Day 3 - Orphanage Visit and Medical Exam

A busy day today.  We started early as Miss Lauren decided to wake up at 5:30 am.  By the time it was breakfast time, she was fussy.  Today was a big day because we visited the orphanage.  I wanted to go back to see where she had lived for two years and to take pictures for her in the future.  The orphanage was one hour and 10 minutes away by car.  The Dongguan orphanage has a very nice facility, but I was somewhat shocked in the conditions of her day to day living environment.  I thought I came prepared, but it was still a bit shocking.  There are 15 babies in her area and they are taken care by a husband and wife team who lives on the floor with them.  Dongguan is a big city, so finding nannies are difficult as they prefer to work in the factories.  There are about 800 children in the Dongguan orphanage.  They just opened up a preschool program sponsored by an organization in the states.  Unfortunately Lauren was too young to participate.  They need to be 2.5 or have special needs. 

We were greeted by one of the vice directors.  Lauren wanted nothing to do with her and clung to me the whole time.  She gave us a tour and we went to the floor where Lauren has lived the last 2 years of her life.  We were met by the male nanny as the wife was off doing something today.  He did have a helper helping him since his wife was out.  We were warned by our guide that Lauren may not go to the nannies when we got there.  I thought that for sure she would go to them judging from how she clung to them they day they met.  When we got to her floor she definitely did not like being there and pushed him away when he tried to interact with her. 

We were shown her bed, which is nothing more than a metal crib with a board as a mattress.  There was a blanket on the bed as well.  There were no toys and no organized activities.  The nannies have their hands full taking care of just basic needs.  It was close to lunch time so he was feeding the babies one at a time.  This explains why Lauren does not know how to hold a spoon or feed herself.  All the kids are spoonfed a rice mixture and given formula in the bottle.  We bought one of her formula canisters and figured out that they were giving her a watered down version.  They said to put 4 scoops to 8 oz of water.  However we figured out t the instructions say to put 8 oz for 8 oz of water.  Dad made her a thicker one tonight and she guzzled it down!

Once we finished our tour we headed back to the hotel since we had to take visa photos, do the medical examination, get her TB test, and apply for her passport.  Lauren definitely did not like this process.  I think she was exhausted from the drive to the orphanage plus she did not get a nap.  She would not cooperate with any of the exams.  She screamed and wailed.  I had to hold her down for each of the exam.  Poor baby was not a happy camper at all!

We are back to the room and decided it was enough of a day for her.  So dad went to get us takeout food while Lauren and I stayed in the room.  After a nap and dinner she was back to her sweet self.  She is really blossoming fast.  She is not speaking yet, but started babbling today.  She has the sweetest little voice.  She is also starting to figure out what to do with the toys.  Tonight she learned how to kiss her baby doll.  

Tomorrow is a shopping day.  We are going to Shamien Island.  Hopefully Lauren will be cooperative as she really needs some shoes!