I have finally reached the point of getting to keep all of you posted on my adoption process. It's certainly been a long, bumpy road for me, and I'm thrilled to be at this point.
On October 22, I got THE call from my adoption agency that I was matched up with a little boy in China. His Chinese name is Qian Xiuzhuang - Qian (pronounced 'jian' for the city in which he was born (Qianjing), and Xiuzhuang because it's a nice name (according to the report I received :) I've decided to name him Max Qian Christiansen.
Max was born on December 28, 2007. He was found at the Civil Affairs Bureau of Qianjing district of Chongqing City on January 1, 2008, and was sent to the Social Welfare Center of Qianjiang District fo Chongqing City, his current orphanage.
Here is a map of China and the municipality of Chongqing.
SWC of Qianjiang is about 8 hours drive from Chongqing City. It's a big building that sits on top of a hill, and looks quite mysterious! In 2006, it took in as many as 200 children, 160 of who were 10 months or younger. I'm not sure how many babies it holds today. There is usually a 15:1 children to caretaker ratio, 8:1 for babies. Because of its large numbers, it has also established a foster care system, where local families take in up to 4 babies.
Here are some pictures of the orphanage:
Here is the front of the orphanage.
Babies sleeping.
Babies in these walkers. Anything familiar about the picture on the wall? (Same one Max posed on for his 7 month picture!)
When Max and I got matched up, they sent me a report from the orphanage of what Max's life has been like for the past several months. He has a routine that involves normal sleep and eating habits, and according to officials, he has normal physical and mental development.
As you can see, Max has a cleft lip and palate, and I'm finding out a lot about the different levels of surgeries that area available these days. Children's Hospital in Seattle is a fabulous place that is well known for repairing cleft lip and palates. Find out more about this condition here. We'll see a craniofacial team at Children's as soon as we return home.
Speaking of taveling, I'm not quite sure when we'll be heading over to China, but it looks to be between mid-January and March. I don't think we'll actually travel to Qianjiang, but will meet Max in Chongqing. Maybe a trip to his birthplace is one for the future. Lots to do between now and then. I'll be traveling with my friend Carolyn, who, besides being a most amazing friend, will keep me organized and focused!! I couldn't do this without her!
So, hopefully I'll get to write another update very soon.
Stay tuned!
:) Jessi
