It is so hard for me to put into words just how blessed we feel right now. Our little family is finally complete. We're not just a couple anymore. Or the couple with a baby. We're actually a little family. Today was hard. SOOOOOOOOOOO hard. But if you've followed my blog you knew that it would be. I didn't sleep well last night. Which is no surprise.
We had to be at the agency at 10:30 this morning to sign the paperwork. Then we were going over to the hospital with the caseworker to pick up our baby girl. B. was supposed to be released at noon, so we figured this would give us time to get all of the discharge red tape done and spend a few minutes with her before we left.
The first part of the day went well. At the agency the caseworker had everything ready so all we had to do was sign and date about a million different forms and go over some legal jargon. (Side note: we got some super exciting news that the agency has changed their policy. We no longer have to wait six months to finalize the adoption. We can begin legal proceedings to finalize as soon as the birth mother signs her termination which should be within the next two weeks.)
When we arrived at the hospital just after 11, we were told that the hospital's social worker and notary wouldn't be arriving until noon. We were asked to wait at the nurses station because B. was really starting to get emotional and wanted to spend some time alone with the baby. We absolutely respected that, so we just tried our best to keep Gideon occupied while we visited with our case worker (who was in and out of her room during this time.) Fortunately we'd brought along a few new presents and toys for Gideon, so he was pretty good for a while.
My only frustration with the entire day came with the hospital staff. It just seemed like they couldn't get it together. Seriously. For two hours we sat and waited. After half an hour the social worker showed up and said a nurse was going to come and get us started on the discharge procedures. But it was still another 45 minutes before that happened. (By this time our two year old was hungry for lunch and starting to climb the walls because he was bored. They were nice enough to scrounge up some cookies for him which I appreciated.) Finally at 12:15 we started the discharge proceedings. First they left us in a room with a video on baby CPR, choking, etc. Then when the video was over, we told them we were done and it was still another 20 minutes before they came in with the paperwork. (At this point Gideon was trying to push all the buttons a vitals monitor that had been left out.) We finally finished the paper work and were told to wait AGAIN while they checked with the birth mom and caseworkers. At 12:55 we were taken back to see B.
B. was sobbing hard when we entered the room. Gideon was so excited to see the baby again, he tried giving her all of his new toys. When Gideon was placed with us, we visited with B. and her family for about an hour before placement actually happened. Today we only spent about 5 minutes with her. She and her dad were there. She and I were both crying. And we barely spoke. There was no need for words. Nothing we could say was going to make it better. Finally she kissed Parker and handed her to me. I hugged and kissed her and we gathered all of our things and left the room.
They had to take Parker back to the nursery to take the clamp off of her cord, so that gave us an opportunity to dress her in her new outfit Nana bought especially to bring her home in.
Doesn't she look like the sweetest thing ever!?!?!?! (Note: See Gideon's Ice Age Beanie babies. He was so excited he kept giving them to her!)
Gideon jumped, and skipped and yelled happily all the way out of the hospital. He was so thrilled we were taking his baby home!
In the car big brother actually got upset because their car seats are on either side of the car and he wasn't close enough to touch her. But by this time it was 1:15 and he was tired and cranky anyway. He actually fell asleep on the way home.
At home, Parker had a great welcoming committee....Aunt Skye...
Grandma Cindy
Grandpa (who's been sick with a cold and wanted to make sure he didn't infect her.)
And Trav's cousin Deeann who I somehow didn't manage to get a photo of.
It's been a busy and emotional day. But we're so happy and excited to have her home with us at last. I told Travis on the way home from the hospital that I'm glad this is it for us. There's just no way I can go through this again. So I feel so blessed to have two such beautiful and healthy kids. It's more than I deserve!
In other happy news, B. had her hearing today and signed termination papers, so Parker is no longer in legal risk. Because of the updated guidelines we can call a lawyer tomorrow and start the finalization process. YAY!!!!!!!
