Nungesser's Russian Adoption Weblog: Season II, Episode 7: Gotcha Day! Sponsored By Nungesser & Son

We soon left the hotel once again for the baby home. It was me, DW, Natalia, Olga, and Alexander behind the wheel. In the car I reminded Natalia that sometime that day we would need to go to Alpha Bank to exchange dome travelers checks for rubles. Sergei had told me that Alpha Bank was the place to go in Orenburg to cash traveler’s checks. Natalia and Olga we both extra pleased because I said it in Russian.

We arrived at the baby home once more and went to the now very familiar music room. Moments later one of Ashton Beau's caregivers arrived to deliver him. DW approached her and she handed Ashton Beau to DW.

Instead of a profound or sentimental “Gotcha Day” moment, to me it was really like any of the other many days DW and I had come to visit Ashton Beau in the past. Part of this I think is because the really of big events doesn't usually live up to the anticipation. The other part is that we had awaited Ashton Beau in the music rooms so many times already; we had become comfortable there, lowering the level of anxiety. And we were not taking him outside the baby home for the first time either. We had done that two days before for his passport photos. The full, and profound, reality would not sink in until later, much later.

We lingered for another 15 minutes. Alexander left for another exam at school and Sergei arrived to take his place. Nothing against Alexander, but it was only fitting that Sergei drive us from the baby home.

Our first stop was the Alpha Bank back in Orenburg Center to cash some travelers checks for more Rubles. DW, Natalia, and I went in. Ashton Beau stayed with Olga and Sergei in the car. On the wall behind the teller I noticed a Federal Reserve poster about the security features on the new U.S. paper currency. The text was all in Russian, but it just felt good to see something published in the USA hanging on that wall in Orenburg, Russia of all places.

I don't think they cash many travelers checks at the Alpha Bank. It took a long time, about 20 minutes. They had an American Express travelers check sticker on the window, and we presented American Express travelers checks. It was still a big imposition. I don't know whether it is easier t cash a travelers check elsewhere, like in Moscow, but it was like staging the Normandy invasion to do it in Orenburg. With the relatively sheltered places we went and the prevalence of ATM's, if I had to do it over again, I'd forget the travelers checks and just take cash, An ATM card, and credit cards (Visa and Master Card are much more widely accepted than American Express, Diner's Club, and Discover).

After cashing our travelers checks we went to the airline ticket office to purchase our tickets on Orenburg Airlines back to Moscow. Gotcha Day was a Wednesday. Natalia said that we would have Ashton Beau’s passport by Thursday evening, so we bought tickets on the Friday morning flight.

Then we went to get baby supplies. First we stopped at a special diary to pick-up some sour milk called бифидок (pronounced “bifeedock”) in glass bottles. Then Natalia and I went around the corner and through a side entrance to the building, down into the basement, along another dark corridor, and into a little baby store to buy baby food (we already had a pretty good stock of diapers and wipes). Next it was across the street to a grocery store to buy food, water, and other beverages for DW and me.

Our shopping completed, we returned to our hotel for some family time. We put Ashton Beau on the floor and let him crawl around and explore his new surroundings. Natalia told us that she had requested a crib for Ashton Beau. Unfortunately, they did not have a crib. Instead there was a chair that folded down into a small, toddler like, bed. We wedged it into a corner and the set up padding and other obstacles to prevent Ashton Beau from escaping and falling out of his bed. Luckily, the bed was perhaps a foot off the ground so he would not have far to go if he fell, plus we used extra pillows and blankets to pad the floor around his bed.

Soon it was time for supper. Luckily, however, our room did have a pretty good size refrigerator and hot water heater. This was a big help in preparing Ashton Beau's meals and snacks.

One of the caregivers at the baby home had written down Ashton Beau's schedule and menu for us our first day in Orenburg. Sergei had translated it for us. Supper was pureed baby food and about four ounces of бифидок from a bottle. He also ate some sort of milk and yogurt porridge that was powered and then mixed with water. Having several of those disposable GladWare containers in a variety of sizes with us was very helpful, especially for mixing Ashton Beau’s porridge. Ashton Beau enthusiastically ate his supper.

Allow me to digress here on whether to take a stroller to Russia or buy one there. We took a travel stroller and were glad we did. If we didn't we probably would have bought one in Orenburg. First, in our hotel there was no good place to set Ashton Beau for feeding. His stroller worked well. Second, when we needed a secure place to set him down, his stroller fit the bill nicely. Third, with his stroller we could go out for walks to the store, to eat, or just to stretch our legs. The stroller held Ashton Beau, his compliment of baby equipment, and our groceries, etc.

From Chicago to Orenburg we collapsed Ashton Beau's stroller and checked it with our other checked bags. We didn't really get any looks or questions about why we had a stroller but no child. The only time anyone noticed was when we checked-in at Lufthansa at O'Hare in Chicago. The desk agent saw the stroller and asked if there was another person in our party. We explained that we were on our way to get him. She was delighted and that was the end of it. This is sort of like our response when people asked why we were going to Russia:

“We’re going to visit family.”
“Oh, you have family in Russia?”
“Yes, our son lives in Orenburg.”

On our return, Ashton Beau's stroller got checked with the other baggage on Orenburg Airlines. They just don't have gate check yet. Lufthansa gate checked the stroller with no problem - a good thing because Frankfurt is a big airport.

To keep the stroller collapsed while checked, I wrapped a three foot length of StrapAll around it. StrapAll is like Velcro on steroids and is great for all sorts of stuff besides keeping a stroller folded-up while in the baggage hold of an aircraft. Don't go to Russia without it regardless of whether you take a stroller. I got mine at REI.

We took six small plastic spring clamps. We used these to attach things to the stroller like a small sheet to block-out the sun. I also attached them to the stroller handle so I did not have to reach down as far when pushing it. You can get spring clamps at any hardware or home improvement warehouse store.

We also got a small battery power fan from Safety Central. The blades are soft foam so they would not hurt if Ashton Beau touched them while in motion. The neck was semi-rigid so it could be bent to point to just about any angle. The other end had a spring loaded clip so we could fasten it to the stroller. We took a couple of these fans for me and DW to use too. I really recommend them if you are traveling to Russia in the hot months.

BTW, we also took a Baby Bjorn. Ashton Beau loved it and it was great at the Orenburg airport and other places. It’s very light and easy to pack.

After supper we took Ashton Beau out of his stroller and played a while longer. Then he went in for his first bath. Not a pretty scene; sort of like bathing a feral cat, but at least he does not have claws and just a few teeth.

Soon it was time to go to sleep. As one might expect, there was too much to be interested in for Ashton Beau to be interested in sleep. We all got in our respective beds. DW was out like a light. I was still awake so I put in a DVD with some episodes of Deadwood. On the fist episode I did not turn off the lights or plug my headphones into the DVD player. Ashton Beau was awake alternating between scratching at the textured wallpaper and watching Deadwood with me. During the break between episodes I got smart. I turned off the lights, plugged in my headphones and angled the screen away from Ashton Beau. Fifteen minutes into the episode, he was fast asleep. When the episode ended, I brushed my teeth and fell off to sleep too.

One of Ashton Beau's caregivers bringing him to his parents in the music room on Gotcha Day.