Waiting for G and R

We are still waiting for a firm date for the Giving and Receiving Ceremony. It was to be tomorrow but we have heard that the woman who does them is having some medical treatment and cannot make it. So we continue to wait.

In the meantime...we shop.

Here are some photos and I know that it is not the same as seeing photos of the baby but I hope they will suffice until after the G and R.

Arriving in Saigon

Just through Customs

At the Botanical Gardens and Zoo just down the road from our hotel

Sneak peak at the Mouse....

Day Three of Miss Lily

Well it is Wed here and late Tuesday night your time. Auntie Michele is taking care of sleeping Lily while I type this. I have to say that everynight once I put here down I try to type out a blog or send an email but due to technology issues and my exhaustion I have been unsuccessful.

Lily slept really well the first night and I was so impressed but last night she did wake up screaming about every 90 min. It is tought trying to figure out what is wrong but every mother has done it before me and I know it will just take time. She cut a first tooth about 4 days ago and then yesterday I noticed she cut a new tooth and I was happy to be a part of one of our many milestones we will have together.

The other two families (4 people in total) have all come down with a 24 bug that includes a lot of toilet hugging (except M who is very healthy amoungst the other 3).

We are hoping to have our G & R this coming Friday and then after that I will posts a bunch of pictures. Yesterday we went to the Botanical Gardens and Zoo which is very close to our hotel and today we are going to get M a netbook and me a stroller. We will also try to find a place to purchase Au Daos for Lily.

My sister is doing great and taking good care of us. I am taking good care of Lily but my body sure is feeling the pain of holding her so much and of course the lack of sleep. It is very hot here at about 35C during the day and the humidity at times sitting around 75%.

I can't wait to introduce all of you to the wee mouse. She is so much smaller than I imagined based on her photos.

The Day Was So Beautiful

I am sitting here by the pool at our hotel with baby Lily in the sling while typing this. I would have put a message on earlier but last night after we came back from the orphanage with the babies ...I was toast. Done, exhausted, overwhelmed and oh so happy!

I am sorry tht I do not have any pictures yet to share with you. Due to the fact that we have not had the G & R ceremony i cannot post any pictures here. I will try to send a few emails out today with photos of the very special day.

My sweet Lily is just melting my heart. We had an exceptional time at the orphanage and then we took the Hydrofoil back to HCMC ....where she slept for 30 min and cried for 60 min. I felt so sad for here having to wake up in such an unfamiliar place with an unfamiliar person (me).

We had a good night but she would not take a bottle for quite a while. Fourteen hours later she finally did and I was soooooo happy. She is just a wee mouse with a georgeous laugh and although she is still hesitant with me I can see that she is slowly warming up.

I can noy wait to share photos with all of you. All the other mommies are happy. I am just about to take her into the pool. We did a treatment for scabies on both of us last night so they say the pool is good to rid of these as well.

Cedric is my friends baby from Sudbury and we call him the Buddha baby, and Olivia is my friends baby from Ottawa who is all smiles.

More later ....we are all happy and the babies are healthy.

Good News and not so Good News

Our hotel room is fantastic with tons of space and a great view over downtown HCMC (I think it is downtown). Yesterday was Earth Hour and it really explained how quiet it was last night driving in from the airport. Very dark and very few people around for a Saturday night.

After a great night sleep and a bit of unpacking we lounged by the pool for a couple hours and then headed off to a very nice shopping centre. Actually I was disappointed the hotel recommned this place because it was way too Western. It was everything we have at Yorkdale and then some. We got what we needed and headed back to the hotel to meet Loan. Loan is our hostess here Vietnam. She has worked for our agency for many many years and helps us navigate through all the hoops while here. We had a meeting with the families so she could go over what the next week would look like.

The not so good news is that my friend M, who has already waited so long for her little boy has to wait even longer. Apparently, her dossier still needs to go back to the Dept. of Adoption. What that means is that she cannot have him until that final step is completed. It was estimated that she might have another couple weeks tacked onto her trip. It was very sad to hear this news and I am sure quite upsetting for M.

For the other three families our babies are in Vung Tau and the process is very seamless there due to the many years of experience. They did tell us however, due a primary staff member being ill our Giving and Receiving Ceremony is postponed anywhere from 3-5 days. The upside to this which is not the same for M is that we can still go to the orphanage to meet the babies and bring them back to our hotels right away. This is all happening tomorrow when we head to Vung Tau.

