Guangzhou and Medical Exam

Well...we made it to Guangzhou late last night after an hour delay in the airport because we had no plane and another 30 minute delay on the tarmac because of an emergency landing. Amelia was restless in the airport, but the snacks we brought really helped with that. We gave her a bottle when we were settled on the plane thinking we would be taking off quickly. Unfortunately, the bottle was almost empty when we began to take off. The noise of the engines scared Amelia making her scream and cry. Since it was close to bedtime, I knew that she was probably tired, so I gave her a blanket, put her on my shoulder, and patted her until she fell asleep. She slept for about an hour on the plane and woke up in a good mood. We fed her rice and snacks until we landed. She was a trooper. By the time we got our luggage and met one of our guides, it was WAY past bedtime. We got settled into the hotel, and Amelia refused to sleep. Se did everything to keep herself awake. I knew that she was overstimulated from the flight, airport, and new environment, but I really wanted her to fall asleep. Finally at about 11:30, she went to sleep. I would love to have let her sleep until she woke up, but we had to meet our guide at 9:30 in the lobby and we needed breakfast before that. I was putting clothes on her at 8:30 this morning when she woke up. She was not happy about it. We went to breakfast and met two other Lifeline families. We will be a group this week and tour together.

Amelia had her medical exam appointment this morning. We were anxious about how this would go because we have heard about long lines. The lines were very short, and we were able to go through the stations pretty quickly (around an hour). First, Amelia had her visa photo taken. Then, she was seen by a doctor who checked her body. He discovered two areas on the top of her back that looked like fresh bug bites. We did not notice them this morning when dressing her, so we were a little puzzled. Everything else with him checked out fine. He wanted to know more about her developmental delays and commented that they seemed mild. Next, we went to the ENT. Everything checked out. We were then sent to the nurses station for weighing and measuring. Amelia currently weighs 20 pounds and is 27.5 inches long. That was it. She did not need a TB test because of her age and there were no shots. :) Once everyone was finished, we headed back to the hotel.

At the hotel, the moms met for a paperwork meeting. I left David and a screaming baby to attend the meeting. David was able to get Amelia to sleep after about 15-20 minutes. After the paperwork was complete, it was time for us all to go to lunch. Once again, we had to wake Amelia up to go. We went to a wonderful authentic Chinese restaurant. We had a nice mix of items and ate family style with a huge lazy Susan. There was plenty for everyone. After lunch, we went to a local supermarket for supplies and came back to the hotel. Once at the hotel, we changed Amelia's diaper and noticed that the "bug bites" were spreading. They were now on her wrists. We let her crawl around the room and have a snack. She had a dirty diaper that required a bath. While undressing her, we noticed that the places were now all over her arms and legs. None have shown up on her stomach and the ones on her back had faded almost away. We realize that she probably had hives. I put her in the bathtub and gave her some Benadryl. It was a good time to see what kind of reaction she would have from the medicine. It made her sleepy within 45 minutes. She refused a bottle and after a lot of crying and fighting sleep, fell asleep in my arms. The hives have faded a good bit and the areas are now slightly red. David and I have been over and over what could have caused it. We wonder if it was the carpet in the room that her legs and arms would have touched while she crawled around or if it could have been the stroller the hotel let us use. We will watch her tonight and if all is clear, we will let her crawl around the floor and see if it happens again. If they do not clear, we will take her to the international clinic in the hotel to see what they think. We have a busy shopping day tomorrow, and it would be great if Amelia was healthy. If you have any thoughts about this, please email me.

Here are a few pictures to share.