Our First Night

Well, the Nannies at the Care Center have the kids on a pretty regular schedule. They said G eats at 7 pm, 1 am, 7 am, 1 pm. During the day, she ate more often, so I was a little skeptical. However, last night, we fed her at 7, changed her diaper, put on her pjs and put her in her crib. She chatted away for a few minutes, then fell asleep. She woke up at 1 am - on the nose - and screamed until we fed her. Then we changed her diaper and put her back down. Again she chatted a bit, but by 1:45, she was asleep. It is now 7 am and she is starting to stir. Slept in her crib all night!!! We also were given a report that she may wake 2-3 times during the night to eat. Let's hope this nice regular pattern continues.

Yesterday was a HUGE day for all of us. We officially took custody of the children. We went to the infant/toddler care center where they gave us a tour of the facility. They dress the children in traditional outfits and sing songs for us. They also say a prayer and say goodbye to the kids. They served cake and soda. The parents get letters from the Nannies and staff, a packet of school work for the children over age 3 (when they start attending school). There are lots of tears of joy. The kids get to leave their handprints in a book (they used to put them on the wall, but I think they are running out of room). The other children chant their names and cheer for each child.

After we said goodbye, we had lunch at the guesthouse, then we were off to the US Embassy. In our group, we have 5 older boys going home to 4 families ranging in age from 3 - 7 and 4 infants (2 girls and 2 boys) all between 5-6 months old, going home with 4 families. So our total group was 8 families. We were called 1-2 at a time and were done in less than 2 hours. Jo, the CHSFS rep, said it was a record. We waited in a special waiting room downstairs that had a TV, water cooler and play area for the kids. It wasn't hot and stuffy as we were told to expect.

After the Embassy trip, we returned to the guest house to retrieve our luggage and then they gave us a ride to the Sheraton. Let's say I have never been so excited to check into a hotel in my life. The room is big and beautiful. Lots of marble and plenty of fluffy white towels. AND A HAIR DRYER!! The bed is soft. Room service is fast and the food is delicious. Not that we didn't enjoy our stay at the Millenium hotel and I will highly recommend it for all families adopting from CHS, however. This hotel feels just a little bit more like home. And they have a back up generator, so when the power goes out, we have about 30-60 seconds and then it is back up and running.