Day Four - Back to the Orphanage and No good Poo!
Man oh man. Where do I start? So much has happened since my last post. London has gone from acting like an infant new born to hodling her own bottle, crawling on the bed, now to grabbing on to something to pull herself up and rockin’ and a rollin’ dance style while up.
I had heard that these girls are sometime developmentally delayed. There is no ‘mentally’ part of the delayed but maybe some of the standard mobility parts are. Well she made it all up in a day. Amazing.
For a quick recap, she still likes mommy better but there are a few reasons why and I don’t mind them.
I’m going to tell a story mostly for all you first time mothers getting ready to come to China to get babies. For the rest of you, if you are at ALL faint of stomach or get upset or offended easily DO NOT READ FURTHER. I mean it! I want no ill comments about my story!
So here goes. My girl is not making the good “poo-poo” like the other girls. We’ve had to resort to Peggy’s remedy of a teaspoon of sesame oil every eight hours.
We got a little hard rock of a poo earlier in the day. Peggy said “This no count, I need to see more bigger poo.” But later in the evening, London was very fussy. She would fart every so often and we’d get excited by the smell but no luck on the bigger prize. She was sort of crying but not quite. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Her eyebrows were turning red and she looked like she was in pain. Then I guess Christe could see she was really trying to push and wasn’t doing so well. I turned to see what was going on just in time to see Christe rip down the diaper and grab the half out poo and help her get it out. Now to Christe’s point she claims I didn’t see what I thought I saw, but word to the new moms out there, anything goes! When you got a constipated (Pronounced: Cons-puh-tate-ted) baby you;ve got to help out.
Peggy had told us on multiple occasions about how sometimes we get a ‘conspatated’ baby and “you know the conspatated baby is unhappy baby.” And we cannot be the worst parents in the group.
My point is she CAN like mommy better until she’s un-conspatated. I told the story on the way to the orphanage (Christe and London did not go) and my take on it was this. When I saw first saw it, I loudly responded with “Oh No! – No Way! – Oh Yeah!, I would have done that! – No I wouldn’t have!, Yes I would, No I wouldn’t”, mostly because I wouldn’t have thought of it.
Peggy then told us that in China when a lady has a baby she is supposed to stay in bed for a month to rest and the family takes care of the baby for the first month. So when she had a girl (her only child) and she kept it, the family didn’t help. So when she came home from the hospital and the baby made poo in the diaper the first time she opened the diaper and ran away. Her mother called her back and said “you change the diaper, you are the mom now.”
Now for the rest of the days going’s ons………………………
We got up very early to get go to breakfast because I had a very important trip to take at 8:30 am. We were going to the Zhuzhou orphanage, the place where 7 of the 11 babies in our group, came from.
There was a lot of talk, in our group, of going or not going. I think the consensus was that most would send a parent and the other would stay back with the baby. Some of the babies had been to the hospital only the hours before for IV’s. Peggy said (jokingly) she was going to ask the director “why this orphanage give away so many sick babies.”
On the way there and back (and hour plus each way) Peggy and I had a chance to talk at great length about the country’s one child law and how it is even enforceable in such a large population. It was quite eye-opening and made complete sense. It is too long for this post. I may write about it as a separate page on the larger website later. In all of our parent education meetings no one ever really explained how it worked or how it was enforceable. But having been here a while and seeing the “rural” areas versus the “city” I think I have a slightly better understanding of the greater motivations of the everyday population.
At the orphanage we were introduced to the assistant director. It was this gentleman we offered the diapers, formula, toys and clothes. He took us on a tour of the facility. Two of the families came with their babies and the aunties were thrilled. It was kind of weird how quickly the babies had bonded to their new families. The seemed put off at first by the aunties wanting to touch or hold them. After a few minutes they seemed ok with it but wanted back in moms arms without question.
Some of the family members whose children had been to hospital in the last few days said the orphanage was cleaner (more sterile) than the hospital they had been too. I will try to post as many pictures of the orphanage when I get to Guangzhou.
The orphanage was the first in China to get a 5 star rating from the government for conditions and health. The orphanage usually adopts out 40 babies a year. Suprissingly over 60% of the population in Chinese orphanages are special needs children and the rate keeps growing. There were only a half dozen or so babies in the under two for healthy area.
We were shown the handicraft room where the special needs children (who may live there until they are 20) make crafts. They are available to the public for a donation. This shows the children that working diligently can provide reward to live on their own. I ended up picking a pillow case cover that had been embroidered with “Zhuzhou Children’s Welfare Institution” and “For the kids” on it. I left the room so the other families could have more room and the girl who made it (who had only one hand) came into the hall and motion and spoke in Chinese to tell me, I picked hers. It is for a pillow to lay your head on. It was very moving. When I got the donation receipt it said the donation was from Hou QingLian. From outside the room I could hear her tell someone else that “QingLian’s dad picked mine”, “He picked mine.” It was very moving.
