Finally an Update--Home 2 weeks

Well, first of all, I apologize for leaving you hanging. We did receive Pearl's visa and made it home safely from China. She had her first major meltdown at LAX. I think she was a bit airsick from the 13 hour flight and she refused to walk. We had been waiting for Chloe's stroller to appear in the luggage carousel for an hour and a half and we finally decided to ditch it since we had the rest of our luggage. Many of the other passengers were still waiting for their luggage. Now, how to transport our luggage and two toddlers who cannot walk out of the airport and on to the shuttle to our car. I carried Chloe and we stacked Pearl on top of the luggage on one of the airport carts. As we left the secure area, Pearl screamed and kicked hysterically as we made our way out of the airport. Everyone was staring wide eyed. We finally found the shuttle and made our way to our truck, ready with two carseats. Pearl didn't mind the carseat too much, but she did manage to throw up at some point on the way home.

Jetlag, colds and coughs kept us all staying close to home and out of touch with most of the world for the past two weeks. Pearl became a little more moody and pouty for the first 10 or 12 days home. Now she is getting back to the happy smiley girl we met in China. Her first visit to the doctor lasted 4.5 hours and she was tested for everything. Her Chinese American pediatrician thinks she has asthma and she was prescribed several medications. The way health insurance works here is you cannot add your adopted child to the policy until they are here physically. It takes several days to update the records. I added Pearl after 5 days home. Day 8 we went to the doctor's and it wasn't enough time to get her in the system. Well, I managed to get her to her appointment, and to the lab for bloodwork and to the radiologist for her lung x-rays. The only place that wouldn't accept her temporary records was the pharmacist. They said I would have to pay for the medicine now and then be reimbursed later. Well, I thought, no big deal, I can fork out a couple of hundred dollars and then we can go home. Turns out the medicine bill was nearly $500 for Pearl's prescriptions, UGH! So I did what any good mother would do, I carefully explained the situation and then nearly broke down into tears. I wasn't going home without that medicine. I guess the worker took pity on me and made a few phone calls. After another 20 minutes, she got approval to manually enter Pearl's records into the computer.

Jetlag with two toddlers is quite the experience. For 9 or 10 days, both girls woke up every night between midnight and 2 AM and did not go back to bed until 6 AM (for a couple of hours). It was miserable and I thought we would never get back on track. I kept their daytime naps to a minimum and kept them outside during the daylight, but it still took a long time to get back on schedule. Now, both girls are going to bed at an appropriate time and sleeping through the night. We are also just about over the bedtime tears.

I have been sick with cold-like symptoms ever since my second week in China, so now that I have Pearl taken care of, it was my turn to go to the doctor's. I have been so tired, mostly due to a persistent cough that becomes so intense, it causes me to vomit. They checked me for everything from TB to Valley Fever. It is probably allergies, but after 8 colds this past year, I really need them to check me out thoroughly and give me some relief before I go back to work full time in another week. The good news is Pearl is doing better and Chloe and Pete are also doing well.