You have been home for almost 3 weeks now. You are home. It's nice to say that. It has been the most wonderful 3 weeks of Mommy's life so far but, in many ways, it's also been bittersweet. This is probably why it has taken Mommy so long to update this story. You are beautiful, amazing, and a special blessing to us. The story of your arrival and coming home to us is a happy one for us but it was also a sad one for your birth mommy, K. This is what makes your story bittersweet.
K went in for her last doctor's appointment on Wednesday, July 23, 2014 and she texted Mommy shortly after saying that she was being admitted to the hospital that evening. Mommy called Daddy and then she went to pick up your sister from camp and we got our stuff together and got on the road.
It was a long drive up to where you were born but it was a beautiful one. We talked a lot in the car about what it would be like at the hospital, what you would be like, and how things would be with your birth mommy. We were very nervous but very excited and very happy.
When we were almost to the city in which you were born, your birth grandmother, L, called Mommy on the phone. She was very worried about your birth mommy and was very sad that she couldn't be there with her or with you right away because she was so far away. She asked Mommy to look out for K and help take care of her. So Mommy did that.
When we got to the hospital there was a lot of activity, a lot of people to meet, and a little bit of confusion. We weren't patients at the hospital like your birth mommy so we weren't quite sure where we should go or what we should be doing. We visited with K and her best friends for a while and then we waited. Daddy and your sister went to get some food for us all (lots of Pizza Hut for the next few days) and brought some back for Mommy and K. Around that time K got started on the medicine that would help prepare her body for your arrival.
The people at the hospital were very nice to us and found us a couple rooms to sleep in that night. Your sister was very tired and she and Daddy tried to sleep together in the same hospital bed. I think it was pretty uncomfortable. Mommy stayed with K for quite a bit of the time in the evening and, then, when things didn't seem like they were progressing too much, she also went to bed. About an hour later, K texted Mommy and said that her contractions had started. She went to go see her again and a couple hours later her water broke and K was in a lot of pain. The nurses came in around 3am to give K an epidural and then she was finally able to sleep for a few hours.
The next morning we came to visit with your birth mommy again and we did a lot of waiting and seeing how things were progressing with you. We got to see your heart beat on a monitor and even hear it. At times, we could even see you moving around in K's belly - your butt, mostly! Time passed pretty slowly for all of us - but mostly for poor K, who was pretty uncomfortable. Later that afternoon she began to push but after an hour or so, it seemed like it wasn't going to happen so they got ready to take you both down to surgery. We were at Pizza Hut (again) having dinner when we got a text that you were getting ready for surgery. We drove back to the hospital, wished K luck, and then we waited.
The nice nurses put us in a really great room right next to the nursery and across from the elevators. They told us that in about 45 minutes you would be coming up that elevator. So, we sat on the bed and we waited. This was the last picture we took before we met you.
And, then, suddenly, you were there! Your sister was sad because she wasn't old enough to come into the nursery with you so Daddy stayed out in the hallway with her and all of K's friends who were there to support her. Mommy got to go into the nursery and meet you and she cried. She cried a lot. Not because she was sad but because she was so very happy to finally meet you, touch you, and love you.
The nurses then asked Mommy if she wanted to hold you. And this is where things began to be difficult. K had decided that she wanted to be the first to hold you and that was the plan we were going to stick to; however, that plan was when K was going to give birth to you in a hospital room. There wasn't any plan for surgery and what would happen then. Mommy told the nurses that she didn't want to change the plan and she didn't want to do anything that would hurt or upset your birth mommy. This really made your Mommy worried and sad. We asked K's friends if they knew what she wanted with the surgery and they didn't know. It was a strange half hour where we didn't know what to do and Mommy didn't feel comfortable doing anything without talking to K.
Finally, a nurse went down to see if your birth mommy was awake from surgery and asked her and she said it was okay for Mommy to hold you. It was a wonderful moment. You were so small, so perfect, and so beautiful. We rocked in the chair in the nursery for a few moments and then they brought you into our room and we all got a chance to hold you and feed you.
It was wonderful. You were wonderful. You are wonderful.
We got to sleep with you in our room that night. Mommy kept waking up to check on you, to feel if you were still breathing, and to just look at you. Finally, Mommy needed to sleep too, so she did.
You got checked out by the doctor the next morning and got lots of tests done on you. You also got to visit with K, her friends, and your birth grandmother that evening when she arrived. Here is your wonderful birth mommy, K, holding you.
When you weren't visiting with them, you slept, you ate, and we looked at you. Your sister held you for a whole hour that day!
We were told we could take you home the next day. We were excited but we were also nervous. We didn't know when K would be able to leave and we were feeling very worried how that would feel, to see you leave with us. Mommy was very upset. After spending all this time with K, looking out for her, and getting to know her better, Mommy had become very attached to K and felt very protective of her. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt your birth mommy or make her sad. It seemed impossible to feel so happy and blessed on one hand and so sad at the same time.
We worried a lot about how our leaving would happen but we finally found out that K could go home the same day we did because she was feeling so much better. She had decided that she wanted to have lunch with L and that we would leave before then. We let K and L visit with you all that morning, feed you, get you dressed, and spend as much time with you as possible. When noontime came, we went down to get you and leave and heard K and L crying. They were so sad to see you leave. Mommy also started crying because she felt so bad about taking you, while she also felt so happy to take you home with us. We stood out in the hallway for a long time. Finally, Daddy went in and he said to your birth mommy and birth grandma, "This is not the end. This is just the beginning." Daddy is smart like that and says the right things that help people feel better.
We then took you home - we stopped at a gas station to get hot dogs to eat in the car on the way home because we were just so excited to get home that we didn't want to go to a restaurant.
When we got home, you got to meet Barney (Floyd came home a couple days later) and you got to relax a bit in your new bed with your sister at your side.
Since then, we have been living life with you here in your new house. We keep in touch with K and L and both have been to see you in the city as they have passed through. We send them pictures just about every day of you and how you are growing and changing. Each day is a gift with you and we are so thankful and blessed that you have joined our family.
