Michelle & I took a hospital tour for free goodies. They demonstrated the sonogram equip. and Michelle volunteered. This is what we saw!
Posted by Zeus

A present for Tenley. The highly coveted, rarely seen Barbie Airplane. She will get this in a couple of years for Christmas. In the meantime, Michelle will play with it. 

Braxton Hicks

Braxton Hicks contractions are what is often referred to in the world of maternity as "false labor". These are the ones that prompt expectant mommies to wake their peacefully slumbering husbands at 3 am and say "Honey! It's time!!" so they can race to the hospital only to come home a few hours later no closer to giving birth than they were a few days ago. The thing about Braxton Hicks is that it's often very difficult for 1st time mommies to know the difference between these and the real thing.

We are having the adoption version of Braxton Hicks.

At around 10pm last night Jeff and I were comfortably ensconsed in a booth at the Gordon Biersh Brewery in Burbank happily chatting away with my sorority sister Kim who was in CA on business when Jeff's cell phone rang. I presumed it was Jeff's best friend Kevin calling to tell us that some other tragedy had befallen the guard shack at the Ball Gate of Disneyland, but no- it was my Mom. Mom wanted to know if we had read the message boards for our adoption agency; but since we were still in Burbank it was clear we had not. Mom follows our message boards with a fervor that is usually only seen in women who have followed a particular soap opera since they were 12. Having determined that our social life has put us out of the loop, she drops the bomb: Group 101 got their first call. Jeff's jaw is hanging open, and Kim says my eyes were huge. Oh no. Our timeline has begun shrinking before our eyes. You look confused. I'll explain:

The avarage time from DTC to referral is 6-8 months. Referral to travel is 2 days to 6 weeks. Group 99 recieved their 1st call "late" at 7 months. Group 100 was "on time" at 6 months, and both groups are expecting their referrals next week for an expected travel date of Feb 25th. Now group 101 has their first call (at 5 months), and their referrals may arrive next week as well. It is proposed that they will either travel with 99 & 100 or within 1 week of them. That only leaves 1 group, #102, ahead of us!! This could shorten our wait time by as much as 2 months- we could be in China in April!

BUT these are Braxton Hicks: 101 was not expecting first call until Feb, but we presume that China pushed to get their referrals done early since the entire country is about to go on vacation for Chinese New Year. There may be a small backlog when they return, and we might only lose 1 month. They may issue nothing at all in Feb, and that would put us all back on schedule with Group 102 being notified in March. In order for us to be there in April, we would have to be combined with Group 102 and recieve notification in Feb or early March. But there is already a rumor on the boards that the CCAA will no longer be combining groups. So whether it's "false labor" or not remains to be seen. I think I'll start practicing my breathing exercises just in case.

"Stay on Target"...."Almost There"

Last week, Groups 99 & 100 got their first call! They are so excited. After what seemed like an unbearable wait for some of them, they now have the news that referrals have been made to their groups. They expect to get their second calls late this week or early next. That call will tell them that they have a child. Then they can then get their photo and documents from USAA. Their third call will be the Travel call. The rumor is they will travel at the end of February.

Group 99 was a month late in getting their call and group 100 was on time. Only groups 101 & 102 left before it's our turn. Group 101 should, theoretically, get their first call in February. Group 102 would then get their first call in March and we would be on schedule for April with travel in late May or June. I'm not sure how any of these other groups think that this is taking way too long. From where I sit, time is flying by at a ridiculous speed. Anyway, that's all the news there is for now. More soon....

New Year...Nothing New! - 1/03/2005

In our last post we mentioned that our referral could possibly come very early and that travel might be sometime in late spring. Turns out that was nothing more than a Halloween scare. Looks like we are still on track for late spring referral and possible travel in June. Many people ask all the time what is happening. I always tell them the same thing...Nothing New. We are in the long waiting period. Of course, long is relative. To a couple who has been trying to have a child for many years unsuccessfully, this waiting period can be unbearable. To us, who have not even tried once to have a child, the wait seems just fine. In fact, we are so busy that time seems to fly right by. We are now really only about 6 months away and there is so much to do that the time will be gone before we know it.

As it stands now, group 98, 100p and 101p are going to travel around January 12th. Group 99 is waiting for referrals now and will probably travel sometime in February. We are group 103 so there are only a couple in front of us. We still have to figure out what to do with all of our stuff that is currently in Tenley's room. We have to figure out where everything should go in the room and this will also involve rearranging our bedroom and the living room as well. On top of all that, there is work and more work at Disneyland. So 6 months doesn't seem all that bad. Anyway, that's the update for now. More coming soon!

For those of you who want to read another adoptive family's story go to: www.maggiemakesfour.blogspot.com

This is an excellent blog by a northern California couple who just adopted their second little girl from China.