Milk...Doesn't Always Do A Body Good!!!

Poor Nathaniel was so excited to finally have his milk, but ever since he's been drinking it he has had stomach issues.  Today he was banned from drinking it and so far he's been ok.  We rented a water cooler for our room (yes with 19L of BOTTLED water) so he'll have plenty of that to drink.  It'll be easier for me too, making Fredrick's bottles because it can also heat the water.

So yesterday was a stressful day.  So much paperwork to go over and make sure I filled it all out correctly.  I met with the other couple in our hotel in the morning and we went over every document.  We then headed out to the Canadian Embassy. It was literally minutes away so we were quite early.  We took a stroll around the area, it was very beautiful (see previous post picture of bamboo trees).  Once we were inside the nice lady walked us through the documents and procedure.  Everything went smoothly.  Oh and there was a rat running along side the building!!!  Then we met back at the other hotel where all the other couples are staying.  We decided that instead of us all trying to find Fedex, we'd pay to have Fedex find us!  We sat around for a couple of hours (boring!) waiting until 5pm.  Fredrick was hungry and tired and mom had been with Nathaniel since 1pm so I wanted to get back to relieve her of babysitting duty...not that Nathaniel is a handful or anything!!  We were finally going to leave and let one of the adoptive dads ensure the documents were sent off (I was pretty confident he'd get it done since his documents were in that pile as well!!!) and suddenly we saw a moped drive up with a large box on the back with FEDEX written on it!  They sure do things differently around here!  They'd never be able to deliever the packags the Fedex courriers do in Canada...actually they probably could...they're pretty smart at stocking their mopeds up!! LOL!  What a relief that all that is over with.  There were so many documents and I had read over the guidelines so many times that it was starting to look vietnamese to me.  Now it is all out of my hands and the only call I want is one to say Fredrick's Canadian Passport is ready!  The nice lady said probably by Tuesday.  Remember I said at that point it would be like the amazing race, who coud get on the earliest flight out of here?!?!  Well the race is about to begin.  We just happen to have a counter for Cathway Pacific Airlines downstairs from the hotel.  Jon is going to investigate if there are any seats available for the Wednesday (27th) or Thursday (28th) as of right now.  Hopefully if there are, they'll still be available when we want to switch.  I know, I know what's a few more days since we're booked May 1st.  Well, if you're not a world traveller, and you miss your food, your home, your friends, your family and you are trying to start a life with a new baby, a few days feels like a lifetime!!!!  Poor Nathaniel keeps telling me he's sad because he wants his home.  I feel so bad that he's missing school...he loves it there!

This afternoon Jon and I are taking Fredrick to see a dermotologist.  His rash on his face is pretty red and he's scratching his head so much he makes it bleed.  I don't think it's scabies.  And I have small blisters forming on my hands and feet that are VERY itchy so I'm going to get checked out as well.  Thank God for traveller's insurance!  How amazing it was to phone and get an appointment the same day!  There's something to be said about paying for medical care...you sure get service!

On another note, we met a couple from Ontario at Breakfast today who told us they were moved to another room due to an infestation of flying ants!  He did however say this was better than the episode of bats in their room during their last stay here!  Mental note:  do not open your windows in Vietnam!!!!

Pictures...

I'll do a picture post for now of our Monday morning in Hanoi.  There is also a picture of the Canadian Embassy because that's where we spent our afternoon...I'll write tomorrow as I am VERY tired...



View from Hotel



View from Hotel...as you can see Hanoi is a little more "metropolitan" than Danang

It's hard to see but those are ALL mopeds lined up...choice mode of transportation in Vietnam 

Picture speaks for itself...it felt good to be "back in Canada"!!!

Bamboo trees

We Got Milk!!!

If anything today was a good day because we found Nathaniel actual, cold, pasteurized, good tasting milk.  He was thrilled!  And we bought some yogurts that he also enjoyed.  Life is good!  Nathaniel could drink milk all day at home, so he's been asking for it since we arrived.  We had bought some but it is kept at room temp in a carton, so it was definitely not what he was use to.  Breakfast was great too.  Nice buffet.  The only negative is that we only get breakfast for 2 so for the 3 adult we have to pay, 7$ each time we go.  Nathaniel is free.  But it is definitely worth it, except they don't offer decaf coffee.  Mom is going crazy...so dad if you're reading this you better be at the airport with a LARGE DECAF Timmy's coffee in hand!!!

Fredrick is still very wrestless at night between 12am and 6am.  Jon is able to sleep through it but he is constantly banging the bed with his head and it just breaks my heart and so I'm not sleeping.  I don't feel tired but some sleep would be nice so we got a crib for him.  We'll see how that works tonight.  And let's just say the crib is not up to our safety code, but I'm sure he'll be fine considering what he slept in for the last 8 months.  You'll see it in the video at the end.  He loves playing in it...he's also proud because he can pull himself up and stand.

