Medical Appointment

We started the morning off with another delicious breakfast at the buffet. Hadley sat in her high chair for about 10 minutes without being too terrified (we had to scoot her right next to one of us so she could touch us if need be) so we are making progress there. She still is terrified of the bathtub. We tried another bath yesterday and this time Aaron got in with her but she still screamed bloody murder. When we met her foster mother we asked and she told us she gave her a bath in the bathtub but this can't possibly be true. She must have used a baby tub or another small basin because Hadley is terrified of the big tub. We will have to pull the baby bathtub out at home and ease into the big tub. Our next bath in China will be in the bathroom sink even though she is way too big to fit comfortably.

After breakfast we met the rest of our group (there are four other families in our group who are all with our agency. Out of the five families, four of us have 15-16 month old girls and the other family has a 10 year old girl) and our guide, Aron to head to the medical clinic for the kid's check ups. It is a Chinese clinic but approved by the US Government and the CDC. Our bus dropped us off at the clinic which was in a tall office building. When we walked into the lobby there was a wine vending machine. Why don't we have those in office buildings in the US? We all joked if you had a rough day at the office you could grab a bottle on your way home. Depending on how our appointments went we may need to purchase one on our way out!

Wine vending machine in the lobby of the office building where the medical clinic was located

Not very reassuring that everyone working there wore a mask. Where were our masks?

We walked into the clinic and there were people everywhere. First, the kids had to have their pictures taken. I sat Hadley on the high stool (very similar to a high chair so I knew how this would go) and she immediately reached for me. In her picture you can tell she is terrified and reaching out for me to pick her up. After we all had pictures taken we waited for a few minutes while our guide did some paperwork. Then it was time to head to the exam area. This area was for adoptive families only so it was much less crowded and chaotic. Hadley gets nervous when we are out and in crowded areas. She puts her hand up over her face and snuggles in close. She often falls asleep which I think is a coping mechanism to avoid the situation.

We had to go through three stations: height and weight, Ear, Nose and Throat and a general exam. Height and weight was quick and easy, ENT consisted of a peek in each ear and looking down her throat with a tongue depressor, the general exam took about 2 minutes and consisted of listening to her heart and lungs and a quick check over her body. We were in and out of all three things in about 10 or 15 minutes. If you child is over 2 years old they also have to have a TB skin test which consisted of a quick blood draw. All the kids did great and we were finished in about an hour or so.

The doctor listening to Hadley's chest. She tolerated everything well. 

Hadley's new buddies, Eva and Lila and the daddies! They are all the same age but Hadley is the chunky one of the group.

We came back to the room and Hadley and daddy had lunch and I went upstairs to meet our guide and finish some paperwork for our Consulate appointment which is on Tuesday. The Consulate is the one who issues Hadley's visa to allow her to come to the US. That is the last official thing we have to do and we will spend the rest of the week sightseeing, shopping, going to the zoo, and enjoying time with the other families. There is a playground and playroom somewhere in the hotel so we need to check those out later so Hadley can practice her crawling, cruising and pulling up. She already seems so much stronger and every day is doing more and more physically than she did they day before. To all the other adoptive families, I highly suggest switching your child to a high quality American formula ASAP. I think it has made all the difference with Hadley. Her first bottle we gave her was all Chinese formula and I started mixing half and half and then 3/4 and 1/4 and by her fourth bottle she was on all American formula. She tolerated the switch without any issues and didn't seem to notice. I am glad I brought formula and one of the other mom's here did not and says she really regrets her decision.