It has been a whirlwind week for us. What a story we have to share about our daughter being born on a cruise ship!
So we got back to CA late Sunday night, and pulled all the baby stuff out of the Nursery. (It's all been sitting in there with the door closed since our failed match.) We steralized bottles, packed a diaper bag, figured out how to put the car seat in the car, and were ready to go in the morning.
We have TONS of 0-3 months clothes, but since she is so small, (5 pounds, 8 ounces), we stopped by Target when they opened to get a few newboard onsies and sleepers. We drove the 30 minutes to the BGM's house, and we met our beautiful baby girl. We really loved the BGM. She was so wonderful to bring the baby home with her until we could get back, and she really saved this adoption. If the BM took the baby home, she would have changed her mind, I have no doubt. I held our baby girl for about five minutes when my husband took her, and never let her go! His face just lit up, and he had a permanent smile, it was just amazing to watch! Deep down he wanted a boy, but he has fallen head over heels, and she already has him wrapped around her tiny, tiny fingers.
We were told that we needed to take her to the Dr. the day we picked her up, because her blood platlette count was a little low at birth. We had stayed at the BGM's for about an hour, then stopped by my work to fill out insurance forms, and probably stayed a little too long, so when it was time to feed her and change her diaper, we had to pull over to a parking lot. That first feeding and diaper change was COMICAL! She kept sliding down the bucket seats, and I didn't think we got the diaper on right. (This is all new to us). We stopped by a friends house a few miles from where we live to get a quick crash course in diaper changes, and she laughed when she saw our diaper, because it practically fell off!
We made it to the doctor, and she was looking very jaundice, so they sent us to the hospital to do rush labs. We got a phone call two hours later telling us to get back to the hospital within the hour because her bilirubin was super high, and she needed to get treat immeadiately. The doctors originally thought she would need to be under the lights for a few days, but she did AWESOME, and only needed about 16 hours. They tried her on the bili blanket and under the lights in a basinet, but she was having trouble regulating her temp because she is a premie, so they had to bring in an isolet. What a scary looking contraption! So she got her little sunglasses, and started her tanning.
She was taken off the lights in the morning, but they wanted to keep her for a few hours to see if she could regulate her temp in a bassinet, which again, she passed with flying colors! We finally got to go home after about 20-hours at the hospital.
We are just soooo happy to have her home, and to finally be a family, but I have to tell you, it's so much harder than I thought it would be, but I LOVE every minute of it! Because she is so small, she was swimming in the Newborn clothes we bought, so I ran out to buy premie clothes, but they are hard to find! Our friends have just showered us with premie clothes, and now she is set. It's just amazing how in such a short amount of time, your lives can change.
For those of you that already have your babies home, I now understand your joy, and for those still waiting, you'll get there. We were devasted in February when our first match fell through after bonding with the BM and the baby, but just over three months later, we are complete. In CA, the BM has 30-days to change her mind, so we still have some waiting, but we learned from the agency that their were circumstances at the hospital that caused the hospital to make a cps referral for the two little girls she has at home (very sad), but have told us that since there is an adoption plan in place with our little girl, she won't be affected, and that it would be difficult if the BM or BF changed their minds to get her back based on the cps referral. I hate that these two little girls at home are affected, and I really hope everything works out in the best interest of these two little girls, whatever that may be.
For those of you that don't have your little ones home yet, the heartache, stress, and waiting, is soooooo worth it!
Re: Update..... (LONG)
I have tears in my eyes after reading your post. Congrats, she is amazing and beautiful!
It's amazing how just the thought of one day meeting our future little one can make me cry and reading your post, I can actually feel the emotions, it's an amazing feeling and I can't wait for our day to come. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for sharing, enjoy being a mom!
TTC since May 2006. After 3 failed Clomid cycles, 2 failed Injectibles/IUIs, 2 failed IVFs and 1 failed FET, we moved on to adoption!
Last ditch FET resulted in BFP, and identical twin girls!
Congratulations! What a wonderful story! It brings me back to the moment we got to meet our LO and I get chills. You're right the heartache associated with waiting for a match is so worth it.
The 30-day wait is nerve-racking but it will over before you know it. And I am not sure whether that's true for all cases, but we were told that 30 days is just an estimate of how long it takes for the state to accept the relinquishment paperwork. In our case it was done within about 3 weeks (we are also in CA).
Once again, CONGRATULATIONS!
YAY!!! Congratulations. I have been watching for your update and my heart started racing when I saw it so I had to scan down to your siggy to make sure it was good news first before I could even read the rest.
I am so thrilled for you all!! What a precious season and so good to hear you are enjoying every minute of it.
DX: Premature ovarian failure
::::SAIFW::::: People call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat or a prostitute. - Rebecca West
WE'VE BEEN MATCHED WITH A SWEET LITTLE BOY!! -4/5/11
My Blog
Thanks sooooo much everyone! The support on this board is just amazing, I wouldn't have survived very long without it! It hasn't sunk in yet, being a parent. I don't know if it's the sleep deprevation, or everything just happened so fast, but it's an amazing ride. She has had to go to the doctor every single day this week to get retested for bilirubin, and even though it keeps creeping back up, they aren't concerned. She's not gaining weight though, which they are concerned about. She's down to 5 pounds 4 ounces, which is normal for them to lose weight in the first few days, but she's not rebounding with weight gain, so back we go tomorrow for another weight check. I think she has spent more time out of our house than in our house since she was born!
Thanks again, and I really hope everyone gets that special little bundle of joy they've been waiting for, and soon!
Thanks sooooo much everyone! The support on this board is just amazing, I wouldn't have survived very long without it! It hasn't sunk in yet, being a parent. I don't know if it's the sleep deprevation, or everything just happened so fast, but is an amazing ride. She has had to go to the doctor every single day this week to get retested for bilirubin, and even though it keeps creeping back up, they aren't concerned. She's not gaining weight though, which they are concerned about. She's down to 5 pounds 4 ounces, which is normal for them to lose weight in the first few days, but she's not rebounding with weight gain, so back we go tomorrow for another weight check. I think she has spent more time out of our house than in our house since she was born!
Thanks again, and I really hope everyone gets that special little bundle of joy they've been waiting for, and soon!