Newsletter - September 2007

Success Stories

Jim, Carol, and baby Madeline

April 4, 2007 marked our daughter's third birthday. We decided that as a gift to ourselves and to our daughter, we would try to find out more about her first year of life through a child history report from China-Babies.

We knew that providing her with any additional information later in life would be invaluable, but what we didn't realize was how much that information would mean to us, as her parents.

Madeline

Our daughter was born in Jiangxi Province, and placed in foster care when she was a month old. We had two photos of an elderly woman with a kind face, and was told she was her foster Mom, was given her name, and some basic information. Our daughter was almost 15 months old when we first held her, and it was clear that she was grieving deeply. She would say "Momma" a lot in the first few months with us, and at first I was naive enough to think she had learned who I was quite quickly. It wasn't until we got the picture of "Momma" out and showed it to her that we realized she had been asking us for her foster Mom all along.

Because of our daughter's age, it was clear that she could still remember Momma and missed her deeply. We hung Momma's picture on the wall in her room those first few months - she would want to hold the photo and say "bye bye Momma." And even recently when she was feeling sad she asked for the person she now calls "China Momma".

But sadly, as our daughter has grown her memories have faded, but her love has not - and it was because of this obvious love and attachment she had for Momma that we decided to contact China-Babies.

I found out about their service thru our SWI list-serve and contacted Misty immediately. I was hopeful because I knew China-Babies had worked with our SWI before. Within 24 hours Misty emailed us to tell us that she had pre-approval for our report but that she couldn't guarantee what kind of information she could obtain. I knew in my heart that even a simple photo of where our daughter had spent her first year of life would be priceless, so we decided to proceed.

We waited patiently thru the summer and were delighted to receive 32 beautiful photos of foster Mom this August, her home, our daughter's baby basket, the kitchen, the pets, the surrounding village, and the rice fields. And what's more, China-Babies was able to interview our foster Mom and provide us with some answers to questions we had; how did Momma soothe her, did she always hate the bath, what kind of baby was our daughter, was she always a terrible sleeper :), and was she loved.

I think in retrospect, the most rewarding part of our China-Babies history report was that we were able to send our foster Mom an update with photos. I had sent photos and letters thru the SWI before, but doubted that they had found their way to her home. And I knew in my heart that this woman had loved my daughter, and that there was no way she could ever contact us. So to know that this beautiful woman was able to look at pictures of our daughter, happy and healthy and hear what her life was like and that she was safe and loved meant the world to us. In fact it has ended up being the most rewarding aspect of the process, for now.

We know that one day when our daughter is older, that this report and information will also mean the world to her. And in fact it already has! When we received the package, we opened it with our daughter and told her it was a letter from Momma. She looked at the photos and for a moment seemed to have some closure. Perhaps it was just a loving mother being hopeful for her daughter's broken heart and past, or maybe just maybe, China-Babies have already provided her with a missing piece of the puzzle.

Thank you Misty and China- Babies. It has meant the world.

-Carol Alexander

Click here for the Alexanders Photo Gallery

Click here for Foster Village Gallery

If you would like to be featured in our next success stories update, Please email us!

Resources

Be sure to check out the China Babies Blog where we continue to post new pictures of gorgeous babies, families, and links for resources we find!

History Reports

We are currently accepting requests for History Reports, on a case-by-case basis. We find this work very rewarding, and know that this information will prove invaluable to an adopted child as they grow older.

If you know of someone who would like to request a History report, please have them contact us at historyreports@china-babies.com.

We look forward to continuing to serve you, and your friends by providing these valuable links to our adopted childrens past.

Sincerely, with best wishes for all your continued success,

Your China-Babies Team