Day 3

Didn’t have a chance to post this blog yesterday - we have a sick baby on our hands, so my focus was on helping him.  Here’s what I wrote, though:

It must be the middle of the trip, because we have all run out of steam.  I think Susan is coming down with something, Leo is definitely in full-swing with a little cold, and Caolon and I are just plain tired.  Touring a foreign country while becoming first time parents is a LOT of work.  And I’m doing this while pregnant, which just makes for all the more fun.

Leo came out of his shell a bit more today.  He started to speak a little this morning.  He calls me “mama” and Caolon “baba” and also refers to his favorite toy, “ball.”  Actually, he was quite verbal throughout the day.  Right now he and Caolon are looking at a book together and whatever word Caolon says, Leo repeats.  I think he’s a smart little cookie, as he picks up on things quickly.  He has been waving to everyone all day (thanks, Holly!) and I showed him how to blow kisses, too.  He likes to push the elevator buttons, roar with his daddy, and sing this funny little song (nonsense words) to entertain himself.  He still loves to walk everywhere and he enjoys feeding me his snacks from his “cheerio catcher.”  You guys would be proud of me.  I am definitely getting over the baby drool/baby boogier/germ issue I thought I’d have.  There is just no way to turn down a 2-year-old holding out his slobbery puff snack for you to eat from his fingers.  One look in those big brown eyes, and I am munching away, slobber and all.

This is the typical activity of Caolon and Leo.  Walk, walk, walking.

Along with all this good and cute, Leo was also a bit more two-year-old-ish today.  We had an outright tantrum this morning after he had his bath and I was trying to put pants on him.  I honestly think this had to do with the fact that we are still dressing him in the Chinese-method of multiple layers.  I’m trying to comply with this system, as our guide lectures me that he is not dressed warmly enough (even when he is wearing 4 shirts, 2 pairs of pants, and it’s 60 degrees outside).  The poor kid sweats ALL THE TIME, so I gave him a break this morning and let him sit in his diaper and just one shirt while we hung around the hotel.  I think he might have liked this, because when I went to put pants on him, it was disastrous.  He was screaming so loudly, the man in the room next to us started banging on the wall to complain.  LOL.  I would feel worse for that man, except that he woke all of us up last night when he came in late banging around his room.  The walls in this hotel are a little thin.

Then as the day went on, we experienced several more tantrums.  A couple were brought on by boredom, one because Caolon left to go with Sophie to sign some papers and Leo was left with me by himself (yes, he is still more attached to Caolon), and then one this afternoon that was more of just a melt-down because he didn’t feel well.

Overall, he’s still happy and adjusting well.  Sophie commented today that she was so pleased with how happy and comfortable he is with us.  We are also very grateful for how smoothly things have gone.  We know that things aren’t always this easy, so we are just so thankful.

After breakfast (our favorite meal of the day as it’s the only one we don’t have to problem solve to get), and then Skyping back home (Leo got to meet his aunt Heather!) we did a little more sightseeing around Shanghai.  We started by going to a suburb of Shanghai, called Songjiang, to visit the hospital where Leo was found as a 5-day-old baby. 

Songjiang is a very different kind of city than anything I’ve seen in China before.  There was nothing old about it.  The city itself is only 6-years-old, so all of the structures are very new and very western looking.  If not for all of the neon, Chinese knick-knack decorations on the buildings, and Chinese letters, I might have thought we were in the USA somewhere.  In fact, it looked similar to some places we have seen in Orlando.  Sophie said it is a university town where many college students live.  This got Susan and I wondering whether Leo’s mom was a university student who was not ready to have a baby…however, Sophie said that while it is hard to guess anything about his birth family, usually the parents are not from the town where they leave their babies.  It is illegal to abandon a baby, and they don’t want to be found.  The hospital where his birth mother left him was a very nice, top of the line facility with a lot of people.  Sophie said the birth mother probably hoped Leo would be discovered quickly and then taken care of as he was left with a medical condition that needed immediate treatment.  It was interesting to see this piece of Leo’s history and we got pictures to show him someday when he is older.  We also took some dirt from here, as it is a Chinese custom for people who leave their birthplace to take dirt from there with them to wherever else they may go. 

