YES SIR, THAT'S OUR BABY
E-Day --11/28
5:30 am: Well, we are up and somehow or other the suitcase with all of the baby gear and clothes has exploded all over the room! Rich is pacing around like the expectant father that he is and believe it or not, I feel fine! Check back with me at about 9:00 am and see if I feel the same way! Next time we post, it will be with pictures of Eleanor. As we get ready to meet her in person, it is hard to realize that what will be such a happy day for us, will be a very difficult day for her as we take her away from all that she has known. Our privilege is her loss albeit, a temporary one, we hope!
1:05 pm Okay, that was easy! Surreal, but easy! At 9:30 am, we all loaded on the bus for our drive to the Civil Affairs office. We got there a little before 10:00 and walked into the room which was rather chaotic because there was another group of families getting their daughters. Rich spotted Eleanor immediately and when I looked at her, her nanny showed Eleanor the picture of us that we had sent and pointed at us and said "mama and baba!"
In the bus, we had drawn straws to see what order we would go in -- we were family #5. There is no way to describe how surreal the experience is but I can explain the process: it was our turn, we walked up to the nanny holding Eleanor, showed our passports, they showed us a picture of Eleanor and then said "okay" and the nanny handed her to me! So, after a difficult labor, the birth itself was painless!
We expected some crying, but not a single baby cried and as you will see from the pictures, Eleanor was even laughing and smiling. In fact, she still has not cried -- we think it may be the calm before the storm! She has had a bottle, had a diaper change and she clearly wants to sleep, but she is fighting it! From here on out, I will update as I can and since it will be during naps and in the evening, you might want to check the same day several times. Thanks too for the e-mails - we'll respond as we can -- it is nice to get them!
Almost six years ago in the beginning of our relationship, Rich and I discussed marriage and family. We both agreed that we were not looking to get married or have kids. As many of you know, we were quite adamant on both points! However, in one of those conversations, Rich did say "if I have a kid, I want to do it through adoption." And I said, "if I have a daughter, I want to call her Eleanor." And here we are . . . . |
