SOS Clinic

Anelya is just the best baby ever. She is just a busy, smiley, happy, Buddha baby. I will tell you though, she is crawling up a storm and she is FAST! She is into everything and has a constant twinkle in her eye; a total handful. When she is doing something she knows I won’t let her do I say, “Anelya” and she smiles and shakes her head no, no, no and keeps at it. It is hilarious.

Anyway, yesterday I was so completely exhausted that I could barely finish a sentence. Anelya had not taken any solid naps yesterday, so she had had it at about 6:45, which is when I put her to bed. Well, it’s when she finally fell asleep. She was so crazy over tired that she threw her first real FIT. She just did not want to go to sleep. I tried for about 30 minutes and then I asked Dad for some help. Well, it seems that Hoovie is that damn Anelya Whisperer because, no word of an exaggeration, she was asleep within a minute of him putting his hand on her chest and singing her a Portuguese lullaby that he learned while in the Peace Corps in Brazil 40 years ago. So, either Hoovie has to move into our house or I need to learn Portuguese lullabies because that was ridiculous. LOL.

Anyhoo, this falling asleep at 6:45 thing was fantastic because I went to bed straight after her and had already slept for 3 hours by the time she woke up for her 10p.m. diaper change and bottle. This is their schedule at the baby house and I am keeping it up for now, although I have reduced her bottle from 8oz to 4oz, which seems to be fine. Believe me, the kid eats enough during the day. LOL. So, she was changed and had her bottle and went straight back to sleep. I, on the other hand, was up for several hours. I just could not sleep. It was so frustrating. When I finally did fall asleep, it was as if I was sleeping with one eye open. I mean, there is this baby in the other room and she is mine! If she needs anything, I have to fulfill her needs. I think on some level I am afraid to sleep because I might not hear her if she wakes up. On the other hand, I am just jet lagged and pretty over-stimulated.

Since she went to bed so early, she woke up an hour early for her bottle, at 5a.m. Oh my, is this a tough bottle for me to serve up, but I do and of course it is a big joy to do so. So, she was up and bright-eyed, although I knew she would sleep for another 1-2 hours after a change and a bottle. Well, good old Hoovie knew I had not slept more that two hours since 10p.m. and told me to go back to bed and he’d take care of her. Bless that man. So they played for a while and he recited her a 25 minute impromptu poem about her binky and she went back to sleep for another 1.5 hours. Poor Hoovie did not, but he seemed to be quite content to putter around.

I heard Tammy and Kalamkas come into the living room at around 8a.m. and, since we no longer have any secrets, I came out in my t-shirt and underwear to see what the plan was. Kalamkas was ready to eat and, guess what, so was Chubby McCheekster, so I brushed my teeth, put on some clothes and went down to breakfast. Ok, so here is the thing. I am so exhausted and going to the store is kind of rough on a girl at this point, even though I go at least once a day. We have no microwave, no stove, no nothing really, except the fridge, so I sunk to a new low this morning and took Tupperware with me and snagged some Cream of Wheat type cereal and 3 egg yolks to feed my bottomless pit of a baby. It was very funny.

Breakfast was delicious and we finally decided to take a walk and explore a little, in time to get back for the babies naps. Yeah, right. Well, we found the Tsum, which is a department store in the middle of the city, about a 15-20 minute walk from our hotel, depending on how lost you get. When first started walking through it, we were underwhelmed. Clothes, electronics, yadda yadda yadda. Well, then we got to the third floor and voila! The handmade Kazakh goods section! Yeah, you heard me. Bob and Mom, think mini yurt paradise but better quality and literally half the price of Semey bazaar prices. It was amazing. We found SO MUCH nice stuff and did practice a great deal of restraint, but we will definitely be going back once more to have at it. I mean, after all, I probably won’t be back in Kazakhstan again anytime soon. Well, after about an hour of mini yurts, woolen slippers, matreoshka dolls, and warrior shields, we were al completely dead and wanted to get back. It felt like the walk back to the hotel took forever, but we made it. Anelya fell asleep on the way home and I was able to transport her form the stroller to the crib without her waking up and she got a solid 1.5 hour nap in. GO MOM!

Tammy and Kalamkas outside the Tsum

Anelya 's shopping attitude is pretty laid back.

Kalamkas thinks taking off her hat is great fun!

The shopping street outside the Tsum

While she is asleep my life consists of preparing for her next rage of hunger, so I am washing and preparing bottles, getting stolen cereal to room temperature, and preparing her changing station. Anelya HATES being changed and squirms and rolls and screams, but I have now figured out that if I let her play with the wipes, she will cooperate, which is good since we are averaging 3-4 poopy diapers a day. So, as I sit here typing, I am looking at two 8 oz bottles, formula, water, 2 clean diapers, the changing mat, and wipes, all ready for my princess to awake. After all, SHE IS THE BOSS OF ME!

