Trip details

So our trip was really incredible, definitely an adventure, but an awesome experience! We started off by getting up at 1am on Friday morning to get ready and head to the airport (an hour and 15 minute drive). Our flight out was at 5:30am so we got to the airport at 3:30 (the 2 hour early rule) only to find that the check-in desk doesn't open until 4! So we could have gotten an extra half hour of sleep, but oh well. Then our flight from Milwaukee to Atlanta was delayed due to "weather" (they never said what the problem was, just "weather") so we arrived almost an hour late and had to literally run to our connecting flight to Guatemala City. That was a bit stressful, but after that things went ok as far as the flight! The Guatemala City airport was very interesting, there were lots of armed guards with BIG guns all over! I wish I could have taken a picture but that didn't seem like the best idea! We got through customs with no problem whatsoever which was good. Then when we went into the baggage claim area there was a band playing and a big "welcome" sign. I thought that was kind of funny but it was neat to see. Our luggage actually made it too, which I thought was a miracle given the circumstances of our connection! I guess Delta pulled out all the stops for us because it was there and all intact!

When we walked out of the airport it was so bizarre because people were standing and sitting all along the sidewalk just watching this parade of people come out of the airport. I don't know if most of the people were there waiting for someone or if they just hang out there to pass the time? I kind of felt like we were walking the red carpet at the Oscars or something! We found our taxi driver pretty easily in the crowd, he was waiting with a sign that had our names and the hotel. He didn't speak much English but just enough to try to drum up some repeat business by giving us his card and pointing out places we should go visit and that he would be happy to take us to later. Maybe next time we can do a bit of sightseeing, but this trip was all about Cameron!

We got to the hotel (we stayed at La Casa Grande) around 1:30 local time and called our contact who said they would come drop Cameron off around 3ish. We were going to head out to the lobby to wait for them a little before 3 but they called at 2:30 and were there already! Our attorney introduced herself and our foster mom P and her son, then P handed Cameron over to me. It was the most amazing moment to hold my little boy for the first time! He wasn't too sure about me at first and was fussing a little, but P showed me how he likes to be held and suggested I walk around with him because he likes that. So we wandered around the lobby and looked at stuff and we were ok after that! Then we went through his feeding and eating schedule (and thankfully Brian wrote everything down for me because I was extremely preoccupied!). We knew our fm would bring formula for him but thought that would be it. We were surprised to find that she brought this giant bag of stuff for him with clothes, diapers, baby food, juice, a toy and blanket he really likes, and even some bottles that looked brand new so I think she bought them just to bring for us. We didn't end up using any of the clothes or diapers since I had brought enough of that already, but it was so nice of her to offer so much for him. So then we all said our goodbyes and everyone left. I could tell that both P and her son were very sad to leave him and I really felt for them. It was very reassuring to know that he is in such good care.

So the first night was a little rough as all of us got to know each other and I tried to remember what to do with a baby! My old babysitting skills came back to me in a hurry thankfully, or else my maternal instincts kicked in or something and I think I did ok. Cameron was quite a happy smiley little guy for the most part and didn’t seem scared of us at all, but unfortunately he did not want to eat or sleep that first night. And besides the fact that he’d been left with strangers and in a strange place, he was also teething, which just added to his fussiness. There was a lot of pacing the floor and comforting him that night and not a lot of sleep for mom and dad, but it was no worse than I expected. He did finally take a bottle at about 5am and then proceeded to sleep for 4 hours! Poor tired little guy! After that he ate really well so I don't know if he finally decided I was trustworthy or what!

