Daddy's Girl

Well, it's official. Abigail is definitely a Daddy's girl.
What should be the last photo is from yesterday, I forgot to post it. I was going to write about how many people say the baby looks like Doug. No wonder she is going to him first.

We were told by one of our guides that when you receive the babies that there are typically these personalities -- happy baby (Abigail yesterday, not today), serious baby (very much Natalie's disposition when we got her), crying baby, and the baby that attaches to one parent first (this is where Abigail stands now).

She had her head on his shoulder rubbing his stubble on his cheek tonight. She cries when Doug leaves her side. She's taking the bottle better from him, but still not great yet. (She is gumming some soft solid foods with her 2 1/2 teeth). She cries until he holds her. Part of me thinks, "Wow, now he knows what is was like. Natalie clung to me like that. But then I get more realistic and realize that he's going to be going back to work. She's gotta attach to me soon, too.

The guide did give advice for clingy baby. Doug will need to be out of the room some so that she is forced to depend on me. She'll come around soon. She'll see that her mama loves her.

She's been kind of fussy today. She's tugging on her ears, started coughing a little and her nose started running a little thicker. So I went ahead and started her on the antibiotic I brought because I suspect an ear infection.

We also did the prune feeding thing which reared its ugly head literally when we bravely ventured out to a let's just say very authentic (Let me just say that we inquired about a fork, and they brought one with only two prongs instead of four) Chinese restaurant across the street.
We were all just about finished eating when 'Walla' Doug informed me that the diaper was full. We asked our guide Helen (who we offered to take out to dinner to get away from our 3 times a day tasteless hotel buffet) about the restroom. She said, "Oh, you don't want to go there."

So I pulled two chairs together there at the table only to find a diaper explosion that had found its way through layers of clothing. Doug and Natalie gathered around. I tried what the surgeons do, you know 'Scapel.." but they were too in shock to respond quickly. It was our first change of this sort. So we bagged everything up, wrapped a blanket around poor half-clothed Abigail (I know always bring extra clothes, I had a memory lapse here) and headed back to the hotel.

The six-lane highway in front of the hotel has no crosswalk, stop lights or stop signs. The strategy seems to be to step out in front of mopeds and bikes because they have room in the lane to dodge you. But the tour buses, trucks and cars that are coming whizzing toward you at this point are not as willing to slow down or much less stop.

Our guide Helen tells us to stay close to her and follow but there is never really an opening in the traffic. We are literally dodging all these vehicles on foot with babies and our daughters in hand. We have had to cross the road twice now to get to the Civil Affairs Office.

Once Helen took Doug and Chris (the other dad with us) to get us water bottles. They dodged the traffic with a case of water. (The tap water in the hotels in China is not drinkable.) Evidently Doug assumed a car would stop for him (this was early in our stay here), but that nearly wasn't the case, Chris explained. Doug said they both almost got hit.

Today I had tears in my eyes as I stood by Helen with Abigail in our carrier on the way back from our government interview. I thought we were going to be standing between two moving cars, but thank goodness the second car did stop.

Tonight when we left the restaurant early I thought we were going to have to cross by ourselves, but Helen magically appeared and guided us across much more easily than before. Did I mention that the hotel buffet is looking much better?

Pray for us as tomorrow we must cross again for the notary appointment. Sitting here now there is a constant honking that we hear in our 15th floor hotel room, but it's starting to sound like background music.

Natalie has been in her element today, well except after that restaurant experience. She has been asking to go swimming the whole trip and finally got the chance today. She and Genna had a much deserved swim. Being a big sister is hard at first.

We also finally got the drive hooked to the netbook so Natalie can watch her DVDs which gives us more time to tend to the baby.

That sums up our day. I did learn that the foster mother lives at a 'resting home for officials'. I'm wondering if she was allowed to bring that baby to us because she is married to someone important. China's foster mothers do tend to be older women.

Besides honking, I hear everyone here snoring. I must get some sleep.