seoul + 777 + bewildered one year old + 18 hours = kiss the ground when we land in Mpls!

I'm typing this on day 2 of us being home.  It's noon and JD has finally gone down for a nap after a morning of inconsolable crying (he's grieving - misses his FM), so I finally have a chance to update this blog, do laundry, and take a shower.  It's been a tough 36 hours since arriving home.  It's nice to have him sleeping ... the poor little peanut needs it and we need it too.

So, back to our travel day.  We spent Thursday morning (April 15th) strategically and efficiently packing our luggage - we crammed things into every nook and cranny we could find, as we were now packing for three!  Remember those streets in Yeouido with cherry blossom trees that weren't quite popping earlier this week?  Well we got to see those cherry blossoms in full bloom on the taxi ride to the agency.  They were beautiful!  We arrived at the agency at 1:30 PM (we were told to be there by 2:15). 

Shortly after 2pm, our SW came to get us and the next 30 minutes was kind of a blur; a flurry of activity. I had to sign custodial release papers, she gave me his medical records and a sheet listing his "typical" schedule. His foster mother was there with JD and she gave us 2 big tins of formula and powdered baby food, 3 boxes of his favorite crackers and cookies, a pack of yogurt and soy milk for the travel home (with a little ice pack to keep it cold).  She also gave us his favorite little car, the snuggly bear we sent in his care package and a teddy bear. It was oh-so-sweet how she packed all these things for him to help him with his travel and transition to a new home. I kept wanting to hug her, but didn't want to cross a boundary so I restrained. Oh, she also told us that JD typically "poos" once a day, but that he hadn't had a poo yet today.  Great, I thought - just our luck he'll have a major blowout on the plane :)

The couple we met earlier in the week from WY was also there picking up their child, so they were in another part of the room. JD and their son were running around playing while all this paperwork and exchange was going on. It was a nice distraction :)

Then Dr. Kim, the agency director, came down to give a blessing to the children.  We all gathered in a circle - both the families, the 2 foster mothers and our children - to listen to her blessing, which lasted 7 minutes (seemed longer with 2 toddlers squirming around).  Then JD's foster mother had her time to say goodbye to JD alone and we were told to gather our things and go to the van for the ride to the airport. Looking at the foster mother talking to JD, my eyes were filling up with tears.

We quickly gathered all our things, our paperwork, all the items his FM had packed ... we were seriously being rushed out the door.  Next thing I know, the other family is in the van and we were next to go in.  I was bawling as I hopped into my seat and looked out the open door to the foster mother as she was getting ready to hand JD to me.  I kept saying over and over,  "thank you for taking care of him" to her and again wanted to hug her.  As she handed JD over, she grabbed both me and David and gave us the biggest hug and I gave her the biggest one right back.  For real, the floodgates were open and I couldn't stop the tears until a good 5 minutes into the van ride.  JD did well, and thankfully we had the other family in the van to distract me so I could stop the crying (I also didn't want to upset JD).  The ride to the airport was probably about 40 minutes and JD fell asleep.

We were dropped off at the airport first, because we were flying Korean Air and the WY family was flying Singapore Air.  We grabbed all our things, including JD :), and the driver gave him a big hug and said goodbye to him.  Then we walked into the airport and both looked around wondering how we were going to manage what was ahead of us.  We had to check in and go through security for the first time with a child.  And we learned quickly that we had way too much luggage with us - silly first time parents, we wanted to make sure we had everything we needed, so we had 3 carry ons + diaper bag + JD.  Waaaayyyy too much and, yes, we learned the hard way. 

Because JD was leaving the country, we had to go through immigration with him (his paperwork had to be processed). Once we did all that - check in, security, immigration - we were finally inside and had a good 2 hours before our flight left Seoul at 6:30 PM.  Again, JD was doing VERY well through all of this. We found a play area by our gate, and David played with him - JD was laughing up a storm!  So much so that many people stopped by to see this giggling child - he was putting a smile on many faces at that airport ... mine included. We grabbed a bite to eat and fed him some of his yogurt. He was a good sport through all of this.

Then came time to board the plane and, again, we did so without incident. We got all situated and had the flight attendant help us to get a bottle ready for JD (we wanted to feed him when the plane took off to help with the ear pressure). And it worked like a charm. He sucked away, no issues with his ears, and eventually fell asleep. We were lucky enough to have a 3 seat section of the plane and placed him in-between us to sleep.

             

I kept looking at this angel of a child and thought, man are we ever lucking out, so far so good - no major crying spells.  "Maybe he'll sleep through most of the 10 hour plane ride", I said to David.  Well, well, well - were we ever in for a surprise. 

About 2 hours into the flight, he woke up and just looked around for about 5 minutes at this loud flying-metal-tube-in-the-sky-thing he was stuck in.  Then it started.  He began crying and he wouldn't stop.  We tried everything and the only thing that "sort of" calmed him down is if we were holding him WHILE WALKING.  And even that didn't stop him from crying for long.  He was crying and kicking for over 5 hours!  THANK GOD for the flight attendants, as they were so helpful.  They helped us make his bottle to try to soothe him, tried playing with him and talking to him in Korean to get him to calm down.  One attendant was a father of 2 and he was able to quiet JD for a short while.  We were able to quiet him for 5-10 minute stints and then he'd start up again!  It was a nightmare!  We tried several times to sneak him back into our seats, but JD wanted nothing to do with it.  Not that I blame him, as they certainly weren't roomy.  

So for over 5 hours, David and I took turns with JD and occasionally a flight attendant would help too.  JD is a major chunkster and weighs a ton, so we gladly accepted the help (or my arm would have fallen off).  Some other people were nice and would come talk to me to keep me company while I was hold JD.  At one point, a woman l call "the baby whisperer" was up talking to me as I was holding him by the bathrooms.  She offered to hold him to give me a break and, although I initially hesitated, I gave in (again, my poor arms).  Sure enough, within about 10 minutes, he was asleep.  Right about then we hit some turbulence and HAD to be seated, so I sat down and snuggled him in my arms and he stayed asleep that way for the rest of the 90+ minutes of the flight.  There IS a GOD :)

We had a layover in Seattle before our final flight home, so this is where we had to go through US immigration.  Everyone in immigration was kind - congratulating us, taking us to a special line and allow us to sit while waiting.  But it still took some time for them to go through the packet of info that Eastern agency had given us for this part of the process.  Finally, we received his temporary Visa (good for one year, at which point his adoption will be final) and we were on our way.  The flight from Seattle went well, after an initial 10 minutes of crying when we first walked into the metal tube thing again (he was not happy).  David fed him a bottle as the plane took off and he fell asleep for the entire 3 hours.  Yay!!

And then we landed in MSP; it was 8:30 PM.  To be continued ...