 

Caolon, Sophie, and Leo pointing to the 5^th floor – Leo’s finding spot.

Standing on the floor where he was found.  I have no clue how someone could possible sneak a baby up here and get away with leaving him unseen.  The place was crawling with nurses.

The outside of the hospital.

Gathering dirt for Leo.

 

Us in front of the hospital.

After this visit, we drove back to Shanghai (about a 40 minute drive) and then visited the Shanghai museum.  This was a beautiful place featuring Chinese history and art.  There were five levels with 3 rooms/exhibits on each level.  I did not see much of any of this, however, as I became completely exhausted early into the tour and had to find a bench to sit and wait.  I think I may be pushing myself too hard and I reached the breaking point today.  I need to remind myself that I have another baby I am taking care of and remember to give myself breaks so I don’t get too worn out.  I don’t know that Caolon saw much of the museum, either, as he was entertaining Leo most of the time. 

Following the museum, we made a quick stop at the notary office where Caolon and Sophie went in to sign some more paperwork.  This is where I sat in the van with Leo and let him cry big crocodile tears because his baba had left him.  Poor kid.  Our bus driver, who is such a funny and kind man, tried to help by entertaining Leo – with a lighter!  Like with fire!  Then he tried to give Leo the lighter to play with!!  It was crazy!!!  Sometimes the Chinese crack me up.  They lecture at me for giving my baby Tylenol (Sophie said medicine is very bad for babies, and I should treat his cold by feeding him warm water) and not dressing him in enough layers (seriously – he had on 4 shirts, people!), and then they give him lighters to play with.  We live in two different worlds.  It is just funny.

We were all wiped out after the notary, so we came back to the hotel for some rest – naps all around.  We thought we might venture out this evening to see the Bund at night (it’s supposed to be beautiful), but when we woke up from napping, Leo was burning up with a fever.  We gave him some Tylenol, then Caolon went downstairs to research this online, while I held the crying kiddo and tried to get him to drink some water.  Poor Caolon – he was so worried.  I think he was ready to call the ambulance to come get us all, but after about 30 minutes, the temperature came down.  I think a lot of the problem was that when Leo woke up, he started crying and got himself worked up.  This probably elevated his temperature a bit. 

We decided that he might be getting hungry, but didn’t want to go out in case his fever came back, so we ended up eating at the hotel restaurant.  It is usually very good for breakfast, but dinner was not great.  What was great, was the service.  We wanted to give Leo some congee (rice cereal), as we thought it would be comfort food for him.  It was hard to communicate that this is what we wanted, as congee was not on the menu and the Chinese word for it is (we later found out) something like “joe.”  The nice waiter finally got it figured out and brought it out.  Leo was, of course, not even remotely interested in eating it.  The waiter, bless his heart, brought out some flavoring to try to make it more appealing for Leo, but that didn’t work either.  Our boy must be ready to be an American, as he filled himself up on bread and butter and left the healthy food on his plate (and on the floor).  We ended up taking our food to go as Leo got restless.  Caolon left me to pay, and I think I may have overtipped because when I told the waiter to keep the change, he practically hugged me.  I am okay with overtipping him though, as he really took care of us well and was sweet to try to help find something Leo would eat.  J

We are back in the hotel now, resting and getting ready for bed.  Tomorrow, we leave the hotel at 11:30 a.m. to go to the airport to fly to Guangzhou.  I’m glad we are to this point in the trip, as I’m really ready to just come home.  As much as I love travelling and especially China, it’s hard to be in a foreign country, trying to take care of a sick boy.  I’m ready to get home where I know how to procure food and call the doctor.  Where I don’t have to live out of a suitcase that gets more unorganized every day.  Where I am not pushing myself to see the sights of a new place, while also trying to get to know my new son.  Where I can just be myself and parent Leo the way my intuition tells me, instead of having to comply with the tips of every stranger I meet, who seems to be studying and critiquing my every decision with him.  Where we can just start falling into the normal routine of our new life.  Let’s hurry up and get home!   

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