Johnny and I are home! Actually, we arrived home ~8pm Friday, March 13th (and, I'm only now blogging to tell about it). It was an extremely long 24 hours from Guangzhou, China, to Cleveland, Ohio. BUT, that being said, nobody was sick and we got to FLY - as opposed to the slow boat the poor people had to use in the 'olden' days. I'm grateful.

Mr. Johnny only got about 1 or 2 hours of sleep during the 24 hour stint. You can imagine how out of sorts the poor little guy was. He held it together until the Chicago to Cleveland stint. There were a few delays and when we finally boarded, it was boarding onto a little tuna can with a non-operational bathroom. The pilot said for us to make sure we used the restrooms in the terminal before boarding. Hmmm... Now how do we figure in dirty diapers? HA!

And, boy-o-boy, were there a boatload of dirty diapers!!!

Since being home, we've found Mr. Johnny has joined the "Soy-boy" ranks of formula-fed children. (He and his cousin must get that from their mothers' side of the family!) Prior to the magic of Enfamil ProSobee, our little guy delivered 7-10 soiled diapers PER DAY! If I could do a commercial, Johnny would be the spokesbaby. HA!

"Being on soy has changed my life..."

Mr. Johnny went to the Cleveland Clinic Adoptive Center for a thorough evaluation today. Things went very, very well. We saw a pediatric specialist who evaluated his growth and development and a surgeon who is very familiar with John's birth defect (known as a gastroschesis or 'abdominal cleft') and surgery. Additionally, he and received 5 vaccination injections and had a slew of bloodwork drawn. Our sweet little guy learned he cannot trust everybody in a white coat. The docs and phlebotomists were as sweet as can be, but in the end, needles hurt. I kept reminding myself that the diseases hurt more. (That is Surviving of Motherhood 102.)

The doc said other than some abdominal weakness - which can be expected from laying around in a bed and perhaps from his surgery as an infant - Johnny is doing very well. He has two lower teeth, which we noticed are different sizes even though they should be exact symmetrical teeth. She said they are probably a 'fused tooth' and isn't much to be worried about. She described several exercises for increasing his strength and is excited to see him in a month after being home with us.

The surgeon said, in a nutshell, it's too bad for his family to have abandoned him and it's lucky for us to have adopted such a healthy, happy little boy! Although Johnny is 10% more likely to have an intestinal atresia (blockage or stricture), he is tested and proven. He says that the 1st month is the make-or-break when it comes to a gastroschisis repair. And, the fact that he survived in an orphanage speaks volumes. And, by the way, the surgeon said there is absolutely nothing we can do to change his odds of atresia. He said it could happen when he's 20 or 80 years old, tomorrow or not at all. It's just an artifact of the scar tissue and adhesions that happen with surgeries such as his.

He said, "Don't worry. ENJOY him!"

And, that we will. We're thrilled to have adopted such a special little boy...our special little child who was "Made In China".