My daughter was in foster care the entire time since found. She came to me very healthy and right on target developmentally. She was "furniture" walking while in China (adopted at about 11 months of age) and was running around the house soon after arriving home. Her weight at adoption was 17 lbs. and 27 inches long. In one month at home she gained 2 lbs. and grew 1/2 inch. (JP, adopted 1/97)
Our daughter is now 2 years and 8 1/2 months old and was adopted 14 months ago. She is very active, happy, fun, loving, beautiful (aren't all of the babies from China??), organized and very petite. She now weighs 23 lbs. and is 32 inches tall. She has very delicate features. (AF, adopted 4/96)
She was very well cared for and is thriving. When we met the orphanage director we were very impressed by his concern for the children. He brought all the parents a photograph of the orphanage. Our daughter actually was living with the orphanage director and his family at the time of her adoption. (JM, adopted 4/97)
All the babies from Nanfeng had received all their vaccinations. (SC, 4/97)
Just thought I would send an update on my wonderful daughter. She just had her 18 month check up: in three months time she has gained 1 lb. 6 oz. (21 lb, 9 oz) and she has grown 2 1/4 inches (31 inches). (At adoption she was 17 lbs. and 27 inches long and during her first month at home she gained 2 lbs. and grew 1/2 inch.) Her doctor says she is a very healthy little girl. She is climbing everywhere! She is just so much fun to be with. I love it when she is running down the hall away from me, she is just too funny, her arms go back and she leads with her chin. As I read the first paragraph about the Nanfeng Orphanage on your internet site, the oranges were right on. She came with them stuffed up her sleeves and I was told that her village is known for their oranges. (JP, adopted 1/97)
Mr. Lu said that most of the babies are with foster mothers, and several of the foster mothers made the six hour trip from Nanfeng to Nanchang. It was very obvious that the orphanage workers and foster mothers were very attached to the children, and cared about them a great deal. In our group, there were 5 babies from Nanfeng. All of them were in very good health, quite alert, and very well socialized. None of the babies appeared malnourished or neglected in any way. They were quite hungry, though, and all had VERY good appetites. There were no serious health problems. Our daughter had a slight fever and a chest cold, but antibiotics cleared it up in a matter of days. Most of the girls were "furniture walking" by the time we left Nanchang. All had bonded to one parent or the other, and most were quite attached to both parents. The biggest problem seemed to be with prickly heat. The babies had to ride on a hot bus from Nanfeng to Nanchang in unbearable heat for six hours, and had developed some heat rash. It cleared up within a few days. Mr. Lu did not have background on any of the babies, but he did feel that in several cases, they were probably "second girls". He explained that in rural areas like Nanfeng, farm families are allowed to have a second child, 5 years after their first child. He said in many instances, the family will keep the "first daughter", but give up a second daughter in hopes of having a boy. So in rural areas, many of the babies are second daughters. Mr. Lu also gave me his business card, and said I could write and send pictures anytime. But I don't think he spoke any English. Anyway, my general impression is that babies in Nanfeng are well taken care of, had all of their immunizations, were quite well adjusted socially, and had only minor health problems that you would encounter with any child. All of the babies were active, not delayed. We had dinner with Director Lu and we feel that he is a very caring man. He had asked through the adoption official (he doesn't speak any English) if we would promise to send pictures of our daughter to him so he would always know that she was okay. He asked the same thing again at dinner that night through our translator. We were very touched by his obvious concern about these children. (RW, 11/97)
Our daughter was 13 months old when she came home in November 1997. She was 14 pounds and 26 inches. Eight months later, at 21 months, she is now 22 pounds and 31 inches. She was very well cared for, only a little anemic. She is a very happy child with a great sense of humor. She is ahead of her daycare classmates in both language and development. She has amazing manual dexterity for a two year old. She has already figured out her carseat and booster chair restraint systems, much to our chagrin! She is extremely bright and understands most everything you tell her. (RW)
About three babies in our group came from this orphanage, and among them there were
some scabies and other rashes, and parasites. Everyone is healthy now and totally
adorable. Our daughter was developmentally much more advanced than we expected, a sign of
good care by her foster care providers. At nine months she could sit, roll, hold a bottle,
track objects with her eyes, and move objects from hand to hand (and hand to mouth with
gusto!). Six weeks later she still has no teeth, but she babbles happily, crawls, stands
unaided (and falls a few seconds later), plays by herself, and is so adorable we cannot
believe our good fortune. (JK, a. 7/98)
We traveled with 5 other families....our daughters had been well cared for, happy and healthy, between 8 and 20 months old. All the girls loved spicy foods! The nannies "checked back" with us during our stay in Nanchang...several cried when they said goodbye to the girls. We were told that all the girls were in foster care, but this was never confirmed by the director. Amelia has large hands and feet and is in the 50% for height and weight on the Caucasian growth chart! She had some developmental delays due to being bundled up but was considered "on target" by her first birthday. (JS, a. 3/98)
"Our daughter was just less than 7 months old when we adopted her in August 1999. The weather in Nanchang was very hot and humid. Families in our group adopted three babies from the Nanfeng Orphanage. Mr. Lu and some orphanage staff brought the girls to our hotel in Nanchang. All three girls were in good general health. No parasites and all had been immunized (although we all redid them except for Hep B because the girls tested for immunity). They did have general ailments such as diarrhea, runny noses, diaper rash or constipation but nothing any other baby wouldn't have. They all adjusted well to their new families. My daughter only wanted me to hold her after the first 3 or 4 days so that was tough but it was OK with me. All three girls were happy, playful, furniture walking and eating well. I have continued to send updates and photos to Mr. Lu and I hope he shares them with her foster parents." (MR, a. 8/99)
Please e-mail me at webmaster@gurrad.com if you have any additional information or if your child is from here and you would like to post a picture here or other contact information.