Babies!!!
We’ve got a new LID Poll up. If you are still waiting for your NSN referral, please click here to let us know when you were logged in.
There are reports of a few phone calls yesterday, let’s hope we see more of them today. Congrats to those seeing their child’s face for the first time!
If you are expecting a referral in this batch, or if you are in another program and would like to share your news, please list blog name and blog URL in the comments to this post. If your site plays music automatically, please post a warning.
The following blogs have pictures!
The following families have their referral but no pictures yet:
The following families in other programs would like to share their news!
The following sites have music and are not work safe:
Congrats to all of the families included in this batch, and congrats to everyone else with good news to share!!!!
If I could have help with that last category, please. I’ve disabled all of my computers from automatically playing (most) music on websites. It seems to be impossible to disable all types of music. But, since I think I’ve finally got most of it disabled, it’s hard for me to know if a site plays music. I know that many people want to check the blogs from work, and I’d like to be able to keep it safe for them to do so.
January 20th, 2012 at 8:18 am
curlylockz – you must be floating around on cloud nine right now. You know, between putting together packing lists and getting her room ready and all of that.
Congrats!!!!
January 20th, 2012 at 9:49 am
Woo Hoo! I love it when regulars finally make it in! Of course, I love it when everyone makes it in. Gives me hope!
Congratulations Curly!
January 20th, 2012 at 10:58 am
Pins and Needles! I’m a work but I can’t even think straight.
LID 08/11/06
January 20th, 2012 at 11:27 am
I am not sure where to put this post – but I have a question for the group. We got our news yesterday. Our LID is 08/14/06. We have a little boy from Guangzhou. 2 years old. I’m curious if anyone knows what % of babies from China are little boys? Any idea? Also, any advice for what to expect with a 2 year old boy? Any input would be appreciated. Thanks and good luck to all those waiting for babies….it’s been a journey.
January 20th, 2012 at 11:50 am
Our blog is http://atlast3.wordpress.com/ (no music)
LID 08/11/06
January 20th, 2012 at 2:55 pm
We got our call yesterday! 8/15/2006 Our blog is http://joyfulmamagivesin.blogspot.com/
January 20th, 2012 at 2:56 pm
Oh, I should have said no pictures.
January 20th, 2012 at 4:12 pm
Congrats to all those getting their referrals!! Can’t wait to see some pictures!
January 20th, 2012 at 4:18 pm
Wow!! MMFMMF – a surprise boy!
I have no advice except that you will probably need to find a place to donate the pink clothes that you have bought and maybe repaint the room! Surprise boys seem rare, but have gotten a little more likely over the last couple of years. I think I read on here before that non-U.S. countries seem to get more NSN boy referrals.
Good luck!
January 20th, 2012 at 4:43 pm
MMFMMF – We were terrifically surprised to get a referral for an 18 month old boy in May, 2011. He was from Jiangcheng City, but we met him in Guangzhou as well where the adoption actually took place in June. He had a very hard time with the us the first few days – went into an extreme withdrawal that we were not prepared for. I spent much time weeping, thinking that he was severely handicapped. However, I think he was just in such shock that he completely shut down. He wanted to be held almost all the time; I would definitely consider taking a carrier of some sort if I were you as he did not want to be in the stroller. He didn’t know how to chew with his lovely little teeth, so I expect that he had not been eating solid foods. He was very thin and probably somewhat malnourished. However, since we are home, he has adjusted marvelously. We have had few eating or sleeping issues, and he is a happy, healthy toddler with no significant health concerns identified by our pediatrician here in Canada. His speech has not progressed as well as the doctor would like, so we will be referred to speech therapy as well as for hearing tests. All the best as you meet your surprise boy!
January 21st, 2012 at 1:20 am
MMFMMF- I have a bio adult son, and he was a joy at 2 yrs old!!! A happy 2 yr old will giggle a lot, and walks around wanting to be chased.
Interesting that you were referred a son. It’s likely also that he was not the first born, whereas with our daughter, the likelihood was that she was the first born.
I concur with peachykeen about being withdrawn at first. We received our first daughter at 20 months old, and she was very withdrawn. Im sure she was in shock. But for the first couple of days we questioned to ourselves if she had a high functioning autism.
