May 21, 2010 - Back to Delhi

Our day started really early. The boys went down to grab some breakfast at 7 a.m. sharp and to pay the bill with Dad right before our departure to the airport.  I stayed with Alesha to gather the last few things that needed to be packed.  We then all made it downstairs and were greeted by our wonderful driver from the day before.  At last we were headed for the airport.  It was strange to know that we were leaving the city of our daughter's birth place and would probably not return for many years to come.  We finally arrived at the airport and said goodbye to our driver and thanked him for his kindness during our trip. We were so very grateful for him.  There was plenty of time to settle in for a bit before our flight boarded.  As you can see from the photo boredom had set in for the boys.    The boarding of the plane began and we were escorted to the front of the line, what a treat :-)  We found our seats and received the same wonderful service that Kingfisher provides.  Alesha, did amazing on the plane ride.  She played with her toys, ate Gerber stars, giggled, bounced in my lap, and had a bottle.  She never even cried :-) The flight flew by and before we knew it we were unloading into the shuttle bus headed for the Delhi airport terminal.

Upon entering the terminal I had to go to the bathroom really bad.....too much water on the plane. This was going to be a problem, because Alesha, would scream if anybody held her besides me.  It was apparent that I would experience this bathroom trip with a child in tow. As we were entering the bathroom I was thinking through how this was going to work.  I was not going to put Alesha down on the ground so I would have to hold her.  Without going into details it was the most difficult bathroom trip I have had to date. To juggle a little one without dropping her and go to the bathroom was a challenge to say the least!  I got several looks as I exited the stall.  Darin, asked me what took so long and I just laughed.....if he only knew :-)

Next, we made our way outside and was greeted by our wonderful friend, Uma. He took us back to his home where we unloaded all of our things and introduced Alesha to his family.  It was nice to hear their comments like "she looks so comfortable and relaxed", "she is making great eye contact, etc".  These comments were very meaningful as Uma has worked and seen many families during the adoption process, his family included.  Uma and Yaman have a birth son and they adopted their little girl when she was an infant.  We discussed our adoption processes together. The main difference was that they met their daughter one day and the next day they had her at home with them.  ONE day!!!!!  It was hard to not be a bit jealous of that fact since we had to wait 2 1/2  years to have our girl in our arms.  What a treat it was to talk about how their first days and weeks played out and to have friends who could totally relate to the things we were going through and be so supportive.  This was a gift I will forever cherish.

Our next stop was the Embassy doctor.  The boys stayed to play with Uma's children and we were off for the doctor.  I had been dreading this appt. since I had first read about it.  We packed all the paperwork and diaper bag and off we went.  The office was located in a beautiful part of town and we entered down a long driveway to a small office building.  We checked in at the front desk and waited our turn. Alesha, was already a bit nervous and was looking all around.  I think she sensed something was up!  Our name was called and we entered through a door into a very small exam room.  A very tall man with a big beard and turban on his head entered the room, and Alesha began to squirm and cry.  He turned out to be the doctor and examined the medical files we provided.  He asked a couple of questions, shined a light in Alesha's eyes, and said that she would need 6 shots!  YIKES!  I knew she would need several shots, but 6, oh my!  We told the doctor that we wanted Alesha to have all the shots right now so we didn't have to put her through this twice.  He REFUSED and said "that she would get 3 today and we would come back tomorrow for the other 3.  My husband explained again our desires and informed him that we were staying an hour outside of Delhi and we really didn't want to have our friend drive us back the next day if we could avoid it.  To all of this the doctor replied "She will get 3 today and you will come back tomorrow for the other 3".  It was apparent that he was NOT going to budge on this and we were both really upset.  He left the room and that was that.  My husband was furious!  We really didn't have much choice in the matter.  We had to do what they said in order to get that "all important packet" to take to our Embassy appt.

The next thing we know a nurse came in and began filling the needles.  AleshaAlesha was kicking so hard that she pushed off the table and slammed her head into the wall that was a good distance away.  It was an absolute NIGHTMARE!!!!!  To think that we would have to put her through this again tomorrow was more than we could take.  After the third shot was completed Alesha was crying so hard and was so upset she almost threw up.  Darin and I were in tears as well.

We exited into the waiting room and I prepared a bottle for her as we explained the situation to our friend.  He said not to worry about coming back tomorrow and that we just needed to do what they said.  The ride home was miserable for us emotionally knowing that we had to replay this nightmare tomorrow.  I was really disappointed in the sheer standoffishness of the doctor.  He was all business and really didn't care one bit about our daughter.  He didn't really check Alesha over as I would have expected a doctor to do when giving an all clear to leave the country.  To me it felt like an obligation and it was easy money to be made.

When I was getting ready to get into the car with Alesha, I turned her around and saw that she was holding something in her hand.  She was given this small toy to try and calm her down and she clung to that thing the entire time we were there and I didn't even realize she still had it.  At first I thought I should run this back into the office and then I thought NO WAY, after what you put my girl through and making us come back tomorrow this little toy is going home with us!  Probably not the best attitude, but at the time that is what I decided.  As we drove away with the toy in hand, Alesha, fell asleep out of sheer exhaustion.

Here she is, statesideck  with the very toy that she confiscated from the doctor.  (sorry blogger is being weird and I can't turn the pic)

When we returned home, we were greeted by our boys who wanted to know how their sister was and couldn't believe we had to go back again tomorrow. We discussed the appt over dinner and our disappointment over the whole thing.  This is when Yaman and Uma said that they would make an appt with their children's pediatrician for tomorrow.  We could take all of our files along and ask as many questions as needed and she would do a complete exam of Alesha.  I cannot express to you what a blessing this was for our family.  We had several questions and terminology that did not translate well for our doctor in the states.  We were thrilled for this opportunity!

After dinner we decided it was time for our girl to have her first bath.  This girl really likes the water.  She had a great time splashing in the water and there were lots of giggles.

Getting ready for my first bath.  See the one bandaid on her leg.  The other leg had 2 more.

Look at those BIG black eyes and LONG lashes.  

She is so tiny she fits perfect in this little tub.

All done!

 It was so fun to get Alesha dressed and put some hair accessories in her hair.  Having had boys in my house for the past 12 years, this was a treat!  I had to laugh because the first outfit I put on her fell right off when I stood her up.  There were very few outfits that actually fit her.  She was just SOOOO tiny!

Our little princess.

With utter exhaustion from the day we had experienced we decided to call it a night and get some rest for what the following day would hold.  We were so grateful to be in such a loving and understanding environment.  Uma, Yaman, and their children were such a blessing to us.  There are not words to express the many ways they blessed us on our trip.  They all taught us through their actions an entirely different level of hospitality than we had ever experienced.