Showing posts with label Updates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Updates. Show all posts

Friday, July 10, 2009

Everyday realities...


We feel as if we have had an out of body experience. All that has happen since May has been exhausting. It’s hard for most people to understand what we have undergone or how drastically our lives have changed. This joyous time has become an inescapable nightmare.

Jose and I have experienced loss during our lives. We have lost friends, money, careers, siblings, grandparents and parents. None of these prior events compare to the loss we have recently incurred.

The first portion of our downward slide involved the loss of a child. This is still ever present but has taken on many new dimensions. The loss of our hopes, dreams and future have come into play during this journey. These are all hard things to reconcile regardless of the circumstances.

During this short period, we have isolated ourselves from friends and family. This is simply part of the grief process. This approached has also been the only way we know to handle innocent questions, inquires into events and personal words of wisdom. Unless someone has walked in our shoes they have little insight into our feelings or current frame of mind.

We have had to travel this path alone. Adoption agencies are not the best at providing this sort of support and after care. Agency social workers are much too busy trying to connect families with perspective birthmothers. Few groups exist for this specific venue of grief. We really do not fit into a group that deals with loss of a loved one, death of child or miscarriages. Our circumstance is entirely different from those occurrences. Throw in the fact that we are a non-traditional couple and that complicates the process even more.

We received a call from our first match. This is the Birthmother that decided to parent after giving birth. We had a nice conversation that was very therapeutic to everyone involved. She explained her perspective and choice to parent. She also apologized for all she put us through and reassured us that the failed adoption was not our fault. She simply stated, "I was incapable of giving up my baby but Jose and you would have made wonderful parents." Her words gave us closure.

Some days we just want all this to stop! We realize that if we do not continue our intended goal will never be reached. We need to grieve and we need to continue our search for a new birthmother. Both of these facts are our everyday reality!

Monday, June 29, 2009

The last few weeks

Last week we experienced another loss with the disappearance of our second birthmother. We are not devastated by this latest event but feel exhausted from all the activities and emotions that have taken place over the last 6 weeks. During this short period we were matched with two birthmothers and experience the birth of a child. These weeks were full of doctor appointments, Sunday Masses, meals, shopping trips, study nights, late night telephone calls and stories of lives filled with turmoil and confusion.

Our last match did not work but we are grateful this birthmother decided early on that she would be unable to relinquish her child. The reality is we only knew birthmother #2 for 2 weeks. We are glad this relationship ended before we had time to bond with her and the baby.

Jose and I harbor no ill will and hope these young women find happiness and peace. Each of them made lasting impressions on us. We know the time we shared with them will be reflected on for years to come. We also know they too will remember us. As for the child we held and loved… we pray that God watches over her.

This part of our journey did not end the way we would have like. At times it has consisted of overwhelming emotion and emptiness. This portion of our trip has been extremely hard but it has made us stronger individuals and closer as a couple.

This is not over and with perseverance we will grow our family through adoption.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Please welcome our little girl!

The last few days have been the most amazing of our entire lives. Many tears of joy and sorrow have been shed over our year long journey. Creating a family through adoption is one of the hardest and most thought provoking journeys anyone can take. All of the anxiety and fear we have carried subsided when we held our daughter in our arms for the first time. Our entire world has changed forever.

Let us introduce our little girl...
Born: June 8, 2009 at 7:19 p.m.
Weight: 7 lbs. 8 0z.
Height: 19 in.

We would also like to keep you guessing another day about her name. That will be forthcoming in tomorrow's blog post. Special thanks goes out to our friends, family and fellow bloggers that have come along for this wonderful ride. Thanks for all the support!

Oh... and we could not have traveled this emotional road without Karla. She has stood by our side when we could not see the light. She has been our voice of reason. She will never fully know all joy she has brought into our life. It is said that everyone has a path in life. Ours would have been very different if we would not have met Karla many years ago. We love you, Karla!


Friday, June 5, 2009

More updates...

We are exhausted! Our Birthmother is in housing about thirty minutes from our home. It seems we are on the road constantly going to doctor visits, movies, restaurants, etc. When we're not with her we are trying to finish up loose ends and keep up with our day to day life. We have not been home for dinner in a month. I really miss my kitchen!

I (Brandon) have been so anxious and my sleep patterns are very erratic. For me sleep has never come easy but at present I average about four hours a night. I guess I am preparing myself for the trials of a potential restless baby.