Before we left the director gave us each a card with his email and the orphanage’s address. I’ve told Chirste it’s important to me that we acknowledge the importance of this institution. It is clearly here for the children. It is the only state run institution in Hunan for children only and the staff love these children.
I got to see London’s crib and we were told who their crib mates were. I didn’t ask if the other babies where scheduled for adoption yet.
It was difficult to get a lot of pictures from the area, though. We were in a small bus and the windows were tinted and we only stopped once at one girls finding spot. Zhuzhou is one of the 10 most populous cities in all of China. To call dirt roads a city is a little different. Only I and one other girls grandmother got off the bus. I’m not making any commentary on any other family but I get the feeling that being the minority and being stared at all the time might be taking it’s toll on some of the others. I tend to smile say hello in Chinese and give everyone as many “happy to see you” looks as I can muster. Most of the time I’m sure the locals either think “this foreigner must have gas” or “this foreigner sure is proud his teeth”. Nonetheless, I don’t mind the attention. I’ve gotten a few big thumbs up from some over attentive onlookers.
As for the second part of the day we went to Yushu academy. It is the oldest academy in China, It is at the center of the Hunan University in Changsha. Changsha is a large city split in two parts by a river. On the way to the university you can definitely see the difference. In some areas in much more rural but near the river it is very well kept and quite pretty. There was definitely an air of history in the air. China has a history of over 5000 years and Yushu has a history of over 3000 years. They had a book for sale in the university shop (In Chinese) that was titled “A very short story, the history of the United States”. Also for all you single people out there, it's encouraging to know that even ladies in China think 'Love Sucks'.
Tips on China……..
When a group of foreigners walk through on a tour be prepared to be stared at (that goes for pretty much any where).
When you it looks like all of you have moved on to the next stop, leave one behind taking pictures of something. Make sure it knows all the words the locals use for “foreigner”.
When the group is just in full swing of making fun of your group have the left behind person walk through the middle of them with a bright-eyed, “Hey there!” or “How’s it goin, Ya’ll”, The locals LOVE that!
Also I couldn't help but through in another pic of my beautiful new daughter. She's already got some of my 'eyes' down cold. This one says 'God Dad! Why are you taking a picture of me when you KNOW I'm all sweaty?!'
I almost forgot we finally talked our local guide into escorting us for some real spicy Hunan food. Even though it was just up the street it was very tasty and very reasonably priced.
Anyway it’s been a long day and I must retire.Signing of from China this Lao Wai (pronounced: low-why; another word for foreigner).
I had heard that these girls are sometime developmentally delayed. There is no ‘mentally’ part of the delayed but maybe some of the standard mobility parts are. Well she made it all up in a day. Amazing.
For a quick recap, she still likes mommy better but there are a few reasons why and I don’t mind them.
I’m going to tell a story mostly for all you first time mothers getting ready to come to China to get babies. For the rest of you, if you are at ALL faint of stomach or get upset or offended easily DO NOT READ FURTHER. I mean it! I want no ill comments about my story!
So here goes. My girl is not making the good “poo-poo” like the other girls. We’ve had to resort to Peggy’s remedy of a teaspoon of sesame oil every eight hours.
We got a little hard rock of a poo earlier in the day. Peggy said “This no count, I need to see more bigger poo.” But later in the evening, London was very fussy. She would fart every so often and we’d get excited by the smell but no luck on the bigger prize. She was sort of crying but not quite. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Her eyebrows were turning red and she looked like she was in pain. Then I guess Christe could see she was really trying to push and wasn’t doing so well. I turned to see what was going on just in time to see Christe rip down the diaper and grab the half out poo and help her get it out. Now to Christe’s point she claims I didn’t see what I thought I saw, but word to the new moms out there, anything goes! When you got a constipated (Pronounced: Cons-puh-tate-ted) baby you;ve got to help out.
Peggy had told us on multiple occasions about how sometimes we get a ‘conspatated’ baby and “you know the conspatated baby is unhappy baby.” And we cannot be the worst parents in the group.
My point is she CAN like mommy better until she’s un-conspatated. I told the story on the way to the orphanage (Christe and London did not go) and my take on it was this. When I saw first saw it, I loudly responded with “Oh No! – No Way! – Oh Yeah!, I would have done that! – No I wouldn’t have!, Yes I would, No I wouldn’t”, mostly because I wouldn’t have thought of it.
Peggy then told us that in China when a lady has a baby she is supposed to stay in bed for a month to rest and the family takes care of the baby for the first month. So when she had a girl (her only child) and she kept it, the family didn’t help. So when she came home from the hospital and the baby made poo in the diaper the first time she opened the diaper and ran away. Her mother called her back and said “you change the diaper, you are the mom now.”