Mom and I went exploring outside today.  A lot of electronic stores...nothing too interesting.  We found a kids store downstairs from the hotel, VERY expensive.  I haven't been able to find too many clothes for Fredrick.  Mom is downstairs getting her hair cut.  I'm so excited to see what they do.  Jon & Nathaniel have gone to the pool and Fredrick and I are just hanging out.  I bought him some rusk cookies so he's right now going to town on that!  After mom and I ventured out, when I returned to the room, Fredrick looked at me and gave me the biggest smile!  Awwwww, he likes me! LOL!  It's amazing though how quickly he bacame "spoiled".  The first couple of days he played on the floor and now he needs to be picked up and played with (not that I mind).  Also he would just lay there for diaper changes, now I have to hold him down.  It's amazes me how quickly his habits changed...I guess he knows he can get away with a lot more now.  He continuously scratches his head.  I guess this was his soothing technique or his head was always itchy because of the scabies.

I met a couple in the restaurant whom I had "met" online on a Yahoo Vietnam Adoption group.  He was the one who recommended this hotel (a gigantic thank you to Kevin!!!)  He is here adopting their second daughter.  It was finally nice to put a face to the person I had been emailing back and forth for the past 5 months.  He lives in Ontario and we had received our proposals at the same time so we had been complaining about the wait together!  It's also nice because they know the area and they are giving us all the info we need!  Well I shall leave you with some pics and a video (if they upload correctly!)

We don't pack lightly!!

REAL FOOOOOODDDDD!

So Long Danang...HELLO Hanoi!!!

We said our goodbyes to Danang this morning.  It was emotional to say goodbye to the 2 reps that walked us through each step of the process this past week.  They love the children so much.  I guess it was also emotional because we were leaving the city our son spent the first 8 months of his life.  It was emotional but I can't say we'll miss it!  Fredrick was a real trooper on the plane while most other babies were crying. Entering Hanoi airport was music to our ears...ENGLISH!  People actually speak our language...YIPPEE!  Not only that but we saw chocolate and chips and cafes...all things we'd see in Montreal...this was thrilling!  We loaded all our stuff into a large taxi and travelled about 40 minutes to our hotel and OH what a beautiful hotel it is.  I knew things were going to look up as soon as we walked through the doors.  There was door man who greeted us nicely and the people at the front desk spoke english and were very pleasant.  And it smelled wonderful!  Our room wasn't ready so they sent us to the 4th floor restaurant.  There was real food...ingredients we could understand and knew we would enjoy.  Burgers, salmon, chicken, pasta, pizza.  We ate and enjoyed every bite...we actually think our stomachs shrunk because we were full after a few bites, although this did not stop me from having dessert!  When the other adoptive family saw us they asked if we ate well and they all laughed at me because I was smiling ear to ear with satisfaction!

There is a beautiful pool, and a play ground for kids...Nathaniel & Jon have gone there now to check it out.  There are tourist guides here for us so we know what activities there are in the area.  There are shopping plazas and not just the Big C.  I know, I know who comes to Vietnam to go to a plaza, but seriously we are not world travelers and we are here for 1 reason, and 1 reason only...to complete our son's adoption.  We agree we were glad to see how people live here in Vietnam...so primitive I couldn't even begin to explain it but we're happy to be somewhere a little more advanced, and where we feel somewhat safe to walk around. 

Our hotel room (1203) is absolutely beautiful.  Jon & I have our room with a king size bed and our own bathroom, and mom & Nathaniel will share the other room.  There are 2 single beds so mom doesn't have to share the bed with Nathaniel.  She'll get a better night sleep.  We have a kitchen with a stove, kettle, large fridge, utensils, pots & pans, microwave and are you ready for this...a washer and dryer 2 in 1!  It washes and then dries!  I'm in the process of doing our first load!  If we had these at home, my bathroom would have a lot more space!  Nice flat screen televisions, stereo and there are even clocks!!!  The hotels in Ho Chi Minh and Danang did not invest in clocks...I was constantly asking Jon what time it was...very annoying, especially in the middle of the night!  This has changed our attitudes completely...although I'm sure we'll be tired of even all of this by the end of next week.  1 week down...2 to go.

Proud Parent Moments...

This morning started off with a "bang"!  Fredrick had his first poopy diaper changed!  Now I know most people would not find this blog worthy but when you're child's eating habits are all messed up and you've seen him straining for a couple of days, when it finally happens it calls for a big Hurray!!!  Jon had the honors of changing it...this is a tradition as he changed Nathaniel's first poopy diaper as well! :-)

Fredrick slept very well until 12am and then had a bottle.  I got him back to sleep but at this point he doesn't go back into a deep sleep.  He thrashes himself around, banging his head on the mattress.  Both nights he has done this so my theory is something use to cause him to do this in the orphanage.  Perhaps loud noises or the workers there played the t.v./music VERY loud so maybe he never went back into deep sleep.  I don't know...I can speculate all I want but I just don't know.  I simply soothe him by rubbing his back and this helps for a few minutes at a time.  It breaks my heart to watch him go through this but at the same time I know that this will work itself out when he gets use to quiet, undisturbed nights.

