Friday...meeting the birth mother

Friday was an amazing day, there were a lot of emotions and a couple things that were not perfect but Cathy is and we had a great time. I want to walk through the day and share with you how it all went.

First we went to meet the social worker that we will be working with in Pensacola and that will be there during the birth. She was okay, difficult transitioning to a different social worker after we have been worked with ours with almost a year. Pat (our SW) will still be present after the birth but until that point we will be working with this woman. We found out a little bit of information about the birth father that is a little stressful, his number is disconnected so there will need to be a little bit of research to locate him to assure he signs all the documentation that is needed. The agency does have his full name and date of birth so that should make it a little easier. We also learned that the hospital she is delivering at is small and does not have extra beds so Ari will have to stay in the nursery for the 48 hours and we will be able to see him but will have to stay in a hotel for two nights. Of course this is not the ideal situation, we have always hoped that we would be able to have a room at the hospital so we can take care of him while he is there and have the assistance of the nurses. We will be there with him in the nursery as much as they will allow us to though. Cathy doesn't want him in her room which is a good thing, she intends for us to be on the unit when she delivers and then send him to the nursery, so hopefully we will be able to hold him with in a few hours of his birth. Her best friend is going to be there with her so she as a good support system in place, this makes Jeremy and I very happy. After getting most of questions answered we followed the social worker to the restaurant and Jeremy and i went and waited for her to return with Cathy.



Cathy arrived after about 20 minutes of extremely anxious waiting. She brought her 18 month old daughter with her, who is adorable, and we had lunch. During lunch we talked and asked some questions, just got to know each other a little better. Everything flowed very naturally with no force. She gave us ultrasound pictures of Ari, they are amazing. You can clearly see his nose and lips and that he is a boy. Cathy had a prenatal appointment on Tuesday and everything is going great, she put us down on all of the information for the hospital so that we will be able to get on the unit with no problems. She is a strong outgoing woman that really believes in her decision to place this child for adoption, we are truly so blessed. When we were leaving she let me feel her belly, he wasn't moving but it was amazing.

Now we wait, the social worker will keep us updated on any information about the birth father and all of Cathy's appointments. We are focusing on getting ready for his arrival. We need to find a hotel in Pensacola/Milton area and familiarize ourselves a little with what is around. We have to finish decorating the nursery and then we will be ready for him to be here. We can't wait to have him in our arms. We couldn't have picked a better situation, I think this is a match that was meant to be made, he will be here soon. Thank you everyone for your continued support.

The post we have all been waiting for!

This is the post that I have been wanting to write since I started this blog. We have been picked by a birth mother and she will be having our son on or around July 3, 2011. We got a call earlier this week that we had been selected, we met with our social worker and reviewed all of the information, she said that it couldn't be a more perfect situation. I completely agree, Cathy (our birth mother) is a strong and healthy 25 year old woman confident with her decision to place this child for adoption. Cathy and the baby are both healthy and the pregnancy is going smooth and has been uneventful. She lives about 2.5 hours from us which is great so we will not run into her around town, the birth father is also on board with adoption which is amazing that we don't have to try to find a father and have him sign paperwork. Cathy also only wants pictures and letters at certain times but no yearly visits which is what we have hoped for all along.



Feelings......Jeremy and I are completely overwhelmed with joy and excitement the last few days have been amazing. I knew that we would be excited when this happened but I never knew how truly happy I would be. I thought I should be reserved and cautious just in case something happens. Hell with that, we are embracing this and our child 110%. Jeremy couldn't be happier that it is a boy and that we have finally been selected. We have 3.5 months to prepare to be parents, we are trying to think of all the questions we have for Cathy and our social worker and all of the things we need to get so we are a little more ready to bring a baby home.



The next steps......next Friday, March 18th we will be going to meet Cathy. I can't wait to meet her, we will also get ultrasounds pictures! I cannot wait to see him. We will discuss the birth plan and just get to know each other a little bit over lunch. We are a little nervous about this but really can't wait to meet her. After that I don't really know, I guess we wait and prepare and make sure we are ready.



Thank you everyone for all of your support during this journey, please continue to send your positive energy and thoughts for a healthy baby boy.