A Baotou Adoption Story

As the time neared for Beth and John to meet their new son, Max, in Hohhot (near Baotou), China, they wondered how they would be received. Their six-year-old, daughter Juliette, also adopted from China, was ready for a sibling. After two years of waiting, they found Max, a 21-month-old minor special needs orphan with a repaired cleft lip and unrepaired cleft palate in Baotou.

Now there he stood, meeting them for the first time, wearing three-layers of clothing, looking up at them with his big brown eyes. “He looked like a little Buddha -- a Buddha eating a lollipop” Beth says on her blog. “We introduced ourselves as ‘mommy’ and ‘daddy’, handed him a tootsie roll lollipop and he was in heaven!” Then they were off -- taking him to his new home in Salem, Oregon, to meet the rest of his family, including his sister.

Soon after arrival in the U.S., Max’s cleft palate was repaired (his cleft lip had already been fixed in China). Tubes were also inserted in his ears to help his hearing which had been affected by the cleft palate. Speech therapy is also helping him recover from the residual effects of the cleft palate. He is talking a lot, saying his first words in English.

Today, Max is thriving chatterbox and is inseparable from his sister, Juliette, who, Beth says, “is handling her new status as ‘big sister’ nicely. We love our little Max. I hope anyone who wants to learn more about our experience will call me. We are happy to share our experience if it means getting more children adopted.”

Thank you to Beth and John for sharing their family's story! If anyone else has an adoption story to share, please contact us!