Two weeks before the baby was due, on November 26, around 1am, I got a text message from the birth mother saying that she was having contractions and would keep me posted. Well, I was sleeping soundly and didn't have a clue. Around 4am, I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep, which is very unusual for me. I was thinking about the baby and birthmother. I jokingly thought, "maybe the baby is coming today and that's why I can't sleep..." .... Welp, then I looked at my phone and sure enough, baby was on his way! I woke up Jeremy and in true Jeremy style, he was a wild man (in all the best ways!). We were showered, dressed, packed (we hadn't even packed our bags yet!!), let the dogs out and were in the car headed to Houston within 25 minutes. We were SO excited. I wish there had been a video camera recording those 25 minutes. I'm sure we looked like crazy people that just found out they won the lottery or something. We were BEYOND excited.
We were at the hospital in Houston by 6:15am. We saw the birth mom and she was still in an observation room because her contractions were still 8-10 minutes a part. Around 8:30am, she was sent back home. We didn't want to drive back to College Station just yet. We were so hopeful that our son would come later that day, so we headed to my parent's house. Jeremy worked on his grad school assignments and I took a nap. We also helped my mom get food prepped for Thanksgiving dinner, since she would have a house full the next day. We knew if the baby wasn't born, we would have to go back to College Station that night because I was scheduled to work Thanksgiving day at the hospital. I went ahead and let by boss know what was going on... she was beyond gracious towards me.
Around 4pm, I couldn't take it any more. I sent the birth mom a text to see how she was doing and she said that she was just about the let me know that she was heading back to the hospital. This was it... for realz. Freaking out commenced again. We got to the hospital at about 4:45, and Elliot was born at 6:22pm. We got to see and hold him about 20 minutes after he was
born.
We spent the next two days coming and going from the hospital. Elliot's birth mother was amazing and we got to spend a lot of time visiting with her and some of her family members that came by. We were able to hold Elliot and love on him quite a bit during these two days.
On November 28, we were able to leave the hospital with Elliot. It felt so surreal. It is such a strange feeling to leave the hospital with a baby you didn't give birth to. It was both heart breaking and so exciting. Adoption is a beautiful thing, but it's hard. This baby was grown in another woman's body, and she has been with him and cared for him for the past nine months. For her, leaving without him is far from an easy thing. Hugging her neck, thanking her for trusting us and giving us this beautiful child... ugh. It makes me want to ugly cry. There are no words. I think about what a beautiful thing she has done and I am in awe. Elliot's birth mother is a courageous and loving woman. She will always hold a place of honor and respect in our home. We love her deeply and hope to teach Elliot to do the same.
Redemption. Adoption is such a beautiful story of redemption. Our infertility and another woman's unplanned pregnancy... two broken, messy, hard things that God worked together for good and redeemed because he loves us and cares deeply about us... all of us.
Whew, okay. That was all just a little over three months ago. We have been home, getting adjusted... having a kid is a big adjustment... who knew?! Ha! I was able to take a full 90 days of maternity leave from my job. Family and friends have surrounded us with so much love and support... and not just kind words, but the REAL stuff. Coming in our messy house, cooking us dinner, cleaning my floors, sitting and visiting, giving us diapers and baby clothes and cash and gift cards and more, coordinating donations of breast milk, babysitting so we could take care of ourselves, and probably way more that I can't recall right this minute... when I think about all of the things people have done, I am completely overwhelmed. We have good people around us. ... no, we have the best people around us.
And now, here we are. Thankful, tired, in love, and learning to walk this new road. This week, I started back to work- a job that I am so thankful for and enjoy, and Elliot started daycare today (the reason I finally have time to sit down and right this all out!) ... and just like that, a new chapter of life has begun.