Now for the rest of the days going’s ons………………………
We got up very early to get go to breakfast because I had a very important trip to take at 8:30 am. We were going to the Zhuzhou orphanage, the place where 7 of the 11 babies in our group, came from.There was a lot of talk, in our group, of going or not going. I think the consensus was that most would send a parent and the other would stay back with the baby. Some of the babies had been to the hospital only the hours before for IV’s. Peggy said (jokingly) she was going to ask the director “why this orphanage give away so many sick babies.”
On the way there and back (and hour plus each way) Peggy and I had a chance to talk at great length about the country’s one child law and how it is even enforceable in such a large population. It was quite eye-opening and made complete sense. It is too long for this post. I may write about it as a separate page on the larger website later. In all of our parent education meetings no one ever really explained how it worked or how it was enforceable. But having been here a while and seeing the “rural” areas versus the “city” I think I have a slightly better understanding of the greater motivations of the everyday population.
At the orphanage we were introduced to the assistant director. It was this gentleman we offered the diapers, formula, toys and clothes. He took us on a tour of the facility. Two of the families came with their babies and the aunties were thrilled. It was kind of weird how quickly the babies had bonded to their new families. The seemed put off at first by the aunties wanting to touch or hold them. After a few minutes they seemed ok with it but wanted back in moms arms without question.
Some of the family members whose children had been to hospital in the last few days said the orphanage was cleaner (more sterile) than the hospital they had been too. I will try to post as many pictures of the orphanage when I get to Guangzhou.
The orphanage was the first in China to get a 5 star rating from the government for conditions and health. The orphanage usually adopts out 40 babies a year. Suprissingly over 60% of the population in Chinese orphanages are special needs children and the rate keeps growing. There were only a half dozen or so babies in the under two for healthy area.
We were shown the handicraft room where the special needs children (who may live there until they are 20) make crafts. They are available to the public for a donation. This shows the children that working diligently can provide reward to live on their own. I ended up picking a pillow case cover that had been embroidered with “Zhuzhou Children’s Welfare Institution” and “For the kids” on it. I left the room so the other families could have more room and the girl who made it (who had only one hand) came into the hall and motion and spoke in Chinese to tell me, I picked hers. It is for a pillow to lay your head on. It was very moving. When I got the donation receipt it said the donation was from Hou QingLian. From outside the room I could hear her tell someone else that “QingLian’s dad picked mine”, “He picked mine.” It was very moving.
Before we left the director gave us each a card with his email and the orphanage’s address. I’ve told Chirste it’s important to me that we acknowledge the importance of this institution. It is clearly here for the children. It is the only state run institution in Hunan for children only and the staff love these children.
I got to see London’s crib and we were told who their crib mates were. I didn’t ask if the other babies where scheduled for adoption yet.It was difficult to get a lot of pictures from the area, though. We were in a small bus and the windows were tinted and we only stopped once at one girls finding spot. Zhuzhou is one of the 10 most populous cities in all of China. To call dirt roads a city is a little different. Only I and one other girls grandmother got off the bus. I’m not making any commentary on any other family but I get the feeling that being the minority and being stared at all the time might be taking it’s toll on some of the others. I tend to smile say hello in Chinese and give everyone as many “happy to see you” looks as I can muster. Most of the time I’m sure the locals either think “this foreigner must have gas” or “this foreigner sure is proud his teeth”. Nonetheless, I don’t mind the attention. I’ve gotten a few big thumbs up from some over attentive onlookers.
As for the second part of the day we went to Yushu academy. It is the oldest academy in China, It is at the center of the Hunan University in Changsha. Changsha is a large city split in two parts by a river. On the way to the university you can definitely see the difference. In some areas in much more rural but near the river it is very well kept and quite pretty. There was definitely an air of history in the air. China has a history of over 5000 years and Yushu has a history of over 3000 years. They had a book for sale in the university shop (In Chinese) that was titled “A very short story, the history of the United States”. Also for all you single people out there, it's encouraging to know that even ladies in China think 'Love Sucks'.Tips on China……..
When a group of foreigners walk through on a tour be prepared to be stared at (that goes for pretty much any where).
When you it looks like all of you have moved on to the next stop, leave one behind taking pictures of something. Make sure it knows all the words the locals use for “foreigner”.
When the group is just in full swing of making fun of your group have the left behind person walk through the middle of them with a bright-eyed, “Hey there!” or “How’s it goin, Ya’ll”, The locals LOVE that!Also I couldn't help but through in another pic of my beautiful new daughter. She's already got some of my 'eyes' down cold. This one says 'God Dad! Why are you taking a picture of me when you KNOW I'm all sweaty?!'
I almost forgot we finally talked our local guide into escorting us for some real spicy Hunan food. Even though it was just up the street it was very tasty and very reasonably priced.
Anyway it’s been a long day and I must retire.Signing of from China this Lao Wai (pronounced: low-why; another word for foreigner).
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