Matteo Bao

I started this post on my birthday and hope to finish tonight if I can...Matteo and I have had a exhausting couple of days..we just got back from Saigon (HCMC) a couple of hours ago and the little one is asleep...but there was no schedule today and though he was a trouper, he was exhausted and so was I and he sure can scream...

We managed to get through the paperwork but in all honesty, Loan our terrific agency representative does most of it...she guides us through what's happening but is so good at what she does that she keeps things very organized....We came to Ho Chi Minh City yesterday in order to begin the first stage of the last bit of paperwork...I took the ferry from Vungtau with Matteo but it was not a great experience...he was just looking at everything which is great as he is so curious but also too much stimulation and there was a television screen and a fan side by side...he kept watching the television, trying to catch the air of the fan and trying to take the cellphone from the person next to us....he sure likes tech toys already..

...anyhow I thought he would sleep, but he didn't so when we arrived in Saigon, later than I thought we were already behind schedule....we made it to the hotel but only had time to change Matteo and feed him and head to the doctor's...we went to the same clinic where Matteo had his medical in August...We did not see doctor Jonathan as he was sick himself so saw one of his colleagues....Matteo now weighs 6.1 kg...but is now at the 3rd percentile...I had instructions to start giving him different kinds of foods to fatten him up....we were there about his cold and also because the day before Matteo had a fever and sure enough he still had a border line fever...could be a fever or not.......the doctor wasn't worried...could be the cold or that he is teething...the good news was that his chest was clear, though his nose wasn't...He was perscribed some saline spray for his nose...which I am having trouble using...but will continue to try...if his fever rises then and especially when we are travelling home, I am to give him some of the medicine to bring it down..

..after our appt. Lea was waiting for us and we went to the coffee shop next door where Lea and her aunt remembered it was my birthday and treated me to my first iced vietnamese coffee..it was wonderfull..we were waiting for Loan and she arrived with a second surprise, a cake..THANKS LOAN...in the photos above but unfortunately we were not able to share it then because we had two appts to head to...one at the Notary office in order to notarize the translated adoption documents that we will use in Canada...and the second was to apply for Matteo Bao's Vietnamese passport...this office was so crowded and it is where we spent a lot of time...afterwards everyone was exhausted...we all headed back to the hotel, all by cab and as many of you know the traffic, rush hour was even heavier than usual...was so glad to get to the hotel..

...and after feeding and changing Matteo he fell fast asleep....I instead poured over info. on the hotel and could not find the number to call room service...finally Lea rescued me from this moment of panic and told me who to call...after I ate of course we were all planning to meet ot share the cake but everyone was tired...so instead I lit the candles...really did not have to make a birthday wish because I already received the wish and
the best birthday present ever...my son...Matteo Bao...
.. though I did make a special wish hoping that there is a seat on an earlier flight...will keep you posted on that..but at the moment all that is available is on the 5th but as far as Toronto...would have to wait for the 6th to travel home to Ottawa and not sure if the extra traffic is worth it...anyhow will see..

Anyhow after a good night's sleep on Wed. morning, I unfortunately had to wake Matteo from his morning nap in order to head to another coffee shop to meet Loan so that we could go to the Canadian consolate to request Matteo's Canadian passport...and once again Loan had everything organized...this did not take long...Lea and I then decided to have lunch at the hotel..good food, and unfortunately Matteo was having a rough time...My carrier is too warm for him and I'm sure that is not helping his mood...so after a difficult 45 minutes we headed to the ferry where once again for Matteo there was too much stimulus such that he could not get himself to sleep...I hope to not have to take that ferry again...I will instead take a taxi from Vungtau to HCMC..which I will do a couple of nights before my flight...I would highly recommend staying in Vungtau should you be coming this way however if you are doing so for adoption..and need to get to saigon I would recommend stretching it over 3 days...the city is amazing but for a little one and for a new mom still getting used to the needs of her little boy, it was too much to try to do in 2 days....but the important thing is that the final bit of paper work is now done and we now await the passports which should be in anytime from the 1st to the 3rd..hence why I am hoping to travel home on the 4th..

Anyhow Matteo was exhausted..did not want food or drink and went directly to sleep..

The real purpose of this post was to respond to questions my neice Madeline had about Matteo...it is now Friday and I am hoping again to finish this today.....so about Matteo, he is definitely a curious child, hope I can post a few photos of him playing and trying to turn the pages of one of the books I brought "you are my I love you" from Aunt Marsha and "A Mother for Choco" Those in the adoption community will recognize that one...it was the first story I read to him....I made the choice to adopt him and hope one day that he too will chose to adopt me....anyhow he has dimples, I happily discovered this when I made him laugh by bouncing him off my belly and raising him up and down and bouncing ...he LOVES that, but hard to take a photo when both my hands are busy..he loves to twirl my hair when he is drinking his bottle,sometimes he twirls and sometimes he pulls...he can scream really loud as I have discovered over the past few days....today I think it was the teeth because everything else didn't work...anyhow our first night together was both good and bad...that first shot of him in the cute duck outfit...well he woke up after half an hour...I fed and changed him and sang to him and he fell asleep for 5 hours....from 5:30 to 10:30....I tried to heed everyone's advice about sleeping when he does but only managed to do that from 7 onward but of course did not really sleep as I was listening for him to wake...anyhow then he was awake for 2 hours and we played and that's when I read to him...he looked at the pictures intently, loved how the pages turned...felt the book with his little hands, tried to turn the pages and then decided his mouth had to lick it to see what it tasted like...so a combination of being curious about books to just another object for his mouth....he did not like bathtime at the orphanage and screamed and screamed as he did here so tonight I finally made it more playful with not a lot of water being poured over his head and he started to enjoy the water...would hate for him to fear the water, coming from such a coastal place...so we are working on that....he is laid back but does want what he wants when he wants it, but the problem is I can't understand what he wants at times...so we are learning and he is definitely grieving ..that first night he slept in fits, half hour, an hour and no amount of soothing on my part worked....he looked at me and pushed me away, and then screamed and then slept and we went through that all night...the next morning he slept for close to 3 hours so we both were more refreshed, and he was in a better mood....and he loved sucking on my face and gave me wet kisses...when I change him he likes to have raspberry kisses on his belly and on his cheek...he actually loves when I change his diaper as if he knows he will be nice and fresh afterwards....he has learned to crawl a bit and can push himself in his crib and on the floor towards what he wants to get so before long he will be doing this much more quickly....he will sometimes fall asleep on my shoulder but at other times will insist I put him in bed and he just falls asleep.....I think we are adjusting well, but again, there are moments of panic on his part where he looks around and doesn't know where he is and he looks scared...I do what I can but he just has to go through the grieving, if that is what it is....I hold him and talk to him and try to make sure his other needs are met, but when nothing else works, then I just know it is his way of dealing with a major change....anyhow he loves being out in the carriage...vungtau is such a beautiful city, run down in some areas but in others very well structured and elegant houses decorate the streets....have lots of photos to add but will do that slowly...Matteo is now asleep after a short visit and shopping with Lea and a walk around the neighbourhood....Anyhow Madeline if I have not answered your questions here then let me know and I'll write some more....but for now some photos..

Do you remember this Samantha...Last year's Christmas gift from Max and Vanh when Matteo was still only a dream...and look the little dragonfly onsie fits perfectly..