Experiences of Families Adopting from Yichun

May, 2005 - We just returned last week from Nanchang where we adopted a 16 month old, Yi, Fu-Tong, from the Yichun City Social Welfare Institute.

Fu-Tong, now known as Caroline Fu-Tong, is healthy, hearty, and happy.  She was very well cared for both at the orphanage and by the foster care family, loved, and well fed.  She is developmentally on track or ahead in some areas.  

We did not get a chance to see the orphanage because the orphanage director was reluctant to allow our group to visit.  Not sure why.

We traveled with Chinese Children Adoption International and they did a tremendous job.  They handled all the administrative details for us excellently.  They whole process went smoothly without a hitch.  Their representatives were there for us 24 hours, they were knowledgeable and caring. 

Today, Carrie is running around the house, laughing, and bonding well with us. (HM, written 5/05)

Comments from another adoptive mom:  Our daughter was born on Nov. 2, 1996 and is doing exceptionally well.  We brought her home the first week in March, 1998 when she was seventeen months old.  She is now 20 months of age and our lives have changed dramatically, of course for the better.  She  is a gorgeous little girl.   We get stopped all the time and told how beautiful she is.  She was extremely healthy when we brought her home , just underweight, about 17 pounds.  She is now 21.5 pounds, eats everything and has great social skills.  Our pediatrician said that she was a very healthy child---the only thing she came home with was an intestinal parasite ( better known as "Worms"),  but that was easily cleared up   with just a few pills.  I encourage all parents to check for this parasite (stool sample) with their pediatrician.  In only four months she has already learned many English words and is laughing with us all the time. She has always slept through the night since we brought her home and seems to adapt more and more as each day passes.   She was in foster care with the Director of the Orphanage and his wife.  In fact, the director's wife was the woman who brought her to us.  She was obviously very well taken care of  and loved deeply.  I could tell how difficult it was for her foster mother  to give her to us because she cared so much for her.  She spent a great deal of time with us telling us all about her.  It was absolutely a blessing to get to talk with her through our interpreter.
(SE, 7/98)

I've learned from our agency's in country staff that the two women from the orphanage who routinely accompany the babies to Nanchang are Li XiuLan, the vice director of the orphanage (the more dominant of the two, with the rounder face), and Yi BinLan, the wife of the orphanage director (the quieter of the two, with the more angular features).  Yi BinLan and her husband have also served as foster parents for a number of the children adopted from Yichun. (DT)

Another adoptive mom:  My daughter is now a happy, healthy 19 month old.  But when I received her in April 1998, she was malnourished weighting twelve pounds at 8 and 1/2 months.  She was floppy with no muscle development, apparently because she had been bundled up, she did not move her arms or legs and she was unable to sit up.   Developmentally, she was like a three month old.  She was dirty and had rashes.  The orphanage director's wife, who delivered my daughter, demanded an additional charge of $40 for the "babies'  transportation".  She also was not the most candid person.  For example, when I asked if she knew why Amelia was so small, she said, "babies don't grow very much in the first 6 to 8 months".   As you can see, my experience was not the glowing one that others report.   Thus, I suspect there is some credence to the idea that there are several orphanages in this area from which these children are coming, although we may be being told they are all from Yichun City orphanage.  My daughter is now just about caught up, she is a smart and happy little girl and my life has been forever enriched. (AC, written 3/99)

From another adoptive mom:  My daughter was from Yichun Children's Welfare Institute in Yichun, Jiangxi, China.  She was born in a little village near Yichun callled Jinrui.     We did all the adoption paperwork in Nanchang.....the babies were brought by train to the Lakeview Hotel in Nanchang.   There were eight babies in our group ranging in ages from 8 to 17 mos.  My daughter was one of the youngest (at nine months of age) and the smallest baby in our group.  She is doing so well now, but she was really small when I got her and had ringworm, diarrhea, ear infections, and malnutrition.   Despite her health problems, which were minor and correctable, she was a happy social baby.  So whatever she lacked in nutrition and personal hygiene, someone made up for that with love and attention.  I attribute that to the orphanage nanny that I heard about but never got the chance to meet because she did not make the 4 hour trip from Yichun to Nanchang.  My daughter was very reserved and cautious the first 2 or 3 days after I got her.  She was "sizing me up" I guess.  After about 3 days, she decided that I was a nice person who fed her, kept her comfortable and played with her, so she decided that I was okay.    I look back on it now and realize how very poor her orphanage was, but they did the best they could with the resources that they had and someone gave her something that really mattered: love and attention.  We bonded very quickly.  She now weighs 22 lbs and has grown almost 5" since we got home in September 1998.  She was about on the 5-6 month level developmentally and is now ahead  on all the developmental milestones.  We are still struggling with chronic ear and sinus infections...typical kid stuff for kids who are in daycare.    (KG, written 3/99)

An adoptive father's experience:  My daughter was from the Yichun Children's Welfare Institute in Yichun, Jiangxi, China.  She was delivered to us in September 1998 at the Lake View Hotel in Nanchang.  There were seven other babies ranging in age from 9 to 13 months.  Our daughter was 10 and 1/2 months old, but was a malnourished 12-1/2 pounds and 24 inches tall.  She was one of the smallest in the group and the only one who was unable to sit up when we first got her.  Her legs were floppy and stunted.  She was developmentally equivalent to a 3-4 month-old.  When the orphanage director, a female, was asked why all the children were so small and in some cases had large scars, she avoided directly answering the question,  wept and said she felt sorry for all the babies and the orphanage did not have the resources. Our daughter was so small that all her clothes we packed, 6 - 12 month old sizes, were huge on her. We had to shop for clothes at the local department store.  She had a severe cold, but did not have ringworm or diarrhea; however, she was severely constipated.  Upon arriving home, she also tested positive for Tuberculosis and had to be medicated for 12 months.  Her introduction to us was somewhat stressful as she did not accept us immediately.  She was angry and cried at every moment, refused her toys, and could not be comforted, but after the 4th day she was fine.  This was a very trying experience for us, especially my wife, who eagerly waited for this moment only to experience initial rejection.  There is nothing that can prepare you for an experience like that.  Our daughter is now 25 months old and though still small for her age, is an affectionate, intelligent, and bubbly toddler.  We are very happy she joined our family. (T.L., 12/99)

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.