Finally - Our Adoption Story

Yes, it has taken me WAY too long to actually get this post together. Needless to say, our lives have changed dramatically over the last 3 1/2 months.

Hunter and I always knew that if we were unable to have a biological child through treatment that we would definitely adopt. So, after our final failed cycle in May we signed with a wonderful local agency, A Child's Hope in June . We were immediately matched with our social worker and had our first homestudy visit with her on July 9. I was a bundle of nerves - believe my house had NEVER been so clean!! Luckily she put us at ease right away and was so easy to talk to...contrary to my initial belief, she really wasn't looking for anything wrong with us - she really wanted us to be parents. The most daunting part of the whole process had to be gathering all of the paperwork. We had to have birth certificates, police records (no there weren't any, but you still had to have something official stating that), financial statements, recommendations, physical forms from the doctor, and on, and on. On July 20 we went to our first parenting class with the agency. It wasn't really a class on parenting so much as it was a class on the whole adoption process and what to expect. When it got time to do the "role-play" match meeting with the birthmother Hunter and I were chosen. Luckily he didn't embarrass me too much ;-) As much as I dreaded it, it was really great practice...even though we didn't end up having a traditional match meeting. After our class we had our final 3 meetings with our social worker. I think she knows pretty much everything there is to know about both of us - even the embarrassing stuff. I have said this before and I will say it again - if everyone had to go through this process to have a baby, there would be a lot less unplanned pregnancies in the world. Once we got our final homestudy report we went live on the website in August. That was the point where I started to get a little antsy. In reality I knew that it would likely be at least a year before we were bringing a little one home, but I also knew that there was that slim chance that we could get a call any day. There were several opportunities that we were interested in in August and September, but as expected, none of those panned out.

So, on Saturday, October 20 Hunter and I were being lazy watching NC State lose yet another football game and my crackberry (as Hunter likes to call it) vibrated to let me know I had a new email. I felt a funny feeling in my stomach as I saw an email from A Child's Hope titled "Last Minute Opportunity". This situation couldn't have sounded more perfect - a baby girl born on Friday, October 19 in excellent health. The birthparents had called the agency just the week before and was scheduled to meet with the adoption counselor the Friday that she ended up being induced due to pre-eclampsia. Hunter and I knew that this was a situation that sounded too good to be true and that another family who had been waiting longer would probably be picked, but we still responded that we would like to have our profile shown. Over the next couple of days neither of us could get our minds off of the little baby girl that we knew was waiting to go to a new family. By Tuesday, I was really bummed that we hadn't gotten a call and thought surely the birthparents had picked another family. Tuesday on my way home from work I called my good friend Stephanie and asked if she, her husband, and 2 beautiful daughters wanted to go to dinner with us. I needed some cheering up and something to take my mind off of what I thought was yet another rejection. Halfway through dinner Hunter's phone rang and I heard him say "Yes mam" and give me a really funny look. Right then I knew it was "the call". We both ran outside so we could talk to the adoption counselor and sure enough she said that the birthparents had chosen us!!!! I could hardly contain myself, I was laughing and crying all at the same time. Hunter actually got to talk with the birthfather - they were really excited at how excited we were. We went back into the restaurant trying to keep a straight face, but as soon as they saw us they knew that it was the call we had been waiting on. We had wanted to keep it a secret because we knew that even though we had been picked, it was by no means a "done deal". In North Carolina the birthparents have 7 days to change their minds after they have signed the termination papers. We did call our parents and give them the good news - they may have disowned us otherwise! Can I just tell you - we had absolutely nothing! The room that was going to be the nursery was in shambles (Hunter had scrapped the popcorn off the ceiling). Since it was still not a "sure thing" we hated to go buy too much in case it fell through. I knew I couldn't sit there and look at it, if it didn't work out. We didn't get much sleep and during the day there was no way I could concentrate at work. I avoided my friends like the plague. I knew if I talked to them they would be able to tell that something was up. I must have called the adoption counselor about a dozen times just to check in and see if she had heard anything. She was probably ready to block my number! Finally Tuesday, October 30 came. I think I got up at about 5 in the morning. Our adoption counselor called bright and early to say congratulations and she emailed us a picture of our beautiful daughter. It was finally happening. After all the heartache and waiting we knew there was one very special reason that made it all worth it - her name is Addison Grace.

2 Months Old!

Wow, where does the time go? Our little girl turned 2 months old on December 19th. She is growing and changing every day. At her 2 month appointment she was up to 10 lbs, 3.5 oz and is now 22.5 inches long. She had to have her first vaccinations at her 2 month check-up and I think it hurt me worse than it hurt her. I told Hunter he has to take her for her next round at 4 months! We have had a busy past few weeks and I hope to have some time in the near future to post Addie's full story as well as an update on us.

One month old...where does the time go??

Our sweet Addie Grace is now 1 month old. Techinically at the time of this post she is 5 weeks, 3 days old. Needless to say she is pretty much taking all of my time, but I am loving every minute of it. I hope to post the full story very soon. We definitely had a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving!

Welcome Home! Addison "Addie" Grace Gibbs

We picked up our beautiful baby girl, Addison "Addie" Grace Gibbs today. The last 7 days have been a whirlwind to say the least! I will post more details soon...here are her beautiful pictures!

The Stork Has Been Found!

If any of you are still with me (since I am such a slacker at posting)...stay tuned for an exciting announcement later today...

Moving forward...

After our last BFN we needed some time to regroup, grieve, and figure out what in the world we were going to do. So now, 6 weeks later, we have finally picked ourselves up and are moving forward with adoption. It has been really hard facing the fact that most likely we will never have a biological child. Our RE didn't make it any easier by telling us that in a letter and giving us the phone number for an adoption agency, yes in a letter. What an ass! Needless to say we requested our records and never plan to step foot in that place ever again. I digress... We have been doing research on different agencies in the area and talked to a couple of people who have adopted through those agencies. Yesterday we had a consultation with an agency and Hunter and I both felt really "at home" there. We really liked what they had to say and their processes. After walking out of there we felt we had found the right place. So today we officially signed up with them! It is so exciting to be moving forward on a path that we know will end in us bringing home a baby. Granted, it may be two years from now, but there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel. Out first parenting class is July 20. Right now there is much paperwork to be done. We went through our pictures last night, we are supposed to have 50-60 to give our social worker to create our profile. The problem with our picture? Half of them had alcohol! I don't think any birth-mother would like to think she is giving her child to a bunch of alcoholics! It just happens that most of our pictures are taken with our friends at social functions where there is alcohol. We are going to have to do some serious photoshopping! I know we have a long wait ahead of us and a lot to prepare for! I told Hunter he has to leave out his "Monkey Boy" and his "Bull Dance" stories out when we meet with the social worker! Can you imagine if everyone had to go through all this to have a baby?? Hopefully our police records will come back clean - ha! ha! The good news is, we get the "pregnancy" without gaining any of the weight!

Another BFFN!

Not much to say other than it is negative. More later...