We have our Baby!

I was in such a frenzy to try to get ready, I literally had not a moment to spare to update this blogsite and clarify that yes were were leaving.
Well, we left and here I am right now, late at night (since I can only do anything for myself after Uma has gone to bed) writing from India. Our little girl is asleep in the room next to where I am writing. I have the door open so I can hear her if she calls out, which she frequently did the first few nights, and less as the days go on. She still reaches out to make sure that I am next to her and last night, in the middle of the night, she threw a literal tantrum because she had gone to sleep inbetween us and when she reached out on the side I am usually on, she found Adhipen instead.
She has bonded very deeply with me and is a literal velcro baby. She will not let anyone else touch her, including Adhipen. We were advised by the experts that we consulted that she needs to form a deep attachment to her mother first before anyone else, and so I have really been with her constantly with no one else to aid me.
In the embassy, she threw a terrible tantrum and screamed and cried so loudly that the officer had to ask us to do something about it. Adhipen had to take her since I was the one handling the embassy stuff. She was extremely unhappy about that. She is strong willed and very much a toddler with her own mind. That coupled with a background of abandonment and attachment issues makes her tantrums particularly intense. Thankfully, a technique I learned called "holding time" has seemed to work and as the days go by, it seems to take less time for me to calm her using this technique. Some of her tantrums are mixed with deep grief and so after she is finished, I have spent almost an equal amount of time holding her in a different way that the technique dictates and comforting her.
With each progressive day, we can see her coming out to be herself and feeling more secure.
Initially, I could not even go to the bathroom in peace as it would require me to set her down and this elicited shrieks and crying. Now, she feels safe enough that if I leave all doors open, she will sit quietly playing with her toys, and as long as she knows where I am and can hear me, she is not troubled.
She is very beautiful with huge dark brown eyes and the sweetest smile and expressions on her face. She has a birthmark that is right in the center of her 3rd eye, which Adhipen keeps remarking about. She babbbles constantly, and sings to herself alot. One of the words she loves to babble, is "um ma," which is pretty amazing! It is almost as if she knows that this will be her name someday soon.
She also seems to understand quite a bit of English. We were out the other night having dinner with some friends, and I was talking about her as she sat on my lap. She turned and looked up and put her hand over my mouth with a smile, as if to say, "stop speaking about me!"
Though I had learned some Hindi phrases, she and I have developed our own way of speaking to each other with signs and expressions. She shakes her head "no" if she does not want something, and points if she does.
She is extremely bright and catches on right away to whatever you show her. She used to scream when we would go into the elevator until she finaly became brave enough to push the button that Adhipen showed her how to do. After that, she was no longer afraid and remembered which button (out of many) it was that she had pushed to get us to our destination. She is also extremely sensitive.
She has an amazing appetite! I have never seen a child eat so much! She can down a meal that an adult would eat, and then be hungry a few hours later. We took her to a pediatrician today who said that she was trying to "catch up." Actually, today was the first day when she actually shook her head "no" when she was full. Otherwise, prior, she seemed to be a bottomless pit!
Because of her temper and her tantrums, I am really not looking forward to that plane ride home, I have to say! Still, she surprised me today with amazing behaviour when we took her to Apollo Hospital for a check up. I was stressing out from the crowds, the noise and the long waiting, but she was a calm as a cucumber the entire time, and barely even fussed when the doctor examined her. So maybe she will surprise me again, and I will be able to throw the word "dread" out!?
We had a bit of a problem at the embassy, with one of our paperwork having an error and requiring me to contact our social worker in the US to fax a correction. This, of course, happened on a Friday, and so I had the entire weekend to worry about it (which I refused to do!). We went to the embassy today and the fax had been received and so that part of the problem was solved. Everything else seems in order and so tomorrow, Uma and I will go to the embassy alone to do our interview and hopefully pick up the visa in the afternoon. I am a bit anxious to go without Adhipen, but while we need to go to the embassy, he has to go for a GI workup at the Apollo hospital. We decided to do that here as the cost is ridiculously low and the medical care is top quality.
India is intense and amazing. We are staying a the most wonderful bed and breakfast. Uma's angels sure were at work when they found us this place! The owners, Sudhir and Aruna have literally treated us like family. They have bought gifts for Uma, have fed us so well that it is as if our owhelped Adhipen locate copper cups that he sells on his website and could not get any longer from South India. We have had the run of their home, which has really, really helped in terms of my bonding with Uma (lots of space for us to play in) and our comfort, in general. We have had a driver to take us anywhere we need to go and Adhpen has had a cell phone. Right across the street is a Goddess temple where we went to pray and given mother were here, and make food for us to take out during the day for the baby. They paid for my doctor's visit (he made a house call to us) as I had a cough that was relentless and worsening due to the enormous stress of the trip and the lack of rest, and they thanks just before we went to pick up Uma.
I would really love to write more, but our little girl went to be around 7,. and though she sleeps a good long sleep, I have a feeling she will wake me up nice and early and I will be on with her until bedtime the next night. Welcome to motherhood! :)
I will close now, and write more when we get home.