Meeting our son and birthmom

I almost passed out when we got off the elevator at the hospital. No, seriously- felt lightheaded and dizzy. I took a few deep breaths and then we walked down the maze of the hallway to her room. The social worker talked to us about how her meetings with S had gone, some of her fears, and just some "tips" to make the visit go smoothly.

We walked in and there they were. Our birthmom is precious and just so sweet and kind. She wasn't at all what I had pictured in my mind. Now, remember I work in adoptions and I've seen birth moms from all walks of life and some situations have just been plain crazy. We just sat and visited with her  and the social worker. We talked about the type of contact in the future and what she desired, what we desired, how we were all feeling about this. The social worker was amazing- she made us both at ease and really just lead the conversation. I held him briefly and then we left to go buy a few things. We made plans to be back at 6:00 for the feeding. 

Remember, all we had was a diaper bag and a car seat!! I'm so thankful that I thought to buy one a few weeks earlier in the event we had a "stork drop." We went to Baby Depot and bought a pack and play, some bottles and outfits. We made a trip to Walmart to get a few other things. I had a "mini melt down" in the baby aisle and called my mom- I couldn't believe this was really happening and I had no clue what I was doing. We picked up supper for S and then headed back to the hospital to feed him. 

This time, it was just the three of us and Matthew. I was able to attempt to feed him (he wasn't real interested!) and we just talked some more. She told us about the birth father, about her plans for the future, just some things we'll treasure. Again, we didn't stay long. 

We left and checked into the hotel. By this point, we were exhausted and hungry. We love New Orleans but were not going to venture into the city. There was a seafood restaurant across the street from the hotel. It was also my birthday the next day- so we celebrated my birthday and our last night as the two of us. We ordered alligator egg rolls, stuffed shrimp and the best cheesecake for dessert. 

We went back to the hotel and set up the pack and play, packed our diaper bag and just crashed. We knew he would likely be discharged the next day (Happy birthday to me!) so we weren't sure of the time. We slept well- we had a big day the next day. 

The Drive

Our last photo as a family of 2

I barely slept the night before. I got up at 5:30 to pack our bags and surprisingly, didn't forget too many things. All we had for baby was the diaper bag and car seat. We stopped by the church to drop a few things from the night before and then were on the road a little by 7:00. The drive felt like it was the longest drive ever. We were about to meet our son and our birthmother. What she like us? Would she change her mind? Is this really happening? 

Most of the drive was filled with me making phone calls to my mom, calls to and from the social worker and our attorney, plus to a few people that knew what was going on, and one phone call in particular to a friend who just had a "stork drop" situation about 4 weeks prior- same hospital and everything! I had no idea what to buy, what we needed, how this was going to turn out. 

We finally made it to the hospital about 2:15. We called the social worker and let her know we were here. 

Up next: Meeting Our son and birthmom