[twyla]

Hi, everyone!

This may be premature, but.....

I'm so excited I could just about burst!!! And since I don't dare tell anyone locally yet, ya'll get to be the first to hear.

Yesterday afternoon our agency called us at work and told us that she had just gotten off the phone with a lady who is 7 months pregnant and desiring to place her baby for adoption and she had received one of the informational packets I made up and distributed during my 'no packing, no traveling' vacation. (That's a stay at home vacation for those of you that have never heard of such) It seems that her best friend worked at the store where I left the packet, and after some prayerful consideration, brought it home to her to look over. She liked what she saw and since I didn't include any way to reach us except e-mail (she doesn't have computer access) or our agency, she called our agency to ask to talk to me.

We had two fairly long converstations yesterday and she says she wants to place her baby with us. She is due Oct. 4th. We are going to meet Sunday afternoon for a picnic lunch to talk and get to know each other. Please keep our meeting in your prayers the next couple of days. I'll let ya'll know what happened!

[TwoAngels]

I will be thinking of you and hoping your visit goes well. Let us know how it goes! I am new to all of this and am looking for a success story to brighten my hopes of a successful adoption!

Good Luck,

Stacy

[faith_amom]

That's AWESOME news!! CONGRATULATIONS!! Enjoy this time. This is your equivalent of seeing that positive pregnancy test. YEAH!!!!!!!

- Faith

[shirleyville]

I am an adoptee who just wants to say congratualtions! My birthday is October 4th!!
Giant Hugs,
Sally

[drewnphilipmom]

I am soooo happy for. please let us know how the picnic went.


cathy

[twyla]

Hi, everyone!

This is apparently a match made in heaven!!! We spent a little over 5 hours together yesterday and had a GREAT time getting to know more about each other. Not only is she okay with me wanting to breastfeed, she is happy about it and she will breastfeed the baby while they are still in the hospital so there won't be any nipple confusion problems! This is not her first baby and she has breastfed all of her children, so she is really pleased that this baby will not have to be put on a bottle.

She has an ultrasound scheduled for Wed. and she invited me to pick her up and go with her so we will discover together (hopefully if the little one will be cooperative) whether we are getting a son or daughter. I can't believe this is happening!! Her whole family and best friend's family is aware of the situation and we were given a "thumbs up" sign by one of the kids when he found out we were the couple that is adopting the baby! (thus the sign at the beginning of this post) They were all there at the picnic to meet us!

I'm living in "La La Land" at the moment, at least when my breasts don't remind me of the real world (I've started pumping in preparation and they're temporarily unhappy campers )

Thanks to all of you for the congrats, it means so much since my husband still doesn't want to spill the beans to anyone but family yet, and I want to shout it to the rooftops! This is a safe, for him, and approved alternative for now.

[Pblair]

Twyla that is awesome news! Congratulations!
Pat

[twyla]

To Stacy, Faith, Sally, Cathy, and Pat:

You guys don't really know how much I value your warm acceptance of my news without stupid questions like #1 from my sister-in-law: "Why is she giving her baby away?, I wouldn't do that!!! ("but I'm happy for you") "Although I don't think its right to give your baby away!" #2 from my brother-in-law: "Are you aware that when this kid gets through high school you will be nearly 70???" (to this one, I answered, "and your point is?") #3 from my husband's best friend: "Congratulations! Isn't it a shame some people just reproduce like animals?" (now why did he feel the need to put down the woman who has graced us with her trust and honored us with the priviledge of raising a baby she will spend 9 months caring for and bonding with???)

While it is true that I have shared this secret with a few of my close friends, (and told them not to let on to my husband that they know yet). And those few I have chosen to share with have been as wonderful as ya'll... I would think that family would have been estatic for us because they have seen more than anyone what the years of waiting and the pregnancy losses did to me emotionally. But nooo, they chose to try and rain on my parade instead! So, thank you again for the excitement that you've shown for my news, it is definitely safer to share here than with one's own family.

By the way, my mother and mother-in-law are exceptions to this problem, they can hardly contain their excitement at impending grandma-hood! This will be my mother's first, so she is about to bust a gut wanting to spread the news and I am making her wait til we get closer to term just to make sure the mother doesn't change her mind.

