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Countdown to China
THE 6 TO 8 WEEKS
between DOR and travel to China seemed like a long time,
but we discovered the time flew because so many things
needed to be done.
We had to tell everyone about the
match, send out email messages with photos, and become
the proud and excited parents we were. After all, we
became parents with the call -- we were simply temporarily
separated from our daughter!
We now knew our daughter would be
over 12 months old when we picked her up in China. So
we also had to find all the supplies that a 12-month-old
toddler would need. This included clothes, car seats,
high chairs -- the works!
And we discovered an entirely new
realm of paperwork to complete and fees to pay! We needed
to physically prepare to travel to China: collect funds
for travel, submit our visa applications and travel
requests to the travel agent, read up on Chinese culture
and expectations, and visit physicians for possible
immunizations. We also needed to notify our employers
about our travel and upcoming maternity and paternity
leaves, to select a pediatrician, and to be sure our
passports and travel documents were in order. In short,
add birth of a toddler to an overseas trip to China
and the enormity of the task becomes clear!
  As
the time grew closer, we received our travel to China
itinerary and additional details about our in-China
travel plans. We also received two updates on Sydney's
condition from the orphanage, requested by our agency
and translated upon receipt. These updates, happy, included
additional photos. The agency always requests an updated
medical report and updated photos after the initial
referral; sometimes the referral update is several months
old by the time the adopting parents see it. Many times
the orphanage has nothing to send, so the agency warned
us to expect little from the request. However, we were
pleasantly surprised to receive two updated photos along
with an updated medical report, which told us she was
growing normally and had become a little bossy on the
playground. Some things never change! Those photos appear
to the right and to the left -- this time, she's fully
decked out in Teletubby regalia.
Once you begin the countdown to China,
life springs from checklists!
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