We are now in Xi'an where we received our daughter this afternoon. We drove to the China Center For Adoption Affairs office where we met Brea, and the other children at about 5:0o pm. Her nanny, the orphanage director and an official from the CCAA were also there.
There are no words to describe the first time you see and hold your child but I can promise you that it was just as special as the moment Brooke and Baker were born and placed into our arms. We knew instantly which child was Brea despite the fact that the three children from her orphanage were all dressed exactly the same...including the little boy.
Brea is doing fabulous! She came to me without hesitation but did have one melt down when her Nanny left the room. We quickly walked outside and the screaming stopped until she saw her nanny again. The nanny must have thought we were new parents because she followed us around which made Brea cry even more. She was dressed in layers and was so hot but we didn't want to take any of the clothes off of her in front of the officials because China dresses their babies in many layers and we didn't want to offend anyone. We thought we would try to give her a little cool water but when the nanny saw us she rushed over and took over. She made her a HOT bottle of powdered milk and cut the nipple wide. Brea drank quite a bit but soon discovered that the nanny was still hanging around and started to cry again. She finally calmed down once we were on the bus. I totally understand why the nanny followed us around. We could tell that Brea knew her well and loved her and I'm sure she loved Brea. She must be a very strong woman to be able to care for these precious children and then hand them over to strangers knowing she will never see them again.
Brea is so tiny and we think she probably weighs about 12 pounds. We were well prepared mentally for the condition she might be in but to actually see it in person is still shocking. Although Brea is 16 months she is very weak and has little muscle tone. She isn't sitting up very well yet but she has had no one to work with her and no individual attention to help her develop. We will have her evaluated when we get home and will start physical and occupational therapy to help her gain strength. We did expect her to be very sickly but she is bright eyed, alert, curious and eager to touch and feel everything...including our noses!
We had a wonderful experience our first night together. We played on the bed with stacking cups, a little flower rattle and some links and just got to know each other. She doesn't like it when I leave the room. She makes the cutest little pouty face. When Danny leaves the room she wants to know where he is. When she got sleepy she laid on my chest and fell fast asleep. holding tight to the her blanket.
On a sad note...She started rocking back and forth and we thought it was adorable until we realized that she was trying to rock herself to sleep. Never again will she need to rock herself...mommy and daddy are more than willing to rock her.
As if you couldn't tell...we are in love. Get ready Brooke and Baker...your baby sister is going to have you both wrapped around her little fingers. Hmmm, maybe that is why God gave us two pinkie fingers! Enjoy the pictures!
