QUESTIONS ANSWERED BULLET STYLE

I've had several questions asked of me and I apologize that I haven't answered. I'm FINALLY feeling better.....My sinus infection is almost gone and I'm actually feeling somewhat caught up with sleeping. I slept like CRAPOLA in China....Not sure if it was because of the MUCH firmer mattress or just that my body never got used to China time, but I didn't sleep well while there at all. Then with the jet lag after returning home on top of that....I've felt like a walking zombie until probably yesterday. Alrighty, enough about me, here comes the answers to questions I've received:

• I was asked about Ava's silver bracelet that she was wearing in most of the pics in China. I bought it for her at a little shop near the White Swan Hotel. From what the shop owner told me, the silver bracelet with bells is very popular with Chinese babies. The bells will let you know where the baby is. Ava's bracelet has Chinese writing on it that says clever and loyal. Ava loved her bracelet in China, but now when you put it on her...She wants it off. She does the same thing when I put a hair clip in her hair. You can try and get her mind off the clip, but she ALWAYS reaches around until she pulls it out. When I got her dressed this morning, she reached up into her hair searching for a hair clip....I hadn't put one on her, but she was just checking to be sure. ;)



• We used the Babyhawk sling in China. We had decided to not do the stroller thing while we were there and went with a baby carrier instead. We really liked the Babyhawk (it's very comfortable), but it was so HOT in China that it was so uncomfortable to wear her in the carrier. It was easier just to carry her without a carrier. I would still recommend the Babyhawk....It's easy to use and it comes in many sassy colors!! ;) It took me FOREVER to final pick out the one I wanted.


• The agency that we used was Great*Wall*China*Adoption. I had been a bit upset with them, because I thought they were a little slow in getting us to China, but once they got us there.....Everything was wonderful. I don't know how much of that is because of the agency or because of our guide, but everything went smoothly. Veronica was on top of everything there and everything was so well organized. I had always heard that GW*CA shines during the China trip and for us, that was true. Veronica was the BEST!


• Ava is almost walking. She can pull herself up to stand (without assistance) and will walk while holding on to our hand. She also loves to walk behind her baby stroller. I'm quite certain in the next month she will have the walking thing down.


• Ava went to the doctor today for her first visit. She is 22 pounds and is almost 32 inches tall. The doctor thought she was very healthy and said she looked like she was well taken care of in China. My poor baby did have to have 3 shots today. The doctor has decided to re-do all the vaccinations that she had in China. Many times the vaccinations are watered down and he felt that it was best to re-do everything. =(


• Ava is back to sleeping 11 hours at night and taking a nap during the day! I can usually lay her down in her crib and she might cry for a minute or two and then she falls asleep. She will suck on her wrist when she is tired. She always wakes up with a smile on her face in the morning! I did blow up a aero bed mattress on her floor in case I needed to sleep in there with her, but so far she has been fine to sleep alone in her room.


• Ava is charming each and everyone that she meets. It takes her a bit to warm up to you, but when she does.....She has a smile that will melt your heart.
  

My girl just woke up from her nap. If anyone has any other questions, just leave me a comment and I'll answer them just as soon as I can. I'm happy to answer any travel questions too!!