forever sisters: Day 3-Civil Affairs Office

We didn't do much of anything today besides paperwork at the civil affairs office. This was much of our morning. We had a problem at the civil affairs with our power of attorney letter. It didn't have Neil's middle name on it, only first & last name. Since he has 2 "first names", they thought it wasn't a real letter. Our guide worked wonders, made a ton of phone calls & got ours to slide by.

I was in tears, I didn't want our trip to be delayed & stay here any longer than needed.

So, for those of you traveling without your spouse, make sure your POA includes first, middle & last names.

Melaina perked up a little bit today & ate pretty good.

Apparently, she's never been fed solid foods. Her foster mom said she gives her 4 bottles of formual a day & rice soup. She doesn't know how to chew or use a spoon.

She had no nutrition in her diet making her very weak.

She isn't strong enough to walk on her own, she needs to hold our hand or hold on to something & if we let go of her hand, she gets scared & cries.

I'm hoping with good nutrition & lots of love, she'll gain strength & will walk normally.

She is delayed a bit, more like a 12-18 month old. I guess I kept expecting her to be more like Harper, who was very independent & could do most things on her own.

Melaina is very much like a baby, spoon fed & wobbly on her feet. Even though she came from a loving home, she is understimulated. She doesn't know how to play with toys, play games, tickle etc.

All of the natural things children do, we have to teach her. Melaina will repeat our words & actions, but she has to be shown first. That's where Harper can step in & show her the ropes.

She is having a difficult time going down for a nap & bed time. She is very sad & confused.

We're used to comforting our babies by holding & loving on them, Melaina wants no part of that. Harper was the same way, it took time for her learn how to be comforted by an adult, very sad.

Here a few photos of our day.