Our Adoption Story, Part 3

Part 1 and Part 2

We were fortunate to have a close friend who lives in Peoria. She is a Sister of St. Francis of the Immaculate Conception. When she found out we would be traveling to Peoria for a few days, she immediately offered us their guest house behind their convent. So we headed down to Peoria that Sunday evening and met her for dinner. The house we stayed in was small and cozy. It ended up being the perfect place for us to stay. It was quiet and just a short drive to the hospital.

We headed to the hospital early the next morning to spend some time with Nathan's birth mom before her surgery. Then she went in, and we waited... a whopping 10 minutes. It actually went by pretty quickly. Soon we could hear the squeaking of wheels coming down the hall and voices at our door. Our son was here! They gave me a bracelet to come into the nursery with him for the first hour while they did vitals. Dan was able to stand and watch from the window nearby. We got our first peeks at him, and he was absolutely gorgeous!

The nurse was wonderful, explaining everything she was doing, answering my questions, and calling me mom (which was still pretty surreal). I got to feed him his first bottle, which he drank like a champ. She gave him his first sponge bath. He absolutely hated it and continues to hate it to this day. That first hour was like a whirlwind.

After that hour was up, we were able to take him to an empty room across the hall they had for us to use for the next few days. We wouldn't be able to stay overnight, but we were allowed to stay as late as we wanted each night and take him from the nursery whenever we wanted (which was pretty much always).

We spent the next few days soaking him in, staring at him in awe, and taking about a million pictures of him. I think one of the coolest things about the experience was watching Dan immediately transform into a dad. He was so proud of his new son and already I could see that he would do anything for this little guy. He was a pro at calming him and was by my side learning everything with me. He took care of our son, and he took care of me. 

Our time at the hospital was unlike anything I thought we would ever experience. Our time was split between our own room and Nathan's birth mother's room. We spent a lot of time with her, which I am so grateful for. I feel so lucky to be able to tell Nathan about all of our experiences with her at the hospital. In this time that had to be one of the hardest in her life, she helped us take care of him and shared tips and tricks from her own experiences. Not once did she complain of her own pain or discomfort (after all, she had major surgery). Instead, she was concerned about our well-being and wanted to be sure that we had a special experience with Nathan. She kept telling us how much she loved watching us with him. In a situation that could have been incredibly awkward, she made it natural. I feel like our relationship grew tenfold in those few days, and she is genuinely a new family member.

In those few days, Nathan met several friends and family from his birth family and he got some alone time with his birth mother and her family. He chugged his bottles, slept like an angel, and peed on the nurses and tried to get us a few times. We spent hours with his birth mother both laughing and crying together and talking about his next few weeks at home. She assured us that we would be bringing him home, which to us meant the world. We had made it to this point before and walked away in heartbreak. This time was entirely different, and she made it that way. 

  

 

That Wednesday came, and it was time to go home. Birth mom's cousin came to take pictures of Nathan and all of us with him. His birth family was there to say goodbye. And the agency counselor was there to go through paperwork. It was finally time to take home our son. Surrenders could not be signed by law until the next day, but amazingly we had no worries. Nathan's birth mother wanted us to enjoy each moment, and that we did.

I never realized how hard it would be to leave the hospital. I was overwhelmed with emotion. I had grown so close to his birth mother in those few days, and I didn't want our time with her to end. I knew how special and important it was for all of us, and this initial separation made everything real. My heart ached for her, overflowed with gratitude, and leaped for joy all at once. 

Since then, Nathan has been loved on by countless visitors. He has brought joy to more people than I ever expected. He truly is our little miracle. One of the amazing things about this adoption is later finding out the insane amount of people we had praying for us and Nathan. I feel like every day I am learning about someone else who was a friend of a friend or family of a friend who had prayed tirelessly for us. And we are blessed to have this community on here who has also prayed for us. So thank you! Our prayers have been answered in a big way. This little man is such an incredible blessing for us, our family, and friends. When it felt like we were losing hope, this beautiful gift has overjoyed us and brought us closer to Him. 

I know none of these people will read this blog, but I need to acknowledge the incredible staff at the hospital, especially the nurses. They treated all of us with nothing but respect. They treated Dan and I as if I had given birth to Nathan. They were truly happy for us and let us know it. More importantly, they took great care of Nathan and his birth mother. They treated her with incredible respect and let her know it. They acknowledged this wonderful thing she was doing and treated her with so much compassion and admiration. 

The past almost 3 weeks have been some of the most challenging, emotional, and wonderful all at once. Nathan is such a blessing to our family, and we are soaking him up. We continue to regularly email his birth mother, and I am sure we will be planning a visit in the coming months. Our son will always know where he came from, and she will be no stranger to him. He is one very loved boy, with a birth family and friends, and a forever family and insanely large circle of extended family and friends. He has two women who love him with a mother's love, and I am so happy and honored to share that with her. 

Here are a few more pictures for your viewing pleasure. This will most certainly not be the last you see of him :)