Day 2 and 3 went much smoother as we all became comfortable with each other and Brian and I figured out his likes and dislikes. We found out he just LOVED to go out on the balcony at the hotel and watch the cars go by. He would just sit and watch and was mesmerized by them, it was so cute! And if he was getting tired but wouldn't fall asleep we just brought him out to watch the cars and he was zonked in no time! He also really liked the bouncy seat we brought along for him. We bought a cheap one at Wal-Mart that was pretty simple and came apart easily enough that we could stow it in our luggage and then put it together there. It was nice to have a place to set him down other than the bed or the portable crib the hotel had for us to use. We also found it to be very useful for keeping him occupied for a little while when we were eating at the restaurant.
By Sunday (day 3) he really seemed at ease with us and was getting pretty close to the schedule his fm said he followed. He was eating regularly and took a couple of really good naps and overall he just seemed in a good mood. He really is a good natured little guy and when he wasn't hungry or wet he was very content to just sit and play with his toys for a while. And he definitely likes to be held and to cuddle, especially when he's sleepy, and I was more than happy to spend good quality cuddle time! Sunday night he did get a whole lotta fussy as his first little tooth was coming in full force and we could see it poking out where there was only gums when we first met him. As irritable as this made him, we tried to look at it as a blessing that we were there with him to witness his first tooth coming in rather than think of it as bad luck that he was teething and cranky! We had a hard time getting him to sleep that night but thankfully I had brought along some baby Tylenol. Unfortunately we both had underestimated how difficult it can be to administer medication to a 5 month old who keeps spitting it out, but I think eventually we got him to swallow enough to help and he calmed down. That night he slept from 10pm until almost 7 the next morning, so finally all three of us had a good night’s sleep!

Sadly, Monday came along all too quickly and P came to the hotel to get him on Monday afternoon. We said our teary goodbyes and they reassured us that that he would be fine and that P cares for Cameron very much. She really seems like a sweet woman and it's so obvious that she and her son both love him. I sincerely hope we can keep in touch with them so that Cameron will have that tie to his birth country as he grows up. Giving him back and watching them walk out of the hotel was definitely the hardest thing we ever had to do. I can’t even describe the feeling, I get teary eyed just thinking about it now, but at least we know that he is in good hands. I only hope that the process goes very quick and smooth from here on out and we can bring him home very soon!

We're home with great news!

Hi everyone! We got home from Guatemala late last night after a wonderful visit with Cameron. He is so perfect in everyway and just the cutest, happiest little guy! We had such a great time with him and we are missing him so much right now. Leaving him was the hardest thing we have ever had to do, but I know that next time we see him he'll be ours forever!

I promise to share details of our trip when I have a little time to sit and type, but for now I'll just leave you with some good news...WE HAVE PRE-APPROVAL!! We should be in PGN very soon and hopefully we'll be in and out quickly! We're getting so close to bringing him home, I thought this day would never come!!

And we're off...

Our bags our packed...our nerves are frazzled...but I think we're as ready as we're ever going to be! It's time for our short nap and then we're off to the airport! I'm hoping for an uneventful flight and tomorrow at this time we should have our baby boy with us! I'm so excited!

Thanks for all the well-wishes, I'll talk to you when I get back!

Little things

Isn't it funny how some silly, seemingly insignificant thing can cause such an unexpected flood of emotion? I was doing laundry yesterday...not exciting, right? But instead of my normal underwear and socks, I was washing all the sweet little clothes I have accumulated over the past few months for Cameron and getting them all nice and fresh to take on our trip. And as I was folding a little footed sleeper (and realizing that I have no clue how to fold a footed sleeper properly), it suddenly dawned on me that I was doing laundry for my child! My baby is going to wear these clothes, the baby I have been waiting for almost 5 years for! This is actually happening, we are going to be parents at last! It was just this amazing emotional moment and I even got a little teary eyed. All this over footy pajama laundry. Wait until I have that little munchkin in my arms, I'm going to lose it!

We're going to Guatemala in 4 days!!

Pictures to tide you over...

I haven't had a chance to take pictures of the baby room to post yet, sorry! Before I do so I want to get things more organized in there and looking nice. Right now it just looks like the Target baby section exploded in there as I'm sorting through stuff for our trip! I'm also not exactly sure how well pictures will show the room, it is very small and might be tricky to get a good shot of but I'll try.

In the mean time, here are a few pictures of the quilt I'm working on that will go with the valances I made and the bumper pad, dust ruffle, and other accessories that are on my to-do list! I've been having a terrible time getting pictures posted on Blogger so we'll see how this goes!

Here is a full view of the quilt top. I wasn't sure I was going to like it when I started cutting but once I got everything put together I really love it!

Here is a close-up of one corner. I DO NOT know why this uploaded sideways as that is not the way I have the picture saved. Stupid computers!!