After our little celebration of Fredrick's job well done (LOL) we headed out for a guided tour of Hoi An.  Imagine the hottest day in Montreal and times it by 100!  And add to that carrying around a 22lbs baby and a 4 year old (he was really out of his element and wanted us to hold him...being sensitive to Nathaniel right now, we must oblige).  I feel like I lost 10lbs just from the heat!  It was a really cute "province" and we picked up some handmade souvenirs.  But Nathaniel lost it which is not like him at all and broke out crying and screaming.  Mom was hot and Fredrick was sweating.  We left early as did anothe couple.

We came back to the "mall" and tried a fast food restaurant.  We had some good chicken and french fries and a nice cold pepsi.  It was heavenly!!  Vietnamese food here is NOTHING like what we eat at Chez Lien in Montreal and I miss Montreal food terribly!  We have all agreed when we arrive home on May 1st that we are immediately ordering some real food! :-)))  Fredrick proved to be apart of our family today...as we sat and ate our lunch, Celine Dion's song was being played over the speakers and Fredrick broke out crying!!! HA HA!  Whenever she hit her high notes he pouted and started crying!  We were so proud!

We're like celebrities here.  Women will stop in their tracks to just stare at the boys.  They look at Fredrick and then point to Nathaniel and just stare!  Today in Hoi An all the women were talking to each other about us.  Jon asked our guide what they were saying.  They all thought Nathaniel was biological and Fredrick adopted.  I also think it's because we are walking around with TWO boys.  Boys are highly regarded here.  Families will continue having kids until they have a boy.  So many families will have 8-9 kids;  7/8 girls, 1 boy.  This is so sad to me.  The irony is that out of us 7 families here to adopt, we all received boys accept 1 family.  This tells me the mothers were in desperate situations to give up dearly beloved boys!  Yesterday at the beach 2 groups of people said, "Hello" to us and when we responded they all started giggling.  Weird!!!

Tomorrow is our flight to Hanoi. Ahhhhh WASHER AND DRYER! I can't believe that that's what we're excited about! :-)

We've got a Big Boy...As If You Couldn't Tell!!!

We took Fredrick to have his passport pictures taken.  He did great!  Then we went to visit the dr.  He's an Aussie...Dr Ross.  He was very good and thorough.  Fredrick is in the 75% percentile for height & weight.  22 lbs & 74 cm.  Dr Ross said he have a "gem".  Dr Ross gave us some cough syrup for his cough which really isn't that bad and he said the scabies should clear up in a couple of weeks.  Visit + medicine = $50.  Oh and Jon had his first experience being peed on!  Fredrick didn't have his diaper on at the clinic and suddenly Jon felt a warm stream of liquid!  Better him than me! LOL! 

I was happy to try out the baby carrier and I LOVE it (so did Fredrick)!  I know most people told me they were no good but for me it worked well...how I'm going to use this contraption when Jon isn't around is another story!

We're hanging out in the hotel room right now while Jon & Nathaniel play ball and and Fredrick is on the floor laughing at him.  Fredrick loves to watch Nathaniel.  We may head out to the beach after.  Tomorrow is a day trip to Hoi An.  I thought mom would rather stay here and relax so Jon & Nathaniel were going to go, but mom is keen on going so a day trip it is.  We also pick up Fredrick's passports tomorrow and head to Hanoi on Saturday.  We were suppose to leave on Sunday but none of us wanted to take a 6am flight so we opted for Saturday.

Family of 4!

Fredrick spent his last night at the orphanage last night...he officially became ours at 3:15pm (4:15am your time)! We arrived at the orphanage at around 1:00pm and changed Fredrick into his new, clean clothes and took pictures with all the caregivers. We shed a few lots of tears and piled into the taxi to drive to the "palais de justice" for the giving and receiving ceremony. We were rushed to get there yet we sat around in this hot, sticky room for 2 hours. They called each family up to the front, congratulated us, and gave us a document...we're waiting for the translation as it's all in Vietnamese. It was a real special moment for all of us. Daddy went to immigration to sign something for Fredrick's passport while the rest of us came back to the hotel. We've been playing and doing lots of laughing (LOL)!! We can hear one of the other babies crying down the hall. We hadn't really witnessed Fredrick's crying UNTIL...daddy, lolli & Nathaniel went to the Big C (big shopping store...kind of like Walmart) to buy some rice cereal. I really should have had it on hand, but we never imagined the ceremony would have taken so long. Fredrick can cry! He was very hungry and very tired. I gave him some prunes puree to help him and he LOVED it but I didn't want to give too much since I don't want to mess up his system. He was not happy. He wanted more! So I gave him another bottle and then daddy finally arrived with the real food! He ate well. John rubbed him down with the treatment for scabies and fell asleep quickly.

We've all treated ourselves for scabies. Tomorrow we go to the international clinic just to have Fredrick checked out. And we will also have his picture taken for his passport. We're leaving for Hanoi a day early (Saturday). We're quite pleased about that...we're hoping the shopping is better and we're looking forward to having a washer & dryer. The sandles I bought Fredrick don't fit and I really need to find some clothes for him as I didn't bring many. We will definitely miss the beach though. I kept telling mom how beautiful it was but she didn't take my word for it and then when we went this morning she was in paradise! We've agreed we wouldn't mind doing a resort vacation here. It is so peaceful. There are no vendors bothering you...you just get to sit back and relax!

I shall leave you with some more pics.