In my last post, I shared about the events from the call on 2/13 saying Caleb was on his way all the way through the moment we got to meet him on Valentine's Day! Here's how the rest of the hospital stay went!
We sat in the nursing closet for several hours loving on our sweet boy! My mom came in and got to love on him as well. We met Caleb's nurses and heard about what a sweet baby he had been in the nursery. We fed him, changed him, and snuggled him. We also facetimed as many family and friends as possible!
After several hours, they gave us the good news that they had a room for us and we could stay with Caleb that night! YAY!!! We went to the room and got somewhat settled. After a little while, Austin ordered pizza and then took my mom back to Wyatt and Lauren's home so she could sleep there that night. He also packed a bag for us to stay at the hospital.
Honestly, a lot of the time at the hospital felt like a blur! We were exhausted. We were trying to bond with our boy. Nurses and doctors kept coming in and checking on Caleb. It was crazy! (This part obviously is the same for anyone else with a new baby in the hospital! It's just rough! Wonderful, but rough!)
That evening, they took Caleb for his circumcision and routine tests. (Now that I'm typing that, I realize that's the time when Austin took my mom back...like I said, it's a blur!) I tried to take a nap while Caleb was gone, but I couldn't! Austin got back, and I was getting nervous. they told us Caleb would be gone for probably an hour to an hour and a half. Over three hours passed, and I was a wreck. All I could think about was if he was doing okay but also if something was happening that I didn't know about. Was his first mama changing her mind? Was a social worker about to walk in and tell us we would never see that sweet boy again because he was going home with his first mama? My mind was going crazy. I kept tearing up, and Austin tried so hard to calm my fears.
No words can describe the fear and worry that is felt when you know nothing is in your control. We spent all day falling in love with Baby Caleb, but we knew at any moment, everything could change. It's terrifying, and it's really easy for your mind to run wild.
But finally, the nurse wheeled our boy back in the room! Relief! That was when the nurse told us that Caleb's first mama had come to see him in the nursery. She said they didn't let her see him though. (Side note, that was a huge mistake on the hospital's part! At the end of the day, she was Caleb's one and only mama at the time, and she was kept from him.) I was very concerned because she had originally said she didn't want to see the baby at all, but now she was wanting to see him. I texted Lindsay, and she and Tanya checked on her. She simply wanted to see him. She wasn't changing her mind. She wanted a picture of her son, but the hospital was standing in her way. (It was shocking to me to find out that not all hospitals are pro adoption. Some nurses can be ugly to birth mothers. There was a serious lack of understanding at this hospital.)
After Lindsay reassured me that everything was still on track, I felt a lot better. Austin and I tried to get some sleep. We got a few hours, but not much at all!
The next morning, Austin went to pick up my mom, and they went to Target to buy a car seat. Yes, we forgot our car seat at home and realized it when unloaded my dad's truck at DFW, so we had to buy a new one!
They got back to the hospital, and the morning was full of nurses in and out. A nurse practitioner came in. And a photographer did some newborn photos. (We haven't been able to see them though because they apparently need a court order for adoptive parents to view the photos. Whatever! I'm just a little bitter about it! haha! I just wanted some newborn pictures of our boy!!!)
Lindsay arrived, and we finally met in person! Tanya and the attorney were meeting with Caleb's first mama at 12:30 for her to sign the final papers, where she would sign over her rights, which would be irrevocable. I was suddenly nervous again. I knew that in that moment, another woman was signing a paper that would terminate her rights to her son so that we could become his parents. It was heart wrenching and exciting all at once.
Then Lindsay got THE TEXT. It was done. I felt like I could breathe for the first time in over 48 hours! It felt like a literal weight had been lifted off my shoulders, and the tears flooded! It was a magical moment, and I'll never forget it!
A few minutes later, we met Caleb's first mama. Another incredibly heartbreaking moment that changed my heart and life forever! I shared more about that in another post, so I won't go into a lot of details here. I'll simply say, God is good. He completely changed my heart toward Caleb's precious first mama, and I can wholeheartedly say I adore that woman! Her heart for Caleb is unbelievable, and I'm so happy I can tell Caleb as he grows all about the immense love she has for him. We are already building a beautiful relationship, and it's better than I ever could have imagined!!
After we said our goodbyes to Caleb's first mama, we were discharged from the hospital. We were leaving the hospital with our beautiful boy! Finally!! A long NC stay was still ahead, but we got to spend the time with Caleb, so it was all okay!
I'll share about the rest of our stay in Charlotte within the next few days! I'll pause here for now! Pray for our boy! Pray for his first mama! And pray for the rest of our adoption journey! It's not over yet!
No comments:
Post a Comment