Gotcha Trip Part 2- Moscow

The train ride was... interesting.... ;) Same tiny compartment with an extra little person.  First we grabbed a bite to eat on the dining car- Lina has been all about the starches and not wanting any meats or veggies... which actually wasn't so bad to see.  Oftentimes, newly adopted kids will gorge themselves with anything and everything in sight as quickly as possible since they were pretty much starved at the orphanage and had to eat fast to be sure no one else took it.  This definitely wasn't the case with Lina.  I took her for lunch at the hotel restaurant while we were waiting on Mike at the bank- and the dish I ordered her was GINORMOUS.  Huge plate full of meat, potatoes, and vegetables- and all she was really interested in was the potatoes.  And she took appropriate bites and ate at a nice pace.  Definitely good to see.  She stopped when she was finished- leaving quite a bit of food (including potatoes) behind. :)  She did this on the train also- ate her rice and that was about it.  But had plenty of Cheerios and Goldfish crackers when we got back to our cabin.

Sleep on the train- our first experience getting Lina to sleep.  From what I saw back in the hotel room as she played with her babydolls- bedtime at the orphanage was quite traumatic and abusive.  And now that it is time to go to sleep- Lina cried out, looking quite afraid.  It took about an hour- and tucking all three of us in... Lina laying against my hip so she knew I wasn't going anywhere, and Mike directly in sight across from her.  I believe she was afraid we would leave after she fell asleep and the night staff would come in. :( She did sleep through the night after she let herself fall asleep, and we had to wake her in the morning when we arrived in Moscow.

We were first told that upon our arrival to our hotel in Moscow- a doctor would promptly meet us there for her embassy exam.  All children being adopted need to be examined by an embassy approved doctor to be cleared to enter the United States- making sure she's not bringing any serious, contagious viruses into the country like tuberculosis etc.  Well, when we met our facilitator at the train station, he informed us the physician who typically meets at the hotel to give the exam was out that day and we would have to take her to the health clinic later in the day.  No biggie.

We get settled into our hotel room- Lina had fun playing dress up with my coat (upside down but don't dare try to take it off her to fix it) and Mike's shoes. ;)  And yes, that is Sponge Bob on in the background- we had limited children's programming. LOL

In the car to or from the medical exam- the more time we spent with her, the more alive this little girl was becoming.

In the car she started smothering me with hugs and kisses- absolutely new! Whenever we visited Lina at the orphanage she was always very reserved, displaying no signs of affection and gave no real genuine smiles.  This has all been changing now that she is out of that environment and with us. :)

Medical exam went pretty well- the most traumatic part was getting Lina's clothes off.  The doctor explained that these children don't want to part with their new, beautiful clothes, especially since while in the orphanage- they have no ownership.  Everything is shared community property.  He advised us to lay her clothes where she can see them when she goes to bed so she knows they are still there.  He was very nice, but did make one error we would find out later.... he told us her rash did not appear to be scabies.  He said it looked like dermatitis most likely caused by too many antibiotics prescribed for every little thing, and would be worse if she ate red/orange vegetables as well as citrus.  This made sense to us since her referral we originally received from the orphanage stated the dermatitis and that she was allergic to carrots. We trusted his opinion but found out later it was in fact scabies.  Oops.  Yep, Mike and I got it too since we shared a bed with her. The only way she would sleep was laying against/between us in the king bed.  There was still crying the first night, as well as every time she was ready to drift off for a nap during the day.  The moment she was ready to fall asleep she would get right up and put her shoes back on, refusing to go to sleep.  We didn't push for naps during the day, but were more insistent at night.  The second night she got to sleep without any tears.

Friday, the 20th, we had our appointment at the US Embassy to get Polina's visa- her official permission to travel to the US. :)  All went very smoothly there also- we were there about 2 hours which went by fairly quickly, especially with the aid of our trusty Cheerios/Goldfish. We met a few other adoptive families there, and it was lovely to talk to other Americans!

Saturday the 21st- HOMEBOUND!!  Taken at the airport in Moscow upon departure :) We had quite the traffic jam on the way, and Mike and I were sweating bullets, praying we wouldn't miss our flight!! Thankfully we got there in plenty time.  Whew!

Lina was SO good throughout all our travels- even on the 10 hour flight! She kept herself occupied with the in flight magazines, headphones (more fun plugging and unplugging them than actually watching the Muppets), coloring, and of course eating Cheerios and Goldfish. ;) She tried snuggling in to sleep several times but that lasted about 2 seconds and then she wanted her shoes back on etc... but did finally crash the last 2 hours of the flight.

Long line to get through customs in the airport- Lina was quiet as a mouse in her stroller.  Greeted by a few friends <3 SO nice of them to come out and welcome Lina to the United States!!  Waited for our shuttle to get back to our car- and as soon as I belted her into her car seat- she gave me this huge smile.  It's like she knew this was a brand new start to a new life full of endless possibilities.  We love you SO much, little girl!! xoxoxo