As I was returning that missed call (the one from the adoption agency!!), I walked into the front room, in hopes that my kids wouldn’t distract me so I could focus on whatever this call was going to be…
I was hoping this would be THE call; some baby news. But in those few seconds it took for the social worker to answer, I wasn’t sure that I believed it would be. You see, the day before, we were supposed to go to a training at the office. It was canceled due to the weather. Realistically & logically, I knew there was a good chance this call would be about the training. I was so bummed that they had to postpone the training. We’ve attended the training before while we waited for our other kids. We even shared about our experiences with open adoption at a similar training. But I was looking forward to going and meeting other families and also because I (not so secretly) hoped they would have news for us. Oh, Alissa. If there was anything to share, they would have called us. But I always like to hold on to that tiny glimmer of hope…
Turns out this was a call about a baby.
Eeeeek!
The social worker gave me some information & shared some details (and out of privacy & respect for the baby’s first family, I will keep those to myself). I’m pretty sure I was already in love at that point. I called my husband at work (and go figure, he missed that call). He quickly called back and he said what I already knew; we were going to put our hearts on the line and go for it! This baby was worth it; like all babies are. Oh and by the way, the baby was already born and was ready to be discharged the following day. Our original plan was to pick up the baby Wednesday evening at the adoption agency. Well, Wednesday morning the social worker asked if I could be at the hospital by 1pm for discharge. This baby GIRL (another girl!!) was pretty tiny (less than 5 lbs) so they thought it’d be best if we were there to go over everything with the nurses. And if that meant I could catch a glimpse of that lil’ love a little earlier, I was happy to oblige.
Kara (my 2 year old) & I dropped Matt (our 4 year old) off at preschool and then did our regular routine of story time at the library. I’m not sure how I made it through story time without bursting with excitement. Then we went to Target to get some preemie clothes, diapers & formula. Ahhh. Was this really happening?? Then while we were in the car line waiting to pick Matt up, I called a friend and luckily she was able to watch Matt & Kara for me. Phew! And then it was time for me & my husband to go to the hospital to meet this sweet girl! It was a crazy couple of days that won’t be soon forgotten. 24 hours after that first missed call, we were holding our new daughter.
And let me tell you, she is so sweet and we are all in love with our lil’ Emma…
She may have been a surprise to everyone, but she’s already loved by many.
Read more from Alissa and her adoption process