Recovering Noah

It's Monday, I think, in Delhi (OLD Delhi) Our plane landed on schedule (half hour late since we took off late). Leslie, "Have I been to this new Delhi airport?" That's how fried she is. I told her yes, three days ago. She took Naveen to the bathroom (surprise!) and by the time they met me, I had the bags on the trolley. Our driver was (still!) waiting for us and had NO English! He was um, a little scruffy-looking. Or maybe it was his 70s style shirt. This worried Leslie regarding the size of the car. (scruffy driver = small car?). Well, apparently it does. I knew he'd get it all in, but she was pretty worried. It all fit, lots of it on the seat next to her. The driver was offended that I put my seat belt on in the front seat. "Is not necessary, Madam" uh, thanks, but YOU'RE wearing yours, and in the front seat in India I wear mine. (in the back seat I go Indian style, without one) =:o The drive was about 45 min. And Leslie dozed, but I can...

Things to bring: Melatonin tablets. I've always relied on benadryl before, but I seem to be building up a tolerance because even two don't keep me sleeping all night. I bought 5mg time release melatonin and tried them out at home. They make me sleepy within half an hour and I've slept all night. Balls. I got the water soaker balls at Target in the dollar aisle. They have all sizes and shapes. They're soft for throwing inside. Stickers for on the plane. Nesting cups. They're so good for this age and can be used with water, too. We wish we'd brought some. Extra camera battery. I have one, but it's not something you want to forget. I did forget to bring it along to BSSK and had to go back for it. To buy: Leslie says you should buy a bucket and stool if your hotel doesn't have one. Naveen loves to pour with the cup and wash the stool over and over. She also insists the steel cup is a great idea. Naveen certainly has loved his! (we do also have ...

Sunday--Pune Slept til 6:00 and went into the bathroom to FaceTime the kids. When I came out, Leslie was awake. Naveen slept until 7:30. We went down to breakfast and he asked to go potty 3 or 4 times. It's really the one thing he can control and communicate right now. Plus he's two and potty training. But it's exhausting! You couldn't pay me a million dollars to go back to those days! I'm so glad to be the Aunty! He ate pretty well. He liked the upma, the dosa, and the chapati. Not the curd. He's kind of a carbohydrate boy. While i wascdrinking my tea, leslie took him outsidevto walk. He liked that. After out tea, we headed upstairs. He had a bath and played with the water, but not as long as yesterday. No poop on the floor (or anywhere). Next they went outside again and did two laps around before he asked to come up. As soon as they were up, he asked to go back out, but Leslie was tired out so she told him no. What followed was a lesson in two-year...

Pune, Saturday Leslie did not sleep at all Friday night in bed with her little wiggle worm. I didn't take anything, plus I stayed up til 11:30 writing a blog post (if I don't write it out every day, it all swirls together with the jet lag in my head and becomes a blurry mess). I woke up at 2:00 and couldn't get back to sleep until 4:00. Fireworks at 6:00 woke us both up. Not Naveen, tho. He finally crashed at 7:00 and slept straight through until 8:30! And he woke up happy as a lark. He and Mama played a little game on the iPad to wake up, then she got him dressed and we went down to breakfast. After eating nothing since lunch the day before, he was ravenous and ate idli, chapati (actually, it was paratha, I think) and poha. He didn't like the milk and he loved drinking the water out of the glass glass. No steel cups when you're in a fancy restaurant! After breakfast, he stripped down and played with his bucket and cup in the bath for an hour. He poured water,...

FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 2012 Friday, Pune--Meeting Naveen Friday--Pune It's late but I should blog or I'll forget everything. We slept all night until we woke up at the same time--6:20. Still no Internet, which was good for all night sleeping! Shower and then breakfast downstairs. They have the best breakfasts here! We went out to our "Walmart" around the corner where yesterday we bought a razor for Leslie and parle-g biscuits in preparation for Naveen. Today we went in search of a bath bucket. The hotel only has a shower, no buckets. We bought the dustiest bucket, stool and cup you've ever seen along with a bag of milk. We felt guilty sneaking our purchases into the hotel. We wondered what they'd think if they saw us bringing in a bucket and stool! I went through Leslie's suitcase and reorganized everything in preparation for Naveen. We picked out an outfit and got his shoes and a diaper. She was too overwhelmed with nervousness to think straight...

Thursday, Pune The domestic airport terminal is just as nice as the international, only upstairs. The whole thing has been running in the red, according to the news. They are going to beginning levying a usage fee for every transit through the airport: arriving, departing and transit through. Just a little political news for you. We had an uneventful flight to Pune, in which we both slept some more and ate a nice Indian breakfast (still not as good as on Emirates, even tho this was Air India. Collected bags and the hotel driver was waiting for us with a little sign. It's only a short drive from the airport to our hotel. They didn't have our room ready, so they put us in a temporary room. We showered (ahhhhh!) and changed and I unpacked Roopa's things. When we tried to connect to the Internet, we found it was disconnected due to non-payment of bill, or so the Airtel website said. Bummer. We walked to the restaurant (and only got a little lost). Good thing I had loo...

*This was written off and on throughout our various flights and layovers  while trying to get to Pune.* our Internet connection has been down, and Naveen has worn me out (but it's all good!!), so I'll try to update in the next few days - but I already had this blog post all typed up. ************************* Right now, I'm sitting on a bench outside baggage claim in Frankfurt waiting to meet my friend Christoph. He was a German exchange student my senior year of high school and we've kept in touch over the years. The Internet makes things like that so much easier! Sandwich is...well...I'm not sure. She chickened out, er, I mean decided not to leave the transit area (Hi Sandwich!) in case we took too long and missed our flight.  Anyway, Christoph should be here in a few minutes and then we're going to eat at some German restaurant in the airport.  I have no idea what to expect. Bratwurst and lots of sauerkraut?? Man, I hope that settles well with me becaus...

The Internet in the hotel's been down, so I haven't been able to update all at all. It came back on about 15 minutes ago. I do have a blog post typed up in my notes about the journey here, but not one about meeting Naveen yet. It's been a long day and we're all exhausted. So, I'm copying the post I just put on Facebook and will update more when I can. Please pray for a smooth adjustment for Naveen, Thanks! I'm so sorry I haven't posted yet. The hotel's internet has been down and is now only up sporadically. Anyway, we have Naveen! He's grieving pretty hard. After three hours of crying and pointing to the door, he fell asleep. He looks like a little sleeping angel. He had a rough time at first, but he kept coming to me for comfort and to hold him while he cried, which was good. Who knows what tomorrow will bring, but each day will be easier. He really is amazing. I just can't believe how lucky I am to be his mom. He was all smiles for about t...

Sandwich and Leslie at the airport

I know I have sorely neglected my blog lately. We've had so much going on...  including a nasty, stubborn battle with staph that nearly prevented me from leaving today.  But things are looking up and I'm sitting next to Sandwich in the airport lobby waiting for our flight to Delhi. That's right! Today's the day. The two months  have come and gone and the day has finally arrived. I'm going to India and bringing Naveen home! I'll try to blog as much as I can, but I have a feeling it'll all come down to whether Naveen let's me or not.  I'm pretty sure he might rule the roost on this trip! Okay, they're calling us to board, so I have to cut this short. We'll arrive in Pune this Thursday and see Naveen on Friday. So when you're getting ready for bed on Thursday, I'll be holding Naveen in my arms. It's here! It's here! It's finally here!!