The first night, she cried out for her “A-yi” We did not know that A-yi meant “Nanny” in Mandarin, until I asked some forum friends if they knew what she was saying. She definitely grieved a lot for the first couple of days. But we took everything at her own pace.
Just so you know, there is a LOT of baby left in a 2 year old, especially one who has not been pampered a lot. We purchased a cheap stroller in GZ. And we were so glad we did! We used it everywhere, even when we visited the orphanage. And coming home with a stroller, through the long halls in the international airport was a lifesaver. We brought goldfish crackers, raisins, and cheerios and she ate those often, mixed together as a snack. We also brought a lot of the breakfast buffet items back to our hotel room for her snacks and lunches….hard boiled egg yolk mixed into yogurt was her favorite while in GZ.
Congrats to you and everyone else on your referrals. So happy for you.
January 21st, 2012 at 1:24 am
It would also benefit you to learn some basic Mandarin…Bao Bao is what the nannies will say to the children when they get hurt or they’re crying….kind of like saying, “poor baby” I also recall that learning the words eat, swallow, kisses, I love you, I am your mama, I am your daddy, drink were helpful words to know.
I also just recalled that she would shove food into her cheeks when she was fed for the first 6 months. She learned early on that shoving food into her cheek for chewing and eating later was a good habit to learn while in the orphanage. I only found out she was doing that when we were eating dinner one evening while in GZ, and without looking much at her, I was feeding her, then noticed her cheeks were puffed out and discovered food shoved into them. That’s why the word “swallow” ended up being a great one to learn in Mandarin.
January 21st, 2012 at 10:35 am
Many thanks peacheykeen and MyDaughtersMom!!! Very helpful advice. We have a world of planning to do over the next few weeks. Wish us luck.
January 21st, 2012 at 4:00 pm
Our login date is Aug 29 2006. But a miracle happened to us on Dec 11, 2011. We received a new born baby. My wife was very excited because she was able to be in the delievery room.
Like many of you, our journey started six years ago. We had gotten together with our family to take a cruise through the Hawaiian Islands. It was at this time we announced to our family we were going to adopt a child. Being childless we had finally reached a point in our lives that something was missing.
After paying the fees and jumping through all the hoops, we were told that there would be a baby in our lives in about 10 months…… A line many of us were told. But that is neither here nor there. We passed the years by re-applying, re-finger printing, and pursuing new updates to our physicals and home studies. And like some of you, we prepared the nursery. And bought and bought clothes for a little girl.
Fate is funny, like you MMFMMF, we planned for a baby girl. For six years that image grew in our hearts and minds. One we had grown to love. We had made many “therapy” shopping trips to help us deal with the long ordeal. Purchasing hundreds of clothing articles ranging from 12 months to 36 months helped.
But on December 11 we received a baby boy!!! :) And are very happy and excited. But it was with remorse we had to deal with the babies room. Fortunately the nursery was painted in neutral colors with a Noah’s Ark theme. The clothes on the other hand, brought a few tears to our eyes. Some of the stores were understanding and more than happy to exchange (Ralph Lauren – thank you). Many did not. And one national “baby” store was down right hateful….
But having a large family with children ranging in all ages gave us the ultimate avenue for the clothes. So in the end we received a very healthty, loving, beautiful baby boy and my family became well dressed. LOL
The adoption: We were all prepared to adopted from china when all this came about. Around 5 months ago we were approached buy a very good friend of ours whoes 15 y/o neice was pregnant and unable to take care of a child. Her mother died a year ago and father’s job required him to be away for weeks at a time.
Our home study agency put us in contact with a lawyer who was instrumental in implimenting and changing the adoption laws here. After meeting and retaining her, we were put at ease. Our son was born on the 11th and discharged to us on the 14th. We went to court on the 16th. The bio-moms time ran out on the 19th (She waived the 10 days) The bio-father signed his out of court consent on th 23 of Nov.
The china adoption: Our login date of the 29 Aug is too close for us to recover financially. So it is bitter/sweet that we must now make a decision about it……
January 21st, 2012 at 4:01 pm
RQ – I inadverdantly left off the name of our site. The name is “Savannah Grace” rather than “Adoption Voyages”. Would you mind changing it? Hoping to get pictures soon. We still haven’t received our call.
