Pick up!

We arrived in Sofia on Sunday afternoon and we then made the 3 + hour drive to Sliven to stay one night before picking up Kit.  

The drive was dark and pretty uneventful but we were SO tired.  We have been wearing masks for nearly 24 hours and zero sleep.  Once settled in we passed out for nearly 11 hours.  We woke up early the next morning had breakfast and took a SUPER quick walk around Sliven.  Then it was time to leave to pick up Kit our NGO representative Rosen, thought that we may not be able to even go inside the orphanage.  Luckily, we were able to go into one room.  While we were waiting outside we could see the "older" kids play room we saw several kiddo's that are being advocated for on Reece's Rainbow and then we saw our sweet boy playing.  They brought him over to the window with some of the other kids who were waiving and saying hello.  

We gave them clothes we had brought for him to change into (he would leave the orphanage with zero belongings). We were escorted into their therapy room and met with the director, signed some papers and then they brought him in.  

He was confused and very quiet.  All the workers were very happy to see him go with a family.  Sliven's orphanage will be closing soon and all the children will be transferred to another orphanage or a group home type setting with older children. 

Within about 15 minutes of arriving we were on our way back to Sofia to apply for his passport.  Then we would finally be able to bring him back to our airbnb and really start to get to know him.  After arriving home we could tell he was hot and sure enough he spiked a fever.  And then threw up.  He remained hot all evening but was sleeping and drinking and playing.  By the following morning no more fever.  We then had a rest day where we could finally grab some groceries and walk around a bit.  

COVID cases are rising by the thousands here everyday.  Masks are mandated but no one wears them properly and it is mentally fatiguing to be worrying not only about our new son but getting sick in a densely populated area in a foreign country. I am exhausted with worry.  

However, we are enjoying getting to know Kit.  He has waited his whole life for undivided attention and he is craving it. He loves to throw anything and everything (we need softer toys) and loves music.  He wants to eat finger foods but does not chew so we have been trying to figure out what we can give him that he doesn't have to chew.  He drank well the first two days, but today not so much.  We tried to give him a sink bath but he kind freaked out- we will try again tonight.  He is sleeping through the night but I think that is just what he is use to.

He is sweet and so precious.  He was one of thousands of kids waiting for families. It is shocking how unbelievably skinny he is, his hair is brittle and his skin is dehydrated all from malnutrition.  Children belong in families.  He, like many other children around the world do not deserve to live like this, they are worthy of having families. People may not agree with international adoption but once you have held a child where you can see every bone in their body, it is something that you can never un-see or un-feel.  Our hearts are broken for all the other kids in Bulgaria and around the world that wait and we hope they can hold on a little bit longer and hope that their family sees them.  Children die waiting and if anyone thinks that is dramatic, it just the truth and its incredibly easy to ignore. My hope is that people remember that ALL children are worthy of families because we could have missed this sweet boy because its scary or unknown.  We are not professionals or know everything about adoption or down syndrome but we are choosing to show up for him because for him it changes the entire trajectory of his life. And his life is worth it.