She's officially and forever My Chick

And, of course, I officially and forever became her Mama Hen. Yes, on Tuesday January 15, 2008 – I became a single mom of two and Libby Doodle Doo became an official part of our family -- my daughter, Little Zo Peep's Mei Mei.

This adoption procedure was VERY different than the one I experienced with Zo Peep. That time we all went to one provincial office. At that location we had our Chinese Court interview, met with a notary and had photos taken as a family and of the baby herself. We then returned to that office the next day and got our official Chinese adoption certificate and our official Chinese abandonment certificate (showing that Zo Peep had been abandoned and that she was a legitimate orphan).

This time we went to 3 different offices. The Jiangxi Adoption Center, a Notary Office, and the Public Security Office for a passport photo of the baby (I never did this step at all with Little Zo Peep. The photo on her Chinese passport was the mug shot from her referral photos.)

Now if it was Spring, Summer or Fall in Nanchang – shuttling 15 families and 16 babies (one set of twins in our group) to 3 separate offices would probably not be a problem.

But this is winter in Nanchang and the weather is horrible-- Cold, windy, sleeting. The sidewalks are slippery, the bus was unheated, the lobby floors in all three buildings were wet and slick and 2 of the 3 buildings were unheated.



We left at 8am. All the girls were bundled up. Some (including Libby Doodle Do) were so bundled that they resembled that little boy in The Christmas story who couldn’t put his arms down once he got his snowsuit on. But it was even worse than that. Not only could Libby Doodle Doo not put her arms down but she also – as if splints had been sewn into her snowsuit –couldn’t bend either her arms or legs. All the girls were in baby carriers – some slings, some Baby Bjorn types. Libby Doodle Doo resembled large starfish affixed to my chest. Honestly it is not easy to walk or maneuver with a large starfish attached to your chest. You can’t go through rotating or narrow doorways. You can’t see the ground in front of you to identify steps or obstructions. You can’t comfortable sit in a bus seat.

The Adoption Center was first. We traveled for 15 minutes on crowded wet streets. Motorbikes darted in and out of traffic. I counted 3 close misses in only 15 minutes. The bus we were on was old and dirty and unheated.

We had to walk about 100 yards from the bus to the entrance to the building. The streets were wet and icy in places. When we got to the lobby of the office building the floor was marble and even more treacherous than outside. Some of us crowded into a small elevator and went up 20 some floors to the Adoption Center. I recognized the room as soon as I came in. I’ve seen numerous adoption videos shot in this room with substantial mahogany chairs lining the perimeter of the room.

De immediately started calling families one by one to line up to get their family and baby photos taken. I took Zo Peep (Correction -- of course I mean Libby Doodle Doo. OMG, Helen discovered that I'm already mixing up my girls. She's right. I admit it. I called Libby Doodle Doo by her sister's name a couple times yesterday and -- GASP -- even here in my blog. The shame!!!!)out of the top part of her snow man outfit and we went in for our photos.

We then went back to wait in the room. The room was buzzing with families talking, babies fussing, laughing and/or crying and people shuttling to and from into the back office for pictures.

Once that was completed we had to review a paper written in Chinese and English and one by one called in to meet with an official who asked us questions about our reasons for adoptions and our intentions to care and watch over our baby. The questions varied from family to family. Some families were asked their educational plans for their daughter – wow that’s far reaching. As a single mom I was asked a series of questions about how I would care for both daughters in the event of my death . I was also asked some questions about whether I was ever married and why I was single now.



When I finished the interview, I was given a gift – a porcelain mug from the Jiangxi province. What a nice memento for Libby Doodle Doo some day.

When everyone was done we Poyang families got a special surprise. The orphanage director had arrived with finding notes for most of the children. Most of the notes said nothing more than a birth date. One dad got a special wish from the birth mother. We were allowed to photograph the papers, but not keep them. How heartbreaking. This part of the trip moved me deeply. I plan to write more about it later.

We then reassembled our Michelin Tire babies to face the wicked cold again. We got back on to the rickety bus and headed for stop #2. Another harrowing trip through crowded streets and we arrived at the Notary Office. The Notary must be a powerful person in China because she was the only bureaucrat we saw with a heated office.

Once we answered some of her questions and signed a paper, our children were officially ours. We were given our adoption certificates bound in a dark red folder -- A jubilant milestone.

And yet we were still not done. We re bundled the babies again, re boarded the decrepit bus and headed for an office to get photos taken of each baby for their passport. More treacherous streets, more slippery sidewalks, more unheated building. Thankfully that portion of the trip was mercifully short – but by this time Libby Doodle Doo was tired, cranky and uncomfortable (I think her mom was too). She fussed for a while on the bus until falling asleep in my sister’s arms.



Adventure over. We returned to the hotel. Peeled the layers of clothing off of my new daughter Libby Doodle Doo and gave her a nice lunch and warm bottle.

It’s a Time for celebration.



(note the photos accompanying this posting were taken this afternoon and evening. My camera wouldn't work during the day (although my video camera did). My sister took still shots, but we don't have a USB cable that will fit her camera -- I'll get them on my computer later.)