Soft S

One day you are minding your own business, while wearing split pants;

the next day, you are sitting in a strange place, dressed in a g-d awful

hippy outfit, with (GASP) glitter no less, and holding a Baby Einstein rattle.

Please tell me it does not get weirder than this.

How about some privacy people?

Mom, you may want to give the camera a rest. I know we
have only been together for 31 hours, but I could not pick you
out of a line up. Every time I see you, you are hiding behind that
darn contraption!

What? Never seen a cute kid before?

07/07/2008

Another quick post. It's 2:47 a.m., and as usual I'm up. P and Sleepy S are in dreamland. Yesterday we visited the local Walmart, to stock up on bottled water and whatever else each family needed. Although we were told that we could find everything we needed in China, we are glad we did not listen. We are using Playtex bottles, because of the convenience of using drop in liners (difficult to sterilize bottles in a hotel room) and because those were J's favorites as a baby. A few of the other families are using them as well, and needed extra liners and nipples. Sadly, no Playtex products to be found. While P was working on trying to get our cell phones a local number, Baby S and I decided to walk around the store. The looks that we got were priceless. Surprisingly, it did not feel weird, perhaps because of being a minority. I am not used to be around others that look like me, so really, nothing new here.

After Walmart (more on that later) we returned to the hotel to chill out. Baby S began to whimper as she was removed from the Ergo baby carrier (well worth the outrageous price) and did not want to be placed on the bed/floor/crib. It appeared that her little system went into overload mode and the reality of the past 24 hours hit her. She became very clingy and wanted both her mom and baba all the time. Our guide had requested that we meet at the indoor pool for a swim and then have dinner at a local restaurant. As much as we want to socialize and take in the culture of her birth place, we could not put Baby S through more stress.

We decided to stay in and just let her grieve on her own terms. She spent time napping while laying on us. Her sleep was restless as she would whimper and use her tiny, yet very efficient death grip on us. Baby S has a tiny mouth and the most amazing pouty lips ever seen since her brother was born. When that bottom lip quivers, it breaks our hearts. We wish she would just loose it and scream, as it is so difficult to watch her try to make sense of what is happening to her. She is scared and hanging on for dear life. Still, it is normal to grieve and part of the process. We just wish we could take in her pain, as she has been through so much.

We also skipped the group dinner to minimize her exposure to the masses. We took a nice, leisurely bath, got her ready for bed and ordered room service (nothing exciting, just burgers). She just alternated between our laps, until bedtime.

Once again we are reminded of how blessed we are. Baby S and J are incredibly resilient, and we wonder if under similar circumstances we could cope half as well as they have. Really, here we are in a very nice hotel, with almost everything we need, and we occasionally whine about how difficult it is to prepare bottles and parent out of a hotel room. Yeah, light weights. While she (fitfully) napped yesterday, we were discussing their similarities. They both are funny as heck, are great eaters, travel well and can sleep anywhere. Baby S and J are also active, inquisitive, intelligent and the biggest hams. We can't wait for them to meet because we are sure that they will instinctively try to out ham each other. It's going to be interesting to watch.

Baby S just reached another milestone, her first #2 diaper. It is normal for the babies to be constipated due to the change in diet and stress. So glad we brought prunes (also not available at Walmart). She is back in her crib (3:22 a.m.) and no longer fussy.

Today, Wednesday, we are going to visit the Stone Forest, a two hour drive from Kunming. We have seen pictures and is is simply beautiful. Will post pictures tonight.