I am feeling really scared actually. Scared more so in the unknown. I am not feeling too organized these days and even in the hotel my stuff is just not organized in a way that makes me efficient. I must make changes first thing in the morning as there will be no time once she is placed into my arms.

So, on Monday March 29th I will meet my daughter. I was told today that she has a very good temprament, is easy going and does not make much of a fuss. I will learn all about her schedule and hope to the high heavens that I do a good job in replecating it once she is in my arms.

Arrived Safely

Wow...we are finally here after 24 hours of flying and airport time. It really was not too bad. Our first leg of the journey was just getting from my house to the airport. And that was not without its challenges (quite like this keyboard I am using)....anyway.

I just typed a whole blog on our travels and lost most of it due to a disconnect. So I am just going to share that the families I am with are all great and we are all safe at the hotel here in Vietnam. We are all so exited to see our babies in the next 48 hours.

I promise you I will retype this entry and add photos but just not right now as I am getting my bathing suit on and jumping in the beautiful pool.

The Journey of a Lifetime

Well officially I fly out today...as it is 12:05am. Yup, I am still up although I am packed (YEAH). My sister brought down a big hockey bag and we loaded it up with lots of clothes for the orphanage and as well, great toys for the older kids. We are still hoping to get some shopping in on Sunday before we leave for the orphanage.

As I type this my sister is on the telephone getting helpdesk support for her new HP notebook. Hmmm I wonder if I can get helpdesk support the first week of being a mom? I am so ready to go to bed. Looking around the house we have in total, 2 huge suitcases and 2 medium suitcases. We have two carry on pieces of luggage and then I have the baby backpack as my purse and my sister has a small backpack. We are loaded down. Now all we have to do is step on the scale to see how much they weigh. I am very positive we will be under 50lbs on all fronts.

Today went by so quickly but not without a few moments of "OMG" I am going to be a mommy to this sweet baby girl in less than 4 days. Suddenly I have no clue how to do anything. Luckily I catch on quickly (really I do...ask anyone who has ever trained me in a job).

My sister and I have have enough drugs to sink a ship between the two of us. I have enough diapers packed in all 4 bags that Lily is guaranteed to never have a wet bottom and we have tons of gadgets. Yup - lets see...we have an iphone, blackberry, two digital cameras with video capabilities, 1 SLR digital camera, 1 netbook, a card reader, ipods and headsets. Gosh the last time I went to Sth East Asia all I brought was my discman and before that I used my walkman and brought tons of mixed tapes (remember those days?).

OK I am starting to ramble but that is b/c my sister is still on the with the helpdesk and now they are chatting about where she can get support in Tokyo (stopover before VT). I must go to bed and no sleeping pill needed here.

By the way...I am feeling all the emotions of the rainbow and in no particular order. My favorite thing to do is to walk around my house, room to room and think about what job needs to be done, do about 10% and then walk out into another room and repeat. That is so not like me!! It is sheer luck I was able to zip up a suitcase.

Wish me luck.

Two More Nights to Go!

I have spent the day at home waiting for a courier to arrive. Charlotte was out on my front porch...door open but a gate across the front steps. Already noon and no one has come. I go out onto the porch and taped to the post a few steps away from the front door but closer to the gate, I see the Purolator tag. OMG - I can't believe they came. I was prepped, waiting, anticipating, and I stayed home so I wouldn't have to drive to God's country to pick up the freaking package.

So I try to summarize what may have happened. Man afraid of cute yellow labrador that probably stayed sleeping the whole time. Man sees front door open and there is a screen door. He thinks I could call "hello", or knock on the post while yelling "hello" as it was very clear there was someone in the house. He could perhaps go to the big purolator truck and honk the horn. But no to all of these and instead he conveniently posts the message informing me to go to God's country, once again to retrieve the package.

Oh my blood was boiling and I could not dial that 1-888 number fast enough. When I finally got someone to listen to me I was simmering but I needed to give an earful. It went all the way to an escalated complaint to the manager....resulting in nothing as they couldn't do anything for me AND I would still have to drive in the direction of the sunset to get the package (that had our passports in it). And that was that.

So onward as it is a beautiful day and I had lots to do. A couple hours later I am checking on Charlotte (still on front porch) and there it is in front of my house...a big white purolator truck. The driver is on the walk checking to see if the large man eating dog is nearby but I run out to ensure him I am the recipient of the package. He hands it to me, I sign and I feel triumphant and I think he does as well because he just made my day.