Guangzhou Medical Exam

We just got back from having the baby's medical exam as required by the US Citizen and Immigration Service. All three babies passed with flying colors. It was quite the hectic scene getting there and just being there. R and I had a bit of trouble getting ourselves out of our room at the required time. Everyone always told us to add extra time with the baby -- it's totally true. We were on time as we ran out the door of our hotel room but we didn't bring all of the right stuff. We forgot to bring the Sunggly baby carrier and we also forgot our umbrella (it's raining really hard). We brought the stroller which we totally didn't need since it was raining so hard. So R carried the baby in one hand and a borrowed umbrella in the other hand. I brought all of the various diaper bags, backpacks, bottles, toys, etc.

When we got to the medical exam office, it was fairly chaotic -- crying babies, people waiting in line, doctors, nurses, etc. Anli managed to thread our group through the crowd to get us to the place where we needed to have the adoption medical exams. R and I went first and the first doctor checked her fingers and toes and looked her over. He also listened to her heart. Then we went to a second set of doctors. They took the baby's temperature and also weighed and measured her height. Then we went to a third doctor. He checked her hearing (he had an electric piano toy and played it next to her head to see if she turned). Then he checked her eyes to make sure she could track the light. Then he looked into her mouth and ears. She was cooperative the whole time and was smiling to the doctor. All along the way, the doctors would write stuff on the medical sheets we had with us but they didn't tell us anything. When we finished, we gave the forms back to Anli and she said that everything came out ok. We assumed that Jennifer Rose would pass but it felt good to have this step completed.

I have posted some photos from the medical exam. There's a good one of all of the babies together, plus one of us with the first doctor who examined the baby. We are so glad that the baby is healthy. If anything, we're all the ones who are ailing medically and the babies are all fine-- we're all coughing and sneezing and wheezing after the strain of this trip and not getting much sleep. Still, we're all deleriously happy and don't mind going through all the boxes of Kleenex.

One thing that was touching was that we saw a number of babies at the medical exam office who were not healthy. A number of people choose to adopt "special needs" babies -- some with serious medical conditions. We saw some of those babies this morning. The families adopting these babies are so filled with love and strength that we know that the babies will have a good life wherever they are going. Plus, we have heard that with US medical technology, many of the medical problems can be corrected when the babies get to the US. But it was still a little sad to see the babies that are not healthy and it made me even more thankful that all of the babies in our travel group appear to be healthy and strong.

Right after the baby medical exams, R and Etu did a quick shopping run. They bought more than a few baby outfits -- including one each for nieces Jessica, Elli, and Noa. Eugenio and I couldn't handle being in the baby clothes store so we went back to the hotel. Eugenio and I made the mistake of asking why Etu and R need to keep buying baby outfits when we have plenty for this trip. They both just looked as us like we are crazy. We clearly don't get it. Still, R knows I'm in total heaven with the baby and she can do anything she wants as far as I'm concerned in the baby outfit buying department. Also, they are buying traditional Chinese outfits that we won't be able to get in the US and they are also buying outfits for special events in the future -- like Jennifer's one-year-old birthday. The set of shops outside the White Swan hotel totally caters to moms who have just adopted babies so the stores must do really well. There are so many shops that there's a lot of competition -- so the prices say good. R said that the three outfits they bought last night were $20 total. So I can't complain too much.

One final note: when we got back to our room, the hotel had left us a present. It was a "Going Home Barbie". It's Barbie with a little Chinese baby girl in her arms. We were surprised -- we didn't know there even was a Barbie like that. We just thought it was the cutest thing. It can go along with the "Chinese New Year Barbie" that R bought when we were in Beijing. So now little Ms. Firschein is now the proud owner of two Barbies. Who would have ever thought that was possible!? I thought I would be anti-Barbie but Jennifer Rose is so cute that I'm happy to let R get her stuff like that.

Now we're just relaxing in the hotel room with Jennifer Rose and Etu and Euginio. The baby is just giving all of us so much joy. No more major plans for today except that Anli may take us to a store that sells pearls. We hope to get a little keepsake that we can give to Jennifer when she's a little older as a small reminder of how special this trip has been for us. More later.

J.