As I mentioned earlier, we went to Japan in September 2006 to pick up our adopted baby girl! She was just turning 5 months old and a hefty 20 lbs. She had been living in a women’s clinic for “abandoned” children and had never spent time with her real birth parents. Speaking of birth parents, the agency we worked with “shields” the birth parents so we were not able to get much info about them. If in the future we needed to contact the birth family for medical reasons (as in family medical history), the agency would play the liason role.
The first week with our baby was spent in Japan…and we all had some adjustments to make. At first we were very concerned because our baby didn’t make any sounds. Not a single sound. No crying, nothing, for the first 48 hours we had her. But, alas, the peace and quite didn’t last. After she got over the shock of being thrust into the arms of these strangers (plus after being hugged to death by our 3 year old son), she started down the steady path of whimpering, fussing and crying. Say goodbye to goodnights again!
Here she is a few days after we picked her up…and it’s the first smile that I was able to catch on camera.
After bringing her home to the US, we found her to be a pretty easy baby. Easy, except for the fact that she was absolutely FREAKED out by men, and me in particular! We surmised that in the clinic in which she was raised, she never saw any men. I hope this particular man-hating behavior will continue into her teen years. That aversion to me lasted a few weeks - she has since settled into a “I guess you’re okay” kind of attitude towards me.
The whole Japan adoption process went so smooth and so fast, that figured we had everything covered. What we underestimated, however, was the impact on our three year old (birth) son. In hindsight we should have done more to prep him for being a big brother. While I’m sure it’s never easy to suddenly discover that you are no longer the center of the world once a baby arrives, our son didn’t have the experience of seeing mommy’s tummy get bigger, going to doctors, seeing the ultra sound - basically 9 months of “get ready to be a big brother” kind of talk. From the time we got the call from Japan to the time we picked up our baby, our son had all of two weeks to prepare. And since mom and dad were so busy making travel plans, filling out paper work and all the other adoption details, we didn’t spend the time with him that he needed. The first couple of weeks we brought her home, our son started to have a whole range of attention grabbing issues. Luckily, after two months of extra attention, time and understanding, he’s finally settled down into his new role. Still, the effects of a radical three year old on our baby has not gone un-noticed. After two months in our home, look at her now:
[8/20/2008 Update: Please see my other stories about our Japan adoption:
Here she is, our Japan adoption
Japan adoption agencies
Bonding with an adopted child
Traveling to Japan to pick up our adopted daughter
Our Japanese Adoption - Update]
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Congratulations Satos! Just checking out your blog and albums. We’re definitely missing the warm tropical winters. Washington DC is too cold for us. Glad to hear that everyone is adjusting nicely to the addition in the family. She’s too cute! I want to squeeze and bite her pudgy thighs and cheeks. Andrew, at 18 months, only has a few pounds on her. Miss you all, and Hawaii, of course.
Left by Han on December 7th, 2006
Aloha,
I was just doing a search on adoption from Japan and came across your site. My husband and I also live in Hawaii (US Navy) and are interested in adopting from Japan. Could you email me privately to so I could ask you information about your adoption process?
She is such a cutie!!!!
Mahalo!
Melissa & Don
Left by Melissa & Don on January 23rd, 2007
Could you email about the agency that you and your friend used. I’ve been searching all day for an agency that adopts from Japan and can’t come up with anything. Thanks….and your daughter is soooo cute!
Left by Jeri on February 26th, 2007
What adoption agency did you use? How long were you in Japan?
Left by Lori & David on February 28th, 2007
Hey Sato Family,
What an insane ride this was, huh? Up and down, and rolling around! You know we can’t be happier for the four of you. We’re so happy that we had our little boy join our family from ARC.
Mrs. K is an awesome lady and so is Mrs. W from LA. Once we got through all the paperwork, the US Embassy in Japan and got the little tyke home, our life has never been the same. We’re sure you feel the same with your new addition.
See you all soon!
Jodie
Left by Jodie on March 19th, 2007
Congratulations! What agency did you use? My husband and I have been trying to find an agency that handles Japan adoptions. Thank you.
Left by Nancy on May 21st, 2007
Re my previous post - I was too excited about finding your website to notice that you had answered my question already. So please ignore!
Left by Nancy on May 21st, 2007
Liason in CA for “Agency to Rescue Children” contact information PLEASE!!!
We have adopted from China 5 years ago, wanted to adopt from Korea but no agencies want to deal with us because we (I) might “age out” of the program if we encounter delays (I am 43). My heart was set on korea as I am aKorean martial arts master, but I am also a Shihan and was excited, very excited to read this story!!!!!!!!!!!
Left by Ken Aduddell on January 17th, 2008
I saw your information on your baby girl. I would love to know more about who you used and how long it took and approximately what $$$ money I would need to come up with. I have read somewhere on the internet that it could cost up to 50,000.
We have been waiting for over a year now from China and the wait keeps getting longer, so if we could get a girl from Japan i would be elated.
Left by anne on May 23rd, 2008