A Little News About Molly

I got an email recently from my agency in response to some inquiries I had made about Molly's health and development. This is what I received:

Thyroid tests are normal, but she is still anemic (fairly typical, though, for orphanage babies). Weight is 7.2 kg, height 66.5 cm.
She crawls but can't sit yet, passes objects from hand to hand, bangs objects together, grasps.

That's 2' 2" and 16 lbs for us older folks.

I have done some digging around the internet and found a map of where her orphanage is - I attached the Google Map to the sidebar. She is actually in a small village a bit north of the Vung Tau resort area - inland from the beaches. The village name is Ba Ria, and the Province is also called Ba Ria-Vung Tau. I couldn't find very much about the village - it seems to be quite small, and gets by-passed on the way to Vung Tau. I'll have to wait until I'm there to get some pictures.

P.S. I bought 4 CDs of children's music for Molly today. It makes me happy :)

Not a lot to say

I haven't posted anything for quite a while, because there is not much going on. There was some upsetting news from Vietnam over the Christmas holidays - resulting in more delays. The Vietnam government no longer allows parents to travel early and take their children out of the orpanages. They have also asked for more paperwork from Canada - which takes time to arrange.

Then there is Tet - February 14th. The country shuts down for about 2 weeks to celebrate, so my file will not progress during this time. So now I know I will not be travelling before the last week of February at least. And who knows how much longer after that?

I remember following a blog of another waiting mom a year or two ago. I noticed that when she was in this stage of the wait, her postings were dismal. Negative, sad, emotional and hard to read. Now I understand. It's hard to believe how much you can miss a child you have never met.

So, time to think of the positive:

1. I was able to spend New Year's at the cabin with my friends. Unfortunately, I got sick and slept through New Year's Eve, but I had a few days to visit and play with the kids. There's nothing better than that!
2. If we travel in March/April, then my nephew might be on spring break and Easter holidays - and he will miss less school.
3. I will be here for the Olympics. There are lots of events and celebrations I can take part in, even though I didn't buy any tickets to any sporting events.
4. I have more time to get ready for Molly's arrival. I have to do more baby-proofing, as she will be more mobile and maybe even walking by the time we get home. Plus, I still haven't painted her closet.

And the last best thing about waiting - I spend more time shopping for toys for Molly. It makes me feel better!