A Family of 5

Yup, that's us: Daddy, Mommy, Li'l Miss, Li'l Man, and Li'l Dude.  A family of 5.  
(Yes, Li'l Dude is completely sad and terrified in this picture.)

This Gotcha Day was very different than last week in Shanghai.  We met Li'l Dude at the Guangdong Province Civil Affairs Office.  There were 18 other families there adopting children from different orphanages in this province.  We got there first and were able to meet Li'l Dude before things got really crazy.  (Thank goodness for our guide, Becky, who is the Punctuality Nazi.)

Here's Li'l Dude coming out to meet us with his nanny.

Even though I've only known him for about 7 hours, I can tell that our Li'l Dude has had a rough start to his life.  He's tiny.  He'll be 20 months old tomorrow, and they brought him to us in a sleeper that is size 6-9 months.  As you can see, it fits him just fine.  He's also sick.  He has a fever of 100.8, and he was crying and miserable when we got him this afternoon.  

We met the director of Li'l Dude's orphanage and one of his nannies.  He comes from a small orphanage about 4-5 hours away from the provincial capital (where we are staying).  We were able to ask them some questions before they left to return to the orphanage.  Jeremy asked if Li'l Dude received affection - hugs, kisses, cuddles - in the orphanage.  They said, "No."

Break.  My.  Heart.  How could someone not want to cuddle my sweet peanut?

They also told us that Li'l Dude doesn't take a bottle but can eat from a spoon or cup with no problem.  We discovered that our little guy doesn't seem to know how to eat.  He opens his mouth so you can dump food in but doesn't close his mouth around the spoon.  Once the food is in his mouth, he just sort of swishes it around and swallows.  

We're giving Li'l Dude a bottle because he needs the nutrients (and the cuddles).  We had to cut a bigger hole in the nipple because he was struggling to suck anything out.  We put a washcloth over his chest, and Jeremy half squeezed the formula into his mouth.

It's scary to be handed a child that is teeny and terrified and feverish.  But I have no doubt that Li'l Dude belongs to us.  I have no doubt that he will grow and thrive and reach his fullest potential because he's part of a family now.  He's a son, a grandson, a nephew, a cousin, and a little brother.  He is loved.  He is ours.  Forever.

I can't tell you how thankful I am that our Li'l Dude will never sleep in an orphanage again.  I wish we could have come for him months ago.  I wish he had never been without us. 

There are 49 other children living in Li'l Dude's orphanage.  No one came for them today.  Meeting Li'l Dude makes me want to start this whole crazy journey again tomorrow.  I hope it makes some of you want to do the same.

And, yes, Li'l Dude does have a name.  (You totally thought I forgot, didn't you?)  Our baby boy is officially Hudson Gabriel.