Twyla - I am SO thrilled that you found your match. I know how patiently you waited and how much faith you had that your child would come home to you.

I have tears of joy in my eyes thinking of you.

It couldn't happen to a nicer person.

Please keep us posted, I can't wait to learn more. Like names!! Have you and Randy talked names yet??

[Pblair]

Twyla, I think adoption is one of those things that people just don't understand. Unless of course they are like us and have researched it inside and out
Enjoy this time and don't let sour people take the fun out of it!
Pat

[twyla]

Just to keep ya'll up on the latest news...

Me going to the ultrasound went off without a hitch. As a matter of fact, she had me pick her up and take her, with her best friend meeting us there. This was an awesome experience, as the only other ultrasound I have seen was mine at a time when they were checking to see if I had lost the baby yet (I had). This little boy is so active, he was constantly moving! He kept his hands up in front of his face so we couldn't see much there, but he gave us a good view of the essential information so there is no doubt she was instinctively right about what sex the baby is. He is already turned in the proper position (head down) and weighed about 3 and a quarter pounds. She is such a sweet person! When the sonographer handed her the little picture, she turned around and handed it to me saying, "Congratulations!" !! I don't know if I can ever show her how much her honoring me this way means to me... but I'm sure gonna try!

Vera: As to names, we won't announce one yet, but I have had one picked out for about 6 years now. I had forgotten I had written it down and put it in the front of the baby name book and just the other day I was looking through the book to see what names I liked, wouldn't you know, I picked the same name again, both first and middle, and then the slip of paper fell out of the book!! And to beat it all, both of those names, even though they are not overly common, are in her family!!! Must be meant to be! Now I just have to convince my husband that he likes the names too.

The next few weeks will alternate between dragging along or flying by too fast, depending on whether I am thinking about how wonderful it will be to hold my son, or finishing all the many preparations for his arrival. Thanks for being here guys, I'm sure I'll need the support ya'll are so great at giving.

[twyla]

Just to update everyone on what's happening:

S came by our business the other day with her girlfriend on their way to an appointment at Bethany, our agency. When I showed her the nursery at work she seemed overcome with emotion and then I overheard her tell her girlfriend that it was so wonderful we were going to have him at work with us.

I have been biting my nails because it had been about 5 days since I had a phone call from her, and I was afraid she had changed her mind and didn't want to tell me. Yesterday morning she called, nothing has changed, it's just that she has been real busy (After all, she has three little ones to care for, a 2 & 3 year old that's hers, and her brother's 10 month old!)

S wanted me to know that she still has a doctor's appt for today and she will call me afterwards to tell me what he had to say. Also she said her oldest, an 8 yr old girl, was concerned about whether her new brother would know who she was. S said she told her that she would have to ask me about that. I told S to reassure this little miss that of course he would, and she would know who he was, they would never be taken away from each other as brother and sister, they would just be living with different parents! I then explained that when I was little (about 4), my mother had a falling out with her family and refused to have any contact with them even though we lived within 10-15 minutes of each other. I had 4 aunts and 2 uncles and upteen cousins that were right there and I never knew they existed until I was about 28, long after I had moved to Tennessee!! No child of mine will ever be kept from loving blood kin !!!!!! A sense of being surrounded by family and belonging to them is essential to a child's basic security and in my never-to-be-humble opinion, the more family, the merrier!

I still can't believe all this is happening! I'm sure as we get closer to the due date it will become more real and I'll begin to feel more like a mama-to-be and less like I'm dreaming.

[Pblair]

Twyla that's wonderful! I am glad that you all could come to an understanding.
Pat

[ladybuglady]

Congratulations! I will remember you in my thoughts and hope all goes well! How long until the baby is due? Thanks for keeping us updated!

LBL

[twyla]

The due date is Oct. 4th, but she will probably be induced before that to make sure she doesn't have to deliver on the side of the road, she lives about an hour from the hospital and her last labor was very short, only 20 minutes from water breaking to delivery! And that shortly after the hospital sent her home because she was only dialated 1cm! It was just lucky that she lived real close to the hospital at the time! The ultrasound showed this little boy to be a couple of weeks ahead of where he should be in growth, so we think the doctor will set an induction date about two weeks before her due date.