We signed up with our adoption group in early April and were thrilled to have been chosen by a birthmother a mere 13 days later! Probably a good thing that she was not due for another 2 months (others we know have had only a few days notice) so we had time to digest the news and buy a few baby things. Our birthmother is a lovely woman from Indiana who we've spoken with at least weekly since our match. We've shared lots of things about ourselves and our beliefs and somehow she still likes us!!
Open adoption is a relatively new concept that only really started in the 70's and has clearly been a very healthy thing for all of the parents and certainly the child. We think it's great that we've had this opportunity to get to know our birthmother (I'll abbreviate her name to "C"). Even if we don't end up staying close in touch with her, our child will know quite a bit about this person who some refer to as a "tummy mommy". C. has also put together a memory book and letter for the child that has pictures of herself and her other two children who will be half brothers to this child. That'll be a really nice thing for all of us to have.
So here we are, leaving for Indiana in 8 hours! The plan is to meet C. tomorrow night for dinner (our first in-person meeting) and then stay overnight. We might see her again on Sunday if she is up for it and then we'll head for Illinois to visit with friends until it's "time", at which point we race back to Indiana and wait for the little creature to make her appearance.
We're excited and nervous and pretty much bouncing off the walls!! It's a crazy process! This morning we had a long conference call with our social worker in Indiana and C. and went over the whole process of what will happen in the hospital. We won't be in the delivery room, which is, of course, totally her choice, but we'll be in the hospital and will be able to see the baby very shortly after her birth.
Did I mention that the baby is a girl?? We have a few names picked out but have to meet her first to see which fits best. Her first name, given by C, is going to be Savannah May. It's a pretty name but we have some other choices for her too. We'll be able to keep a copy of the first birth certificate so that she'll always know her first name. That way, when she is a rebellious teenager like her birthmother, she can change her name back just to spite us!!
Well, hopefully we have everything we need packed in our bags. I hear they have stores in Indiana ... so if something was left out we might be able to find a replacement!
Stay tuned for more from the midwest! By this time tomorrow night we'll be whistling the Notre Dame fight song!!
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Just remember, in South Bend (U)ND might mean Notre Dame, but there is another UND that is famous for hockey (and other stuff), if not for footbball! Because of all the Notre Dame grads associated with Seton School in Manassas, we go through this all the time!
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