloe is so fussy. Monday will mark two since Mark left. I have to admit, it's super hard here by myself. All the other families have been more than great, but they have babies to take care of as well. Bella is sleeping less and less and doesn't like to be ever put down. It wasn't so bad when she would nap, because I could sit her down afterwards on the bed and play with her. Now she is so fussy from the lack of sleep that I can't put her down or play with her, she just wants to be held.

And I'm sure that there are people who think that I just need to let her cry. And sometimes I do, as sometimes it doesn't matter whether I put her down or hold her, she cries all the same. And I know that she is getting spoiled from being held so much.

But Chloe is not like a normal baby. She has extra issues and demands that need to met, issues that you don't have to deal with in a biological baby or a baby that you have had since day 1.

Chloe spent the first 4 months of her life in institutionalized care, where she wasn't able to have the attention that most babies get. She's suffered a loss from her birthmother, and then from the nannies that raised her for the first 4 months of her life. She's had a lot to adjust to, and I think that she's doing amazingly well. But I think it's important that she knows that we (I) am here for her now. She needs to learn to trust again, she needs to learn to trust us. My point is, there are a bunch of other issues that need to be considered with her. And if meeting those needs turn her into a spoiled baby, so be it. Once we get home, and she is comfortable, we will work on changing that.

That being said, I'm frustrated that I am frustrated. I know that she picks up on it and that doesn't help either of us. So that's what I am working on right now. It breaks my heart when she is not happy. I just wish there was more I could do. I feel like I'm a bad mother to her right now, because I can't calm her down at times. And then I get frustrated with myself.

Ironically, she's actually sleeping right now. I look over at her as she sleeps, and I can't put into words how greatful I am to have her. She truly is a gift from God. And I might not have carried her 9 months, but it doesn't make a bit of difference. She is the most precious thing in the world.

I know there are those out there that distinguish between biological children and adopted children. Some that feel one is a replacement for another, or others that feel that "Chloe is wonderful, but are you going to have any kids of your own?" Well, Chloe IS our own, just as much as any biological child would ever be. I sincerely hope that Chloe never has to feel that or experience that from anyone. I know that I won't be able to protect Chloe from every unnessecary hurt that she will face in her life, but I definitely will do my best.

It's funny because as you walk down the street, various Vietnamese people will stop and talk to you. They'll talk to the baby, and as they leave, they all seem to say the same thing: "Lucky Baby". And even people back home will comment about how lucky she is. Well, I disagree with that, I think that we are the lucky ones. Actually, I know that.

Interesting Stuff

The internet connection wasn't working in the room today, so I didn't bother to take any new pictures. Plus we had a pretty full day, full of outings and naps. Although I do have one picture from last night. This is Chloe after she finally fell asleep. Isn't she precious???

So this morning we got up at 7:00 am for Bella's medical exam. (I actually had to wake her up!) She did so great... we were gone for probably close to 3 hours, and she only cried a couple of times!

We saw the nurse first, who took her weight, length, pulse, respiratory rate, and oxygen sat level. I will discuss the results in a minute. Afterwards, we went in to see the actual doctor.

Sidebar: We received a "medical update" on Chloe before we traveled. This was SUPPOSEDLY done on May 7th. I say supposedly because I don't believe that it was. If they really did take her for a medical, I don't think that they actually took her measurements. I tried to clarify whether this was in fact done on the the 7th, and I am being told that it was. Here is my problem with that:

Her medical was supposedly done on the 7th (Monday). We visited her for the first time on the 13th (Sunday). We took her back to the hotel with us on the 18th and have had her ever since. According to this medical report, she weighed 8.8lbs. It says that she was 58 cm long. From the second I got this report, I had doubts, as 8.8 seemed awfully small for a four month old.

Well today, one day short of one month from the last medical, she weighed 12.8 lbs. And she was 62.5 cm long. So this means that within one month she would have had to gain 4lbs and grow 4.5 cm. I don't believe that she did. We saw her less than a week after this medical was done, and while she has put on some weight, it's nowhere close to 4lbs!

So I don't know if maybe another baby went and their measurements got mixed up or something, but... Anyway, the good thing is that she is healthy!

The doctor that we saw was Dutch. He was very nice. When the he saw her, he said that he was very happy with where she was developmentally for her age.

Now, I know I am quite biased, but I think that Chloe-Belle is very beautiful. But the doctor confirmed it! This is a direct quote :) :

"My, aren't you a cute baby! Well, all babies are cute, you are just EXTRA cute!" So there you have it, straight from the doctors mouth.

After that we came home and Bella had her first long nap in a week...it was 2-3 hours long. I got to sleep too! Yay Bella!!!!

Not sure if I mentioned it before, but Chloe's nails and toenails have gotten very long. I am very hesitant to cut them, as it's hard to do on my own, and when Mark and I attempted, he snipped her finger and it bled and bled. So I've kinda just left them, but the problem is that she constantly rubs her feet together. The result is many cuts on each leg/ankle from her toenails!

So I got down to the lobby today, and the staff, as usual, swipe Bella away. I use this time to check my email. Well, I hear a sound so I turn around and look at the front desk, and they have her up there cutting her nails! They did an awesome job, and she didn't cry or move at all! I was very impressed!!!

Ok, one more funny story. I decided to give Bella a bath again tonight. She's really started to like the bath. So when we get back from dinner I start to get her ready. But first she needed a diaper change, as at lunch she made a dirty diaper!!! The problem was that I hadn't started the bath water yet. I didn't want to put another diaper on her, but I also wanted to get her out of the one she had on. So I changed her real quick, only I didn't but another diaper on her. After cleaning her up, I go into the bathroom and start the bath water. (I'm holding her this whole time) I come back to the bed and sit down with her on my lap and start to undress her. In my mind I'm thinking, "I hope she doesn't decide to pee!" At that VERY instant, I feel a warm liquid on my thigh...Bella peed all over me in my jeans! So yesterday I got projectile puked on, today I got peed on...and each time Chloe thought it was pretty funny!

Yes, it's me again!

Even More...

Beautiful Bella...

What a day...

We got up this morning and hung around the hotel. We did a little shopping at this place around the corner that we like real well...the guy there always talks to Miss Chloe-Belle! We talked to another family who got here on the 22nd of May and gets to go home Tuesday. My new best case scenario doesn't seem to be looking great. Most people are saying that their interviews have been exactly a week apart. If that happens then we will miss our flight on the 11th and have to stay until Wednesday, if we can even get on that flight. Japan Air is booked until after the 15th...that sucks. I'm starting to think that I'll never get out of here...

In the afternoon we went and hung out at a mall. We had dinner at an italian restaurant. I had pizza and potato soup. Well, turns out Chloe finds potato soup to be quite tasty...she ate half the bowl! So, we stopped at the citimart and I'm going to try her on some baby food, I bet she likes that!

Morning Shots