Adoption Story - Part 10

When we received L from the nanny, she was holding a cookie tightly clasped in her fist. That cookie stayed planted there for the rest of the evening as she would nibble tiny bites from time to time. Thankfully, it was gone by the time we changed her into the pajamas we had brought to get her ready for bed. Those pajamas were some that K had worn as a baby and it was such a special moment to see them now on her little sister. Mr. at Home took L on his shoulder and walked her up and down the hallways until she fell asleep.

L slept great the first night and woke in the morning, allowing me to dress her in new clothes and clip her hair back out of her eyes. She refused her bottle, but she ate from the breakfast buffet then even allowed K to hold her hand as we walked out to meet the other families. We were going to the adoption office to finalize the adoption on the Chinese side. It was the oddest experience, really. We had two “interviews” where we were asked if we were happy with our child and what some of our plans were in raising the child. They were very short and most of our time there was spent waiting in a small room lined with benches. But at the end, China recognized us as a family, including our newest daughter, L.

While we waited, we were joined by the nannies who had brought our children to us the day before. When they walked in, our quiet calm L suddenly came to life. The nanny came straight to us and L eagerly reached up to her with a wide smile on her face. She was rescued! The nanny walked with her up and down the hall and we got to ask more questions about L’s past as far as they knew. While we were at the office, L was interactive and played with her toys. As soon as we walked out and L realized that she was still with us and her nanny was nowhere to be found, she retreated back inside her shell. Neither happy nor upset, but her personality was completely buried deep inside of her where no one could hurt her.