Dad has been a saint on this trip and is always cleaning up, carrying and fetching things, and playing with Anelya so I can go to the bathroom or, get this, maybe even take a shower. I can pretty much tell you that I feel so gross right now that I am pretty sure the single mom title will stick for a few years. HAHAHA.

So, Anelya woke up, ate about ¾ cup of baby cereal, a blueberry yogurt, a half a jar of baby food and 8 oz. of formula. At the baby house they make them eat everything, but she is learning that she can tell me when she is done, which she has started to do. Holy eater. Once she was up, Tammy and I decided to pop the girls into their carriers and make a quick trip to the store for baby food. On the way down, we ran into Mary Lou, who had been in Semey with us the entire time. She was waiting to be reunited with her three year old daughter, Meleea. The timing was so wonderful and we were so lucky to be able to witness the reunion and take some pictures for her, as she is travelling alone. What a moment.

When we got back we ran into Marina who was talking with Tammy about her visa snafoo, which has now been sorted out. She was informed that she will have her Embassy appointment on Friday and can leave on the first KLM flight from Almaty after that, which is Sunday. This is a great relief because we were not sure if she would have to be here into next week. Casually, Marina said, “This is perfect timing because your visa will not yet have expired.” “Wait a minute,” I said, “My visa expires November 3 (tomorrow) and I was told on three different occasions that this would not be a problem.” Marina looked shocked and said, “It expires November 3? That’s tomorrow?” She got HUGE eyes and said, you will not be able to leave the country unless that visa is still valid. Well, I was furious (but did not take it out on Marina). I mean seriously, it’s one thing when it’s an oversight or a mistake, but when I specifically asked about this on three separate occasions and was told each time it was fine, I just lose my patience. It could have been really bad. Marina clearly didn’t know when my visa expired and they could have dropped me off outside the check in security area, taken my Kazakh phone and I would have been stranded with all of my stuff, a baby, and no way to leave the country. It’s just ridiculous. Perhaps it used to be ok to stay beyond the length of your visa, but having worked with visas for years, when those changes occur, you stay on top of them. This is what we pay agencies to do. In any case, Marina is fantastic and was right on it, made some calls, swooped in and retrieved our passports and flight information and hopes to have it sorted out by tomorrow. We will have to go in person to work the problem out and there will be extra fees involved, but it seems as though we will still be able to leave the country on Friday. If not, this “oversight” will cost me no less than an unnecessary minimum of $1000. Let’s all hope it gets sorted out tomorrow.

Anelya trying to stand up.

And instead getting into downward dog position!

Out like a light for morning nap

This afternoon’s activity was a medical visit for Anelya and the other girls at the S.O.S. clinic, which is the only clinic in Kazakhstan which is approved by the U.S. Embassy. We had appointments, so the wait was very short. They called in Caesar, Anelya Porter and we went in with a nurse who weighed Anelya in at 8.7 kilos and 68 cm. This puts her in the 50% for weight and the 10% for height compared to American children her age. We went through a slew of health issues which were listed on her health form from the baby house. Just as I suspected, none of the illnesses seem to be real and the doctor said she is just perfect. Anelya was SO GOOD during the entire visit. He looked in her ears, listened to her heart and lungs, checked her skin (she does have a bit of eczema on her legs) and everything else. As he examined her, she sat on my lap and was playing with his face. He was a very nice and humorous doctor. The only thing she really did not like was when he had to open her mouth to look at her throat. Oh my did she let out her raspy little scream, but then she was done again and played with the little cow he offered her when she came in.

Mary Lou and Meleea waiting for their appointment

Anelya being checked by the nurse

9.5 months - 8.7 kg

Anelya didn't really mind the doctor at all.

Ok fine. Do what you have to do.

Maybe he will let me play with his face.

She was fine with him checking her ears out.

Me trying not to laugh as Katya was talking to me

and Tammy was full on losing it across the room

See? You try not to laugh.

Mommy and a very healthy Anelya!

Tammy and her very healthy Kalamkas!

Last night we got Anelya fed and down to sleep very efficiently. It was all fine and well until we got a call in our room at about 10:30 asking "if we want a lady?" Yes, my friends, my baby was awoken by a hooker! It took ages for me to get her back to sleep, but it does make for a great story. Tonight if she calls again, I will say yes please and see if she changes diapers ;-)

After such a long night, Anelya wanted nothing to do with going for a walk, so she is back at the hotel with Super Hoovie! When she saw him wake up this morning she screamed, beamed and then started jumping. Hoovie's a pretty popular guy among all of the ladies here. All three women and their children think Hoovie is the best. Anelya and i are lucky girls, indeed.