T minus 4: Diapers? Who needs diapers?

This photo is from another adoption blog called To Mia With Love (click here to link to this blog). Mia's soon-to-be new mom (Christy) and dad have discovered that they are international adoption superstars right now. They arrived in Beijing a few days ago and will get their precious Mia on Monday.

But before I explain why Christy and her husband are adoption superstars, let's talk about this photo. In China, the use of diapers doesn't seem to be a popular idea. Many babies are potty-trained by the time they are 12 months old. Babies are sat on little potties until they do their thing, then parents or caregivers blow a whistle. Pretty soon, the child can "do their thing" on command, whenever the whistle blows! In the meantime, they use these clothes, affectionately called split pants. Christy talked to these folks and they just explained that when the baby had to go, they just found "something to catch it in". Okay. Sure. Whatever. I'll stick with the Pampers to catch it all, thank you very much!

Christy and her husband are superstars because their LID (login date) in China was 10/18, which meant they should have received a match in the early March group. They were so excited to find out they were included within the range of dates, but they never got their call. So, after their agency did some reserach, it was discovered that their paperwork was sitting on a shelf somewhere in the review rooom, going completely unnoticed, while everyone else's paperwork with that agency and those dates moved on to the matching room. It took several weeks for them to get it all straightened out, but Christy was, deservingly so, one of the first people to get the call in early April. She posted updates on her story and the ongoing saga surrounding it on an incredibly popular adoption site, and she is now being recognized by other adoptive groups all over Beijing! Anyway, her blog has some really great photos thus far - The Great Wall, Forbidden City, a silk factory, etc. You might want to check out the photos (click on the different days of her trip on the left side of the blog). Fun to follow them...

As for us, we spent several hours today going through everything on the packing list (again) and sorting items into one of three suitcases or three backpacks. So far, we're doing really good - the weights of the suitcases are 35, 35, and 29 pounds, and the limit is 44 pounds each. Yes, we still have a few things to add, but we're feeling pretty good about it all, especially considering that two of the suitcases weight 15 pounds empty! Let's just say that y'all would be incredibly proud at the restraint I've shown on clothing and shoes (only two pair for the entire trip)!