Random Bits and Pieces.

That's how my thoughts come right now. Bam. Bam. Bam., with the background a general thoughtless buzzing.

My adoption agency rocks. Seriously, you don't have to think about anything except your baby and how to deal with your aching back.

On the back...it's better. I am not sure if the reason is:
A.) taking it easy the second day in Beijing, not being allowed to carry ANYTHING then and on the flight to Chongqing, and multiple hot compresses helped it tremendously

B.) pure adrenaline has kicked in and I need to care for, hold, and rock my baby and that's it, so my mind, body and soul have somehow sent my back spasms packing and just let the constant ache hang around

or

C.) a bit of both. I suspect it's C. Nonetheless, I am still taking my prescription muscle relaxants. The problem with this is that I cannot take ibuprofen with these, and we are flat out of Tylenol. Today we asked our guide about acetaminophen and another couple asked about ibuprofen. Here was her paraphrased response, according to SK:

Guide: Well, those things aren't generally available in grocery stores. Most people in China, when they get a headache, they just deal with it. And drugs like that you have to get at a pharmacy, which usually means a doctor has sent you there, and you have to explain everything, etc.

My personal translation of above: Wimpy Americans. Do you really think I should have to lead this whiny group to yet another place for someone's personal needs? Especially when you all seem unwilling to risk life and limb by just walking into a crazy busy Chongqing city street? And why do you all walk so slow anyway? No wonder you are all so fat.

(***Seriously, no one in our travel group is very fat. Or even that whiny for that matter. They are basically all nice people. But still, I'd love to see our guide's inner thoughts on us. My guess is that they would be spicy, and maybe not in a good way***).

In a very nice effort, our guide did take us to a pharmacy, where nothing was labeled in English (What?! The nerve of a Chinese pharmacy having drugs only labeled in Chinese!) and most things weren't easily recognizable. The couple got their ibuprofen, but there was no acetaminophen to be had.

So, I have a few back-ups plans, one of which I will have to implement given the LONG flight home...

a. Guard remaining two prescription Vicodin with my life.

b. Go online and see if drugstore.com will ship to China for some amount less than our total adoption expenses OR call up BFF Carla with a list of needs. ask her to go shopping and overnight stuff to me (Carla, this is a warning. You may want to change your phone numbers, email address, and move. Oh wait, I'll still know how to find you. I'll just call the mall and Home Depot).

c. Bum stuff off fellow travel group members (Some of which has already gone on. One couple gave us these heat belts, which can wrap around various parts of your body and produce heat for 8 hours! Oh My God. I want to marry the heat belt. Of course, this couple are now hurting themselves after receiving a very chunky daughter. They probably hate me now because my sad state stirred them to give me some very precious items. Did I mention I want to marry the heat belt?)

Seriously though, on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday in Beijing, I said some very desperate prayers. I am a believer, but not a formal one. What I mean is that I've always believed that a relationship with God is a very personal, come as you are, kind of thing. In other words, my prayers are more like conversations, where I pretty much sound like me, rather than some more pious version of me. So, this prayer went something like this "Man, I cannot believe I could want to be a mother this bad, and have to wait so long, only to not be able to hold my baby. Nope, cannot believe that. Also, I cannot believe you want a bewildered, grieving, innocent baby to hear this stranger who's now her mother to drop the F-bomb about a hundred times a day as she writhes in agony or to see the stranger who is now her mama gripping her now baba's hand for dear life, walking gingerly and slowly with, to quote my BIL, "waves of pain" radiating from her body. Nope. So PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE cut me some slack here. I don't care what challenges lie ahead as we get to know Isabella and she us, but LET ME HOLD MY BABY". Of course, when bad things happen, I don't blame God, but when good things happen when I really NEED them to, I like to think I'm being helped out, since I don't believe I am just that lucky. So, thanks, big guy. And BTW, as I later found out even SK said a prayer, so thanks from him too. SK is lousy at thank you notes, as anyone who has given us a gift or helped us out in some way has probably noticed.

And finally...a good reason to password protect a blog once we return...two people have approached me, one of whom said, in a hotel elevator, with no prelude, "Are you Tammy Murphy?" Yep, it kinda freaked me out, because I don't have a blog that gets a ton of hits. And of course, I would probably do the same thing if I saw a blogger that I had followed and I happened to be in China at the same time as he or she. And the people who approached me were very nice. Nonetheless.

It's now time for Bella's midnight bottle. Cross your fingers that she cooperates.