Moving Mountains: Bye Bye Kunming

Finally we are in Guangzhou and the White Swan. Among families adopting from China, the White Swan hotel in Guangzhou is famous and for good reason. It is the last stop in the adoption journey before you can return home. In just 4 more days we will be home!!

Nathanael was great on the plane. He didn't ever cry, which is a huge blessing, but he did get a little antsy. He is a busy 14 month old with an almost endless supply of energy.Very normal! Our flight was delayed by a total of about 1.5 hours. We had to wait at the gate from 4:30 until 6:30 PM. Then by the time everyone got on the plane and we waited for the runway clearance, it was almost 7:30. The flight was about an hour and 40 minutes. Nathanael was smiling at the man next to the window and talking to him, trying to make friends I guess. The man was not being very friendly and that just made Nathanael want to win him over. Nathanael started trying to pat his arm and grab his jacket sleeve, all while talking to him very loudly! It was funny. But we were a little nervous that he was bothering the man. Once the flight attendants brought out the food we started feeding him and that occupied him for the rest of the flight.

Once we claimed our luggage and waited another 20 minutes, we finally met our guide Veronica who led us to a tour bus where many other American adoptive families were there waiting for us. These are families who are with the same adoption agency as we are, but they were adopting children from other provinces. When you adopt from China you travel to the province where your child is born first, stay there for about 6 days, then everyone has to come through Guangzhou where the American Consulate is located. We felt badly that the other families had to wait on us, but it was out of our control. But then those sitting around us on the bus said they had really not been waiting that long.

By the time we got to the White Swan and checked-in, it was almost 11 PM and Nathanael was still awake! We were all very tired. We asked for a crib for Nathanael. We had no idea how it would go but just thought we'd give it a try. Maybe since he is so exhausted he won't mind sleeping in his own bed. He has been sleeping with Keyanna and me in our bed ever since we got him. It was hard on us because he flops and kicks so much. He even painfully head-butted Keyanna right in her nose early one morning. Those who know Keyanna know you do NOT mess with Keyanna's sleep! So we were anxious for him to sleep in his own bed. But also it was good for him to build that trust and sense of security with us for the first week. Especially that first night or two, he would open his eyes during the night and look at Keyanna and look at me then close them and go right back to sleep. I guess he instinctively had to know that we were still there beside him. He slept just fine in the crib last night. Never heard a peep until 7 AM. Praise God! Anything we can do now to make the transition at home easier we are very happy about. One thing we want to try to do as quickly as possible is get him sleeping on normal schedule in his own bed in his own room. Yeah, how many parents have said those words, right?