The Past Few Days

Well we safely arrived in Guangzhou on Friday evening after a delayed flight and tiring day. We had a rough start to the flight but Toby recovered and did pretty well the rest of the way. He was really beginning to attach more to me and I was excited about that. Dave was able to leave us while we played and hung out. He was being quite cuddling with his bottle as well.

Guangzhou is much more Western that Henan was and I have to admit it's nice to not eat rice or noodles for every meal. We are at the White Swan hotel and it is lovely. There are two outdoor pools and a huge playroom. The hotel itself has much to explore. We have two twin beds here so we weren't sure how it would work with Toby and co-sleeping. So far we've been able to get him to sleep in his crib or he starts out in Dave's bed and then we move him once he's asleep to the crib. We have the crib pushed up against the side of the bed so we can reach over and pat him at night if he needs it.

Yesterday was a tough day. We had the medical exam which went fine but then Toby had to have 5 shots. Dave held him but I had to leave the room as I was too emotional. Another dad went in with Dave for me. They do not move quickly so it was a bit of a process. Dave had to hold him tight while they gave him shots in both arms and both legs. He was screaming the whole time and did not get over it quickly. He is fine now and did not have any negative reactions so far so that is good. It did set back his attachment some, especially to me. Even though I wasn't even in the room he is rejecting me a bit more today. He won't cuddle with his bottle anymore and he is more stressed if Dave is not in sight. I'm hoping that this will be temporary but I'm feeling a bit down about is all today. It's hard when your child doesn't want you to be near him. I know it's not personal but I would just love for him to reach up his arms toward me asking to be picked up one of these days. I suppose the only bright side, as pointed out for another mom, is that Dave will have to deal with Toby on the long ride home. Not so much a bright side for Dave but oh well.

We also got a stroller to borrow while here in Guangzhou and that is saving Dave's back and arms. Toby enjoys being outside, especially at night with all the lights to see. He is really taking it all in and exploring the world. He thinks it's pretty neat to feed himself as I don't think he had the opportunity to do that in the orphanage.

A couple prayer requests:
-Please pray that a paperwork snafu we have encountered will be resolved quickly
-Pray that my sinus' continue to heal
-Continued health for Dave and Toby
-Pray that attachment will continue to move forward for Toby and I

We miss you all (especially Ben, Daniel and Lucy) and can't wait to come home.