Before traveling...

In the months before travel, I was vaccinated for Hepatitis A (twice) and B (three times), Tetanus-Diphtheria (once), and Measles-Mumps-Rubella (once). I also found a pediatrician for Elizabeth who coincidentally was born in China and scheduled an appointment with her before I traveled. I liked her instantly, as did Elizabeth. In fact, at her first appointment, Elizabeth cried, but when the doctor spoke to her in Chinese, she quieted immediately. As I write this now, she has just announced her retirement, so sadly she will not meet DD#2. At my request, the doctor gave me a prescription for amoxicillin just in case Elizabeth needed an antibiotic (which she did…more on that later). I also arranged to have my own website in order to journal and post pictures each day from China using my laptop. One of the things expected of adopting parents is that they give small gifts to the baby’s caretakers and to the director of the SWI. The gifts ideally should be “Made in America,” (not in China), so I bought Haven’s chocolates, Maine postcards, souvenir patches to give as gifts, and red gift bags with curly ribbons to put them in. Red is considered a lucky color in China. I also booked Auntie’s and my flights so that we could travel together even though we would begin and end our trip in different places. I chose a terrific daycare for Elizabeth that is located directly across the street from our house. It has a great preschool program and also offers before- and after-school care for children as well, so it will be perfect for Elizabeth as she grows. One of the last things that I did before leaving for China was to put Elizabeth’s car seat in my car. For some silly reason, that made me so happy. On my way to and from work that last week, I constantly looked over my shoulder at that car seat and smiled—it’s a wonder I didn’t have an accident!