Leaving Aidan

Leaving Aidan is not without some trepidation and requires enormous preparation. He comes with lots of instructions!

Aidan has potentially life-threatening allergies to sesame, peanuts, nuts, and possibly mustard. He is also allergic to wheat, milk, eggs, barley, bananas and possibly lentils. He therefore has a rather special diet. We never eat as a family at restaurants as we can't trust that the food would be safe for Aidan. Thus, it was simply not possible to take Aidan to Vietnam where we would be eating out or where we would not be able to properly read the labels.

Every day, great precautions are taken in our home to prevent Aidan's exposure to his food allergens. After 6 years we know the drill but we need to train Mike's parents on how to prepare Aidan's food prior to our departure and institute more labeling of the foods in our house to make it perfectly clear.

Fortunately, we will be communicating with them via Skype on a daily basis. Our nanny will also be at the house 2 days per week to assist with baking bread and cookies. And Aidan is quite aware now of what he can and cannot eat.

I know we're well prepared, but it's hard for a mother to stop worrying completely!

Report on Maya

A perspective parent, Catherine, from our agency visited Vung Tau 3 this week and has provided a short report on Maya! She is doing well, is "pudgy", and in good health. She doesn't seem to have scabies (at the moment) and just has a few dry patches. She also doesn't have a chest infection (which many of the kids tend to have). She has at least 4 teeth and is sitting up. That's the good news. The "bad news" is that Catherine said that Maya wouldn't let her feed her; so I'm a little worried about how she'll react to us when we arrive. I'm hoping that this means she's very attached to her caregivers, which is a good long-term predictor of how she'll adjust to us but means we could be in for a lot of stress for the first few days.

Feeling Lighter

Yes I'm walking on sunshine and feeling a little lighter! i can see the light at the end of the tunnel and it's sweet, warm light.

Four years of "emotional fatigue" can weigh you down -the ups and downs, the uncertainty, and what seems like endless disappointments. I think only people who have been through this grueling process can truly understand what I mean.

The upside is that you really appreciate your child when you finally meet them if you've endured a lot to a make them a part of your family.

I speak from experience because we jumped through a lot of hoops to have Aidan. He was my (first) miracle baby. And I can't imagine my life without him.

I can tell you that we have jumped through MANY more hoops for Maya. Ironically we thought that adoption would be easier.

So I know Maya (our second miracle baby) will bring us tremendous joy. It will be our privilege to be her parents. And we can't wait to meet her!

Photos of Maya - Hot off the Press

This afternoon, I received a bunch of photos of Maya taken earlier this week and also a couple from January when she was 9 months old. She still looks very healthy and large! I'm glad I bought her some 18 month old clothes. I will post photos after the G&R (Giving and Receiving ceremony), expected to be March 16 or 17.

Flight Booked!

As hoped, we are departing next Saturday near midnight and will be travelling with another woman also adopting from the same orphanage.

At last, we can get packed! And orchestrate the babysitting arrangements. Mike's parents are currently vacationing in Florida. They need to drive across the country back to Green Bay, WI. We will fly them in late next week.

Maya, here we come!

Booking Travel Tomorrow

We heard today that we can book as soon as possible and that our adoption date will be determined based on when we can make it over to Vietnam. I hope this is ok - not having a date before we book our flights makes me a little nervous. Anyway, we were supposed to coordinate with another family but have yet to connect. Either way, I plan to get our flights booked tomorrow as I'm eager to get this show on the road. Ideally we plan to depart on Saturday March 13 so that we can celebrate Aidan's 7th birthday (also the 4 year anniversary of the start of this adoption) before we go.

FINALLY - Some good news!!!!

I just got a call saying the DA has approved our file! That is, they have verified the investigation of Maya's abandonment.

We are now awaiting our G&R (adoption) date! Hopefully we will have that tomorrow along with travel info.

Hooray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!