January 21st, 2012 at 7:40 pm
Congrats to everyone!! RQ….just wondering…it’s been a year since we filed our taxes…we are now being audited by the IRS for the adoption credit and have to submit all receipts for the adoption for the past 6 ys, etc. (since it took so long)…thank goodness we have most of them…just wondering if you’ve heard of a lot of this. The IRS agent told us they are auditing every case from 2010?! I do not have most receipts from within China…the orphanage fee, etc. which I wish I had now. If this is true…just wanted to let people know to make sure to save everything for a few ys. especially from within China. It’s unsettling to get a letter from the IRS saying they are auditing you!
January 21st, 2012 at 8:35 pm
stillwaiting – most people were audited for it last year when they filed, before they received their refund money. Some received their refund money within a few months, but I seem to remember that it was mid to late summer before many finally received the money. But I don’t think it was a “come into the office and be audited”, it was more of a “we need to see the following documentation, please mail it to us” type of thing.
You can probably do a search on both the forum and blog to find where people were talking about it.
January 21st, 2012 at 9:51 pm
Having not received our call yet, my mind automatically flies to the possibility – what if it’s a boy????? We have one bio boy, and would love another, if that’s what happens. But oh, my goodness, how strange it would be to change 6 years worth of a mindset! Even more scary – what if it’s TWINS?!?! We’re not wringing our hands yet about the call. We were told it could be several more days. But we sure are wishing it will be soon!!!!!
January 21st, 2012 at 10:12 pm
It was very strange for us to change our mindset from a girl to a boy. We love him and wouldn’t change a thing. But for six years you develop an image for your daughter. And like most here we already picked a name, Alexis Jessica. In some ways it is like a loss. Don’t get me wrong, we are very happy. But it is going to take awhile for that image to go away.
January 22nd, 2012 at 11:43 am
Thank you, RQ for the name change. And thank you most of all for maintaining this site. I, for one, hope you make tons of money from the adds. If not for your dedication to all things China Adoption related, those of us in the process would be completely unaware of many, many important things. I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you publicly. I ‘m hoping to need to go to your “travel tips” section very very soon!!!!!
January 22nd, 2012 at 11:49 am
MMFMMF and kathyg – We now have a boy name picked out, just in case!!! ;)
January 22nd, 2012 at 2:30 pm
Just a question but were you open to either sex and that is why you received a boy referral? What are the odds of receiving a boy when you requested a girl?
Either or would be great with us but having a girl would be great after being in a home of boys for the the last 20 years. Some little girl giggles would sound so good. Lol
January 22nd, 2012 at 3:05 pm
I would love to know more about others’ experiences with boy referrals! I’m wondering if boys are more often referred to first time parents?
I know those that choose “either” have been referred boys, but are there some that have requested a girl and were referred a boy? Does anyone know of that happening?
kathyg, I can see how strange it must be when you thought for years about your little GIRL but now have a boy…and the loss you must feel. Thanks for sharing and congratulations on your baby boy!!
Congratulations to all the new parents!!
January 22nd, 2012 at 3:19 pm
Hmmm, that didn’t quite come out right…..what I mean is the part of you that must feel some loss that comes from having a dream/image for years and then it quickly changing…..didn’t mean to sound like it’s a loss because you have a boy!!!! Hope that makes sense!:)
January 22nd, 2012 at 9:35 pm
If MMFMMF is who I think then I believe their request was for either boy or girl up to 2 years. I know some people may not agree with me on this but I think the CCAA should fill your request wether boy or girl or either – if you aren’t going to fill someones request especially after waiting 6yrs then don’t allow people to specify gender. Our ministry approval (is for girl up to 12 months at time of placement) and if we were referred a boy or a child more than a month or two more than our approval we would not be approved – we would then have to go back to our ministry and try to get a new approval.
January 22nd, 2012 at 9:36 pm
Oh and CONRATULATIONS!!! to everyone on your referrals – bed exciting!!
January 23rd, 2012 at 12:06 am
kathyg- thanks for sharing your story. I completely get the concept of the loss and at the same time, joy. That’s a little how I feel, already having our first DD, and waiting for way too long, for her sister. Every year past the first 3 years it has felt like a “loss”, yet I look at DD who also is experiencing the loss of not receiving her sister yet, and I feel the joy of knowing that we have her and I am determined to not let her childhood pass by while we wait for her sister.