And here is a picture of the border fabric I used to make the valances, and this will also be used for the bumper pads. Again, the picture is sideways! Sorry about that, try not to get a neck cramp while looking at this!

A Surprise!

Just in case there was ever a doubt in my mind, today I was reminded of just how wonderful and generous the people I work with. My boss told me that she had picked up some ice cream bars during her errand running at lunchtime and we should all go down to the break room at around 2:30 for an afternoon snack. I really didn't think much of this because she's done this before, and it was a beautiful day today and perfect for ice cream. Anyway, the girls in my department and myself all headed down to the lunchroom at 2:30 and I was shocked to find that it was full of people! Almost everyone from my floor and a handfull that I work with from other departments, all there to surprise ME! They gave me a card full of money to help pay for our trip (I didn't think I was complaining about the airline ticket prices THAT much...) and there was a Dairy Queen cake to boot! It was amazing and I was so surprised, they really got me! I'm pretty sure that if I hadn't been so shocked I would have burst into tears, and after counting the money (discreetly, later on) I couldn't believe how generous everyone had been! So it was an awesome surprise and perfect timing since we have so much to buy for our trip right now!

Speaking of which, I am slowly accumulating all the things we need for the trip. I have known all along that kids aren't cheap, but after seeing how much the few necessities in my Target cart added up to I realized that my husband's beer money is going to be severely lessened very soon! ;) In case you didn't know, with the visit trip the foster mom only supplies us with the formula that we'll need while we have Cameron with us, but we have to have all the "baby stuff" like diapers and bottles, etc. I know we can purchase things once we are there if we need to, but I'm the type of person who likes to know that I have it all ahead of time so we don't have to scramble once we arrive. We'll be stressed enough as it is I think! But we're excited!!

In other news, we got the baby room all painted this weekend. We painted a bright green color which turned out a bit brighter than I had anticipated, but it's growing on me! It was a little obnoxious when there was nothing in the room to offset it, but now we have all the furniture in there and I have my valances on the windows and I like it a lot. My father will probably have a few words to say about it since he's a coloraphobe but he'll get over it!

And one more update since I haven't posted anything here for a while. Our official DNA paperwork has been submitted to the US Embassy in Guatemala so now we are awaiting pre-approval from them. We were told this will probably take about 3-4 weeks but I apparently the Embassy randomly investigates 20% of the cases that come through and if you're one of the lucky ones it takes a lot longer for pre-approval. I'm figuring with our luck so far we'll be one of those cases, so who knows how long this will take! At least things are moving along, slowly is better than not at all!

Just a little over a week and we're going to Guatemala!! Woo-hoo!

We booked our trip!

It's official, I booked our flight and hotel today and the agency confirmed our dates were ok with our attorney. We're going to Guatemala to meet our little boy! And we are going really soon!

We will fly out of Milwaukee on April 21st at 5:30AM (that will be a treat...), change planes in Atlanta and then arrive in Guatemala City around 11:45. They will bring Cameron to us at the hotel that afternoon and we'll have him all to ourselves until Monday sometime when they come pick him up (sniff, sniff), then we fly home Tuesday afternoon. We are super excited but at the same time slightly terrified! We will have a little time to talk to the foster mom about his eating and sleeping habits, likes and dislikes, etc., but after that we'll be left alone and clueless with a 5 month old! Let's hope all my old babysitting skills come back to me in a hurry!

So that's the quick scoop for tonight. It seems like we've been waiting forever to be able to go visit and now suddenly it's coming up so quickly! Lots to do...lots to pack...and a good reason to buy new fun baby clothes! ;)

DNA Results...FINALLY!

It's a match! I finally heard from someone at our agency today and they confirmed that we have a match. Whew...I was starting to get concerned with the lack of information. Our case worker went on vacation and informed us to contact another case worker in her absence...who apparently was ALSO ON VACATION!! She was back in the office today and e-mailed right away to apologize for the confusion. She spoke to the lab and we had results right away! Woo-hoo!

So now we are ok to book flight and hotel for our visit trip! We're still checking on travel dates but should know more soon. I'll keep you posted!