Goa- Wednesday 3/30/2011 10:00 am

     This morning we had success! Sajel actually ate rice cereal!  I was starting to worry she was only going to have bread, water and mango lassi (yes- she loves the mango lassi)! Oh the small things... :) Since my last update, things are looking much better. She finally is eating (a little), drinking, peeing, and pooping; no temps and she is staying awake much more. She still sleeps beautifully at night :) ! Last night, I put her in the pea pod (like a childs tent with a cusion) and she slept very well- no fussing at all.
     Yesterday, we went to the store, the beach, and the pool. I dipped her feet in the pool the other day (which did NOT go well) but she got in with me yesterday. She still was clingy, but she eventually fell asleep while we sat in the water. At the beach, she walked with her feet in the water. She cried some, but did sit with me in the sand and tolerated it fairly well. The sand was like powder- soo beautiful. The ocean was soo warm- like a bath. We also bought a few souveneirs from beach vendors- my husband haggled in true Indian fashion!
     Sajel is starting to act like a toddler now- she threw quite the temper tantrum the other night! She has some animal finger puppets (from Aunty Jodie) that she LOVES! She sits and plays with them a lot. She is very clingy with me and is acting scared of Marcus. She had no real contact with men before :( . Today, I am going to lounge by the pool for awhile and leave her alone with him. I hope she will start to realize he's an ok guy!
     I hope this finds you all well....Love, Sajel's Mom

Day 3....part 2

     The doctor came and gave a prescription for an antibiotic and cough syrup. He was very kind and kept telling me "don't be tense, it's ok". He said she just has a chest cold and basically said to keep giving plenty of fluids. She is sipping on some 7 up and nibbled a small amount of bread. She is staying awake more today and stares at the TV like her Uncle Steve! Today we will just relax and stay put. Marcus is tempted to join a ping pong tournament later. He's SURE he can win!

Day 3

    Yesterday was a tough day. Sajel had fevers all morning and none of us got much sleep. We headed for the airport around 8:30 and poor Marcus had the pleasure off lugging all of our luggage around J . Sajel’s first plane ride was fairly smooth. She sleeps well with a lot of noise and motion! Back in Delhi, we had to pick up the luggage and re-check it (again, poor Marcus), then back through security. By now it was around noon, and Sajel still was spiking fevers and refusing food. I was able to get her to eat some apple after awhile. She would chew the pieces up, suck the juice, and then hand me the pulp J ! I was starting to get very concerned, because she wasn’t using the bathroom again. She slept through the entire second plane ride (and so did we!). We arrived in Goa around 5pm, caught a taxi, and headed towards the condo. On the ride there, Sajel started vomiting and was very miserable. When we arrived, I had the pleasure of changing a diaper that was full of stool and urine and had leaked all over her clothes (meanwhile, I was still wearing her vomit on my shirt J).  After we got to our room, Marcus went and asked them to send a doctor- we are waiting on him to come now. Sajel has since urinated a few times and is drinking plenty, but the only food she had last night was a banana (which I had to force feed her). I am a little worried because of the frequent temperatures. She is cutting a few teeth, but I think she has a GI bug (better safe than sorry). After torturing her with the banana, I gave her another bath…oh she was NOT happy! She cried, I cried, and then we were ok J. We all slept well last night and Sajel is having a nap now.

The BIG day :)

We finally got to meet Sajel on March 24th around 12:20pm. Boy does she have a set of lungs! She was not quite as happy to see us as we were to see her, but she settled down quickly enough. She is very attatched to her house mother and has been running a fever with some congestion for the last couple of days....so she wasn't feeling her best. After I picked her up, she cried for a minute and then held on for dear life  :)  One by one, all the other kids at the orphanage came in  and gathered around. They were all very interested in my toe nail polish (I had a french manicure), but their attention was quickly diverted by Marcus' phone and the digital camera! We spent some time walking around the facility and meeting all the house mothers as well as taking lots of pictures. The kids were thrilled to play photographer for us and also posed for a lot of pictures. There are approximately 125 kids (of all ages) at the orphanage and they are all much loved.We were also able to take some photos for some waiting families. During all of this, Sajel just held on tight and had an occasional cry. We met the "Big Auntie" (the lady who runs the place); we asked her some questions and she had a few for us as well. We left with Sajel after very little paper work or formality. All the  kids were waving goodbye as we drove away (sniff, sniff). Sajel slept most of the afternoon and evening. She had a temperature and was refusing drink or food. I actually started forcing some apple juice and water down her. We all slept through our first night together, with me waking up every few hours :) The next morning I started to really worry because she hadn't soiled her diaper ( the nurse in me had her in renal failure!). Finally, after more juice I felt better to finally have a wet diaper to change! Today she seems a little better, but still isn't really eating much. She is getting more and more comfortable with us, although you can tell she is scared
 :(  We took a trip to the Big Bizare (Indian Walmart) today and purchased some formula, cereal and diapers and took them to the orphanage. Big Auntie was very impressed with our quick return with supplies! Now we are resting in our room and preparing to leave for Goa in the morning. Wishing you all well.....Sajel's Mom :)

Traveling...

     We managed to make it here finally! The long flight (New York to Dubai) wasn't bad at all. I watched some movies, slept, watched some more movies, ate, slept, ect. I loved my first cab ride in India! There are definately no rules on the road here, except don't hit the cows :) I took a short nap when we reached our hotel (ok- it was 3 hours) and then enjoyed some dahl and naan. We will be leaving for Orissa in the morning and will finally see Sajel!

The day before...

Today I am already packed and waiting. Nerves are definately setting in and I have lots of energy! I am anxious about the 13 plus hour plane ride and hoping ADD doesn't set in. (I don't even sit through 2 hour movies well). I am starting this blog to share my experience with everyone I love. Many of you have been patiently waiting for Sajel as long as we have......and now starts the journey to bring her home.