The Mercer Munchkins: Day 10 (3/10) Medical and First Swim

Today we got to sleep in and enjoy the hotel’s breakfast buffet. We thought the other hotels had good breakfasts, but this one is the best by far. It just keeps going and going- pretty much anything you could imagine is available including American donuts (time to introduce Suzie) and my favorite- steamed buns. Meal times are probably the hardest with Suzie. She’s stubborn and just rarely seems hungry. She’ll like something one day and refuse it the next. She also likes to play games... she’ll put food in her mouth, then take it out or she’ll just keep shoving food in and get chipmunk cheeks. If I make the mistake of offering something that she wants, she unloads everything currently in her mouth to make room. It’s no wonder that she’s so tiny! We’ve had the most success with noodles, so that’s our go-to option and we still supplement with formula, so at least she gets that.

We arranged a video call during breakfast time with our dear friends. It was evening their time and Addie got to chat with her BFF. It was so sweet and just what she needed!

During the call, Suzie & I headed out to get her Visa photo taken and have her medical exam done. We went to a building filled with adopting families all waiting and in the process of getting their exams done. I took Suzie by myself because we knew it would probably be a bit traumatic and did not want that associated with Brian at all. While there we saw a family that we knew from Shanghai. We had been on the same flight to Guangzhou and they’ve been so sweet and supportive of us. They saw us and all waved to Suzie and she smiled and waved back! This was the first time she has done that! In the hotel she is silly, smiley and talkative, but as soon as we leave she shuts down. I can get little smiles and giggles out of her, but over all she gets very serious, quiet and withdrawn. This was a big step for her!

At the clinic there we 4 stations. We first saw the ENT (ear, nose & throat) physician. He checked her out briefly. He asked if she was talking in sentences. How would I know??! She does talk quite a bit but I can’t understand any of it...it could be sentences or just plain gibberish! She’s shy and won’t say anything when we are out of the hotel room and with our translator. I just said no because that’s what the orphanage had told me. Next we did a nurse screening of weight, height and head circumference. She is 25.5 lbs. Such a little peanut!

The third station was the worst. She had to have a blood draw to test for TB and no parents are allowed. I knew this ahead of time, but that didn’t make it easier. The nurse talked to Suzie a lot. I’m assuming she was explaining what was happening and letting her know it’d be okay, but Suzie kept shaking her head and saying “no.” Finally they took her in the room and shut me out. Suzie screamed the entire time. I was right at the door and cried. There weren’t even windows for me to look in & have her see me. I’ve never been this way with Addie & Mason. I always knew they could handle it, but this is so different. She doesn’t know that I’m not leaving her there. She doesn’t know it’s just a routine blood test. It was just awful and again I was fearful of a broken bone from her fighting. As soon as the door opened, I grabbed her and comforted her.

The final station was a general screening with 2 physicians. They reviewed her medical file and listened to her heart & lungs and looked her over. I was able to stay by her the whole time, so it was much better. The clinic shut down at noon and they aren’t messing around. I had to wait for the two other families with us to finish up and right at noon they started shutting the lights off to get us to leave.

We got back to the hotel without any carsickness (PTL!!) and relaxed for a bit while Suzie got comfortable again. She played with Mason a lot and is really getting comfortable with him. By the end of today she was kissing him!

Our next adventure was to try swimming! We really want Suzie to get water therapy to strengthen her legs, so we were hoping this would go well. Her first bath was full of fear, but has gradually gotten better. Her orphanage is notorious for water boarding the kids as punishment. I don’t know if this ever happened to Suzie, but I bet she at least saw it happen. She hates getting her face wet during bath time, so I always keep a washcloth close to wipe away any water drops. Anyway, we started out in the kiddie pool. She did so good! She gradually got her feet & hands wet then eventually let me set her in the ~4 inch deep water. We then ventured into the big pool, which was warmer. I carried her in and she did so well!! She clung to me pretty tightly, but after awhile we got her to splash a bit and she even got her own face & head wet by bringing water up with her hand. I’m so proud of her!! She’s facing her fears and conquering them left & right!

For dinner we hit up a Mediterranean pizza place and got some snacks & drinks at the 7-11 on our way back. We tried to get Suzie down a little earlier since it was a long day for her. Tonight she was harder to put down. She didn’t want to sleep in her crib, but was whimpering and tearing up, asking to get in our bed. I really wanted to give in to her, but instead took her out for awhile, rocked her then put her back. I leaned into the crib to get close to her. That seemed to calm her some and eventually she fell asleep before my back gave out!??