We have a referral!!!!!!

[Tigeresse]

Hi all,

I'm so excited! We just received our referral for our daughter from China! She is absolutely beautiful and we cannot wait to meet her!

She is 9 months old and lives in an orphange in Jiangxi provence, which is in southern China. Dh and oldest ds will be travelling to China in 6 or 7 weeks to bring her home! I will stay home with younger ds's.

We have so much to do, EFmom, any words of wisdom on travel preparations?

For anyone considering IA from China, the wait for us was less than 8 months from the time our dossier was logged in in China (July '03). Certainly, SARS had an impact on the situation there, but since they reopened they have been moving quickly. I hope things remain the same for future adoptive parents and the children there.

I hope to get our complete info and pictures of our daughter in the next day or 2. We are walking on clouds right now!

Katie

[AdinaL]

Congratulations!!! That is wonderful news. I can't wait to see pictures!

[wemberly]

CONGRATULATIONS KATIE!!!!!!

I'm so very happy to hear of your good fortune! I hope your TA comes soon




xoxo,

[EFmom]

Wooo-hooo!!!! I'm thrilled for you. Here's to your speedy travel approval, smooth adoption process, safe trip, and a lifetime of joy with your daughter!

What city is she from, if you don't mind my asking? My older dd is from Jiangxi province also, from Wanzai. A great site is http://www.gurrad.com/china/ Peggy Gurrad is a physican and an adoptive mom who has undertaken all sorts of neat humanitarian projects in the province. She's given us wonderful information about my dd's SWI.

My advice--when people say to pack light, they mean it. We brought no more than one largish upright rolling suitcase for each of us (you might want less, depending on how much your ds can carry), and a small carryon. You may be hauling your own stuff all over creation, in areas with no sidewalks, just broken rubble. You can find just about everything you need for the baby in Nanchang. I would recommend keeping her on the local formula until she comes home, and then gradually mixing in American formula.

Nanchang is an unlovely city, big and industrial, without a great deal to see. We were there in July, and it was blasting hot and humid. Our Chinese colleagues said, "Oh, that's too bad," when I told them where we were going! There is a local temple, a porcelain factory and a few other things in the way of tourist stuff. We weren't allowed to travel to our daughter's town or to see the SWI.

Our dd, who had been in foster care, hated us on site and screamed nonstop for about 5 of the longest days and nights in history, so we didn't get to do much sightseeing anyway. I think you just have to play it by ear. I'm not trying to scare you. With our younger daughter, it was love at first sight--each kid is different. Just tell your dh not to take it personally if he doesn't have any kodack moments.

I'd be delighted to answer any particulars you might have!

Good luck! The wait till travel was the hardest part for me. Have you found your local FCC chapter yet?

[Leatherette]

Congratulations! What an exciting time for your family. Have a great time on your trip.

L.

[lisamarie]

Congrats on your new baby girl!!!

Warmly~

Lisa

[mama2m&m]

oh, katie, that's absolutely wonderful!!!!!!!!!!!!! i'm so excited for you

[Irishmommy]

Congratulations!!!

[Tigeresse]

Thank you, everyone!

We are beyond excited here! We just got our official package with the referral materials and instructions on the next steps to be taken. There is so much to do!

EFmom, I don't know what town she is from, only the name of the orphange which is FengCheng. It will take about another week to receive the translation of our referral docs. I'm sure I will have questions as we prepare for the trip. Too bad Nanchang isn't more scenic, as my bachelor db will be accompanying dh and ds. Hopefully he will find stuff to do while dh is busy with our new dd.

Thanks again everyone for the well wishes and EFmom for the advice. I'll try to update as soon as I know more.

Katie

[T. Elena]

Wow! Congratulations!!!