Gotcha Day!

Wow, today is finally here! It is 10:30am at the time I am writing this post. I haven’t heard yet exactly what time I will be off to the babyhouse to pick Leah up. Davis is still sick so he will stay at home with my mom.

I am getting nervous. Nervous for Leah. She has a big day ahead of her and has no idea what is coming! She has only been out of the babyhouse a couple of times to go the hospital for check ups. I can’t imagine what it will be like for her to be outside, in a car, with a virtual stranger! I hope she does okay and is young enough to not fully understand the impact this day. I expect a rough few days as she gets use to a new place to sleep, new food, new people. I imagine she will be very tired from all the activity. I have her babyhouse schedule and she “sleeps’ a lot of the day. The nanny said that they don’t actually sleep, they just lay there. There is no way a healthy child could sleep this much!

Here is her schedule:
6:00 Wake up and bottle
7:00-9:00 Sleep
9:30 Cereal and drink
11-1 Sleep
1:00 Minced meat puree
2:30-4:30 sleep
4:30 Cereal and drink
6:30-8:00pm Sleep
8:00pm Bottle
8-11:30pm Sleep
11:30 Bottle
11:30pm -6am- Sleep


I am writing this part later in the day after busting Leah out of the Babyhouse! I went to take the trash out and as I was opening the door to come back in, my mom was on the phone with Ainura. Ainura said Ceric was downstairs waiting for me. What! I grabbed the 6 caregiver, 2 babyhouse doctors, orphanage director gifts, Leah’s clothes and flew out the door. We headed over the toddler babyhouse where the Orphanage director works. He was not in his office so we went straight to Leah’s babyhouse. Gulnara said we could still pick Leah up and sign the papers later. We went into the bonding room and “Goldie” came in and asked for Leah’s clothes to change her in. I gave Ainura my camera to get a picture of Leah’s crib. I also asked for her height, weight and head circumference. Apparently, that was too much to ask because they said that she had it done on Feb 26th. Oh well, at this point I just wanted to get her and get out. The only instructions I received were to put layers of clothes on her and keep her out of drafts!

I gave the caregivers their gifts and we took a few photos. They said goodbye although I couldn’t detect too much emotion. We walked downstairs and met a lady in the hall. I had not seen her before. She took Leah and hugged her and kissed her. As I was getting in the car, I noticed the lady walk by a window wiping tears from her eyes. It made me realize what a bond these nannies have. I don’t think they allow themselves to get attached or show emotion, but I guess some are better at it than others. We went back to the toddler house and met the Orphanage Director. I signed a release form so Gulnara could get Leah’s records. I will receive these at a later date once Ainura translates them.

Leah was wide eyed with amazement in the car. She kept patting the back of the seat because I assume she has never felt fabric seats before! Ceric had a Russian radio station on and she swayed to the music the whole car ride. She is going to be my little dancer! The nannies said she loved music! We came inside the apartment and found Davis totally on the mend! That was a nice surprise! I immediately stripped her down and put her on the floor. She was wild! Happy as can be and not the least bit shy or afraid! She followed us around and played with toys. We put her in the Johnny Jump up and she hasn’t gotten the hang of what to do in it. She ate some vegetables and fruit and has already become a pro at getting the puff cereal in her mouth!

She already found herself in the mirror. It was funny to watch her check the “other” baby out!

Even though she was way past her naptime and she was rubbing her eyes, she was on a mission to explore. She finally went to sleep in my arms drinking Keifer (bottles they gave me) and being rocked. She slept for a couple hours but woke up with a big smile when she saw me!

Davis asked every second if she was up during her nap. I think he is as excited as we are. He brought her a blanket, his stuffed animal, and some toys.

I have bonded more with her in the 2 hours she has been in our apartment than the 6 weeks we visited her in the babyhouse! It's amazing how quickly you can become attached once you are finally alone with your child! After she settled in the apartment, I stripped her clothes off just to see her naked!! Then she was off for a bath!

So this will be the day every year we celebrate Leah's arrival into our family. In the adoption world, we call this "Gotcha Day." Our family will have a big celebration on March 13th of every year, where we will make a traditional Kazakh meal and she will receive a present from Kazakhstan. I have so far collected a ton of gifts! Davis will also get a special gift from the USA! This one might be harder to find than Leah's!