WAITING OUT THE 10 DAYS

Dear All:

Sorry, I have not posted any updates since our final court date! Things have been hectic at the Guillen-Codina family. We are in the process of waiting out the 10 mandatory days until our adoption becomes final. So far, we are in day number 5. We can't wait for next Friday so we can go and pick up Maya forever!!! So far we have gone to visit Maya every morning from 9:30 through 11:30, sometimes until noon. We really enjoy our visits with her... We feel that with every day that goes by we bond a little bit more!!

The other day, formally requesting it to the Baby House Director, we were granted permission to feed Maya ourselves during one of the meals. I had the opportunity to feed her, and to be honest I had mixed feelings about it. The reason why is because these kids are trained to gabble the food in less than 5 minutes....I was happy to see that she would accept the food I was giving her, since in the past we had not succeeded with the Gerber snacks that we brought her!! I had to be careful for her not to choke with the food since she was just swalloing. I know that everyone is entitled to their own customs and opinions, but, the way that they train these kids it’s uncalled for..... Anyways, the important thing is that we were able to see what she eats and how she is fed. That way, it won't be such a shocker when it’s our turn.

We have also been giving her baby juice during our visits. We kind of smuggle it in every morning inside her diaper bag, which we bring with us every time we visit her. We need to be prepared for any situation that may arise (diaper change, clothing change, clean her up, etc.) and so far it has proven very handy. We divide the juice into 2 portions so she won't get full and maybe spoil her meal afterwards.

Thank God Maya is doing better from her cold, but she passed on to daddy. Mauri has been really sick for the past 2 days. Yesterday, he had to stay at the hotel while I went to visit her. I know he really missed her, but it was for the best. We don't want her or the other babies to get even sicker. Maya and I had the entire visit to enjoy one another, well, I enjoyed her more!!! At the beginning she kept looking around looking for her dad, but I told her (eventhough she did not understand) it’s just you and me kiddo!!! We played for quite a while until she started to get restless because she was sleepy.

Until yesterday Mauri and I had a really hard time to have fallen asleep. It had been practically impossible. Granted, that a reception room it’s not the best place to have a kid fall asleep! With all the distractions going on, even I would have a problem sleeping. Anyways. to make the long story short, Mommy decided to be quite persistent and told Maya that I was not going to give up until she gave in. Remember, we are both Cancer, so we both can butt heads, but one has to give in. This time it was her!!!! After carrying her in my arms, covering her with her blankie, giving her a lot of love, rocking her non-stop and singing her lullabies; she finally gave in, she fell asleep!!!!!!!!!!
To see her asleep in my arms was a dream come through!!! I was in Mommy heaven yesterday!!! She dozed off for about 25 minutes until someone woke her up with so much noise, but at least she got to experience a tiny bit of the love and attention that she will receive from Mauri and me. There is so much love stored for her!!! We want to make up for the love and attention that she has never had.... I am so thankful to God for giving us the opportunity to become the parents of our little Maya.

Well, I have to leave you know. I have to go get ready to go visit our little angel. Mauri still under the weather, so it will another day just Maya and me, and I intend to enjoy every minute of it!!! Until my next post.... Take care everyone....