As for being referred a boy, it’s my understanding that China rarely refers a boy if you do not indicate you are open to either gender. But I think the PAPs who do receive a boy when they indicate either gender on their applications are usually shocked, nonetheless. In the past 8 years, I’ve followed a lot of blogs and forums, and I think I’ve only seen it happen once when someone did not indicate either gender.
January 23rd, 2012 at 5:26 am
How long is typical before hearing something once referals have been mailed? We’re dying over here!
January 23rd, 2012 at 10:31 am
1968Rooster – we’re still waiting, too. Expecting a call any time now…….
January 23rd, 2012 at 11:19 am
jbutler- I guess we’ll all just hurry up and wait together. :)
January 23rd, 2012 at 1:09 pm
We were referred a NSN boy in 2008. We had requested either gender and had previously adopted our DD from China. He was 13 months old at adoption. I have no idea why we were referred a boy, but we were shocked and thrilled. As ohters have described, there were moments of sadness when we parted with some “girly” things we had accumulated and it took some time for DD to adjust to the idea of a brother. He has adjusted beautifully and it has been fun to have “one of each,” something we never thought we’d experience.
January 23rd, 2012 at 1:46 pm
I have never wanted my phone to ring as bad as I do right now. The wait these last couple days has been so nerve racking. I know it will come when it will come but geesh.
January 23rd, 2012 at 3:50 pm
Name: Zhuang Lu Chuan DOB August 4 , 2011
Yiseng Social Institute
Jiangzi Province
Waiting for a pic!!
So excited!!!!!!
January 23rd, 2012 at 4:03 pm
1968Rooster,
Congratulations! You got your call. Still waiting here..
Deb (Texas)
January 23rd, 2012 at 4:18 pm
1968 Rooster….. I’m sooooooooooo happy for you!!!!! Congratulations!!!
January 23rd, 2012 at 4:43 pm
1968 Rooster – Congrats!!! Such a young baby!! Can’t wait to see the pic! Best wishes for speedy travel!
January 23rd, 2012 at 5:31 pm
http://thelowrypricefamily.blogspot.com/
January 23rd, 2012 at 6:05 pm
Adorable!!!! Thanks for sharing her with us!!
January 23rd, 2012 at 7:07 pm
1968Rooster a very adorable picture. Congratulations to you and everyone else that received their referrals!
January 23rd, 2012 at 11:17 pm
1968Rooster – she is beautiful!! Congratulations!!
January 23rd, 2012 at 11:53 pm
1968rooster… she is adorable!!! and SSOOOOOOO young!! Ours came today, too!! Here she is:
http://www.adoptionvoyages.com/Savannah/
Name: Xhuang Lu Kuan
Province: Jiangxi
DOB: 1/18/2011
Don’t know which orphanage yet
we are thrilled!!!
January 24th, 2012 at 3:59 am
jbutler-I couldn’t see her pic with the link. It went to your blog but no pics of her.Congratulations to you and your family anyway!
January 24th, 2012 at 4:49 am
I’d like to make a suggestion to those who have received a referal already. We did this for our son and now for our daughter. Buy one or two (red and white) bottles of wine bottled in the year of your childs birth, now. I expect it may be hard to find 20 years from now. It would make a nice gift for a family meal when you celebrate their birthday into adulthood. Even if you don’t drink it would make a nice gift to them one day.
January 24th, 2012 at 5:08 am
Congrats! Jbutler – Savannah is beautiful!
January 24th, 2012 at 11:22 am
Thanks RQ and CS4C,
I alternate between floating on cloud 9 and plumbing the depths of despair while we wait. I have sooooo much to do – especially this was a bit of a surprise and (so far – knock on wood) things seem to be moving pretty quickly. Can’t wait to go get her, though!!
~CL
January 24th, 2012 at 9:01 pm
1968Rooster – did you notice how similar our daughters’ names are? I’m not knowledgeable about how the orphanages assign names, but i thought it was very interesting!
January 25th, 2012 at 12:50 am
We got our call today!
Province: Jiangxi
DOB: 9/11/2011
January 25th, 2012 at 8:26 am
Wow jlemke such a young age. Love it. Congrats to everyone.
January 25th, 2012 at 8:36 pm
Thank you for all the nice comments. Jbutler they are aren’t they. Nice.