Many of our friends have offered to host baby showers. We have declined these generous jesters until after our little one arrives. We are old school and do not want to jinx anything. The reality is... we are a little crazy and superstitious! The other reality is we can not sit still long enough to enjoy family, friends or ourselves.

Today's doctor visit went well. Our Birthmother is scheduled for an afternoon delivery Thursday, June 11th. She really wants to get this over with as she is very pregnant and uncomfortable. We will continue to see what the weekend holds. You never know... she may go into labor before her official due date.

We continue to remind ourselves that all of this will be forgotten in a few days when we end this part of our journey. The restlessness and worry will subside when we bring our baby home.

Oh... and the above photo is from our 3-D ultrasound.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

In the news...

Everything seems to be going at full speed in our lives. Many last minute loose ends are being tied up regarding work, home, social commitments and baby preparations.

My (Brandon) FMLA has been approved and I am working out a intermittent work schedule. I will continue to work between one and four days per week until January. I will slowly go back to work over the 7 month period and assess the situation as our little one gets settled. Jose will be off for the summer and during holidays. We are hoping he (Jose) can return to teaching four day per week in the Fall semester. These scheduling issues will all work out with patience and organization.

It seems everything is falling into place. We interviewed 12 schools last year after beginning our adoption plan. Two days after being matched with our Birthmother our number one school of choice called. They have space for our little girl starting in October 2009! Last year we were number 17 on the waiting list. FYI... originally it was thought that we would wait 2 years to be accepted into the program. We feel a higher power must be guiding and assisting with our journey. It seems that everything is slowly working out.

We have begun Baptismal classes and will complete 10 hours of Catholic instruction before being permitted to Christen our daughter. The subject matter is interesting and we have been thrown together with 20 other Roman Catholic Moms and Dads. We are the only non-traditional couple but have been welcomed with open arms. We are fortunate to have a progressive thinking Parish Priest. If you are reading this... thank you Fr. John!

We are a little tense as our Birthmother's due date nears. Everything is going well and we continue to see her 3 times per week. We have watched many movies, eaten to our hearts content and partaken in a luxury spa day during our time together.

Oh... and If you are counting, we have 8 days until our baby arrives. Ready or not here she comes!

Friday, May 29, 2009

Dress Rehearsal

Over the course of 14 days we have visited our Birthmother 9 times. Eating out seems to be a common theme but we have also taken in a movie, visited the Museum of Fine Arts and experienced the thrills of an amusement park. Well... we played the games and rode the train but rides where off limits. We speak daily via phone when visits are not scheduled. More activities are planned for this coming weekend if labor does not ensue. Everything is going well and a relationship is beginning to form.

Last Sunday we also attended Mass together. Jose and I were very pleased by her request to attend Mass at our church. It was a wonderful experience to have her sit between us. The event was a little emotional as we have prayed within that sanctuary numerous times for a Birthmother we could help and assist. We will continue to pray for a healthy, happy, smart baby as our due date nears.

I (Brandon) will attend the weekly obstetrician appoint on Friday 5/29. We are hopeful that a date will be scheduled for the cesarean. We do not know how much longer our Birthmother can go! Tuesday we had a false labor scare and rushed to the hospital. We are considering the false labor drill to be the dress rehearsal. If you are counting we have less than 12 days to go before the big performance!

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Our dance card is full!

Yesterday we saw the obstetrician for the first time. Our baby is approximately 5 pounds 13 ounces and looks to be very healthy. Our Birth Mother is approximately 36 weeks along and doing well. An ultrasound was done and we got to see our little one for the first time. That was amazing! Our Birth Mother will deliver via cesarean between June 5th and 10th. That is somewhere between 13 and 18 days away. This baby seems to be coming as fast as a freight train!

Our dance card seems to be full at present. The list includes painting a mural, making three cradle sheets, buying a crib, registering for shower gifts, filling out our leave paperwork, filling out HR benefit paperwork, contacting our pediatrician, buying basic essentials/diapers and spending quality time with our Birth Mother. We have many things to complete and little time to spare. Currently, we have outings planned for Sunday and Monday with our Birth Mother.

On another note, today is our 18th anniversary! We have arrange for some alone time that includes a day trip away from all this endless activity. We look at this entire experience as a wonder anniversary gift. We have had much to celebrate in the last few weeks and more to come as our first Father's day approaches!