Going For It

Last Blog Post

2011-12-29T13:20:00.000-08:00

I'm sad to say I'm signing off my blog and will not be posting anymore. Thank you all so much for following me and supporting me through our infertility and adoption journey.

I'm not sure what the future holds for us as far as additional children. You see, as soon as I held my daughter I had an instant desire for more children. They are such blessings and so much darn fun. It's what we live for isn't it? So, we shall see. For now, I'm going to soak up every minute with Avalyn.

If you'd like to keep in touch feel free to check in with us at our family blog.

Happy Holidays!

2011-12-22T06:45:00.001-08:00

Those are for ME!?!

Our Adoption Is Final

2011-11-26T17:36:00.000-08:00

We had our Finalization Hearing on November 23rd! It was so nice because our 3 year wedding anniversary was on the 22nd and then of course Thanksgiving on the 24th. So we had lots to celebrate and be thankful for. Our hearing was via conference call so it was nice we didn't have to travel back to Florida. It was really amazing hearing the Judge say the adoption is final and she was signing off on the petition. Baby girl is ours FOREVER!!

Happy Family of 3!

Us with the Executive Director, Assistant Director, and Adoption Family Coordinator at our Agency.

Time Is Precious

2011-11-13T10:52:00.000-08:00

When we were at the beginning of infertility treatments, I remember just wanting time to hurry up. Hurry and find out our diagnosis, hurry and get through IVF, hurry and get through the 2ww. Then with adoption, the same thing. Hurry through the home study, our match isn't coming fast enough, etc.

But now, I want time to come to a halt. Its just flying by so fast. Everyone always tells you it will, and it really does. Avalyn is already 3 months old. Look how my sweet baby has changed!

1 Day Old

3 Months Old

Final Post Placement Visit

2011-11-05T11:15:00.000-07:00

We had our final post placement visit on Thursday! It was kind of bittersweet. I really liked our social worker, she was wonderful. At the same time, I'm glad to have it over and be moving forward with finalization. The items covered were very similar to the prior two visits.

Finalization

2011-10-31T15:17:00.000-07:00

We received our finalization date! It is 11/23, so we'll have a lot to celebrate this Thanksgiving. We'll have a conference call with the attorney and judge in Florida. Thank goodness we don't have to travel back to Florida.

Couldn't resist posting a little Halloween Picture!

This is 1 of my outfits. I have 3!

Birth Mother Communication

2011-10-28T07:35:00.000-07:00

Well, it appears our birth mother may have distanced herself. She hasn't responded to any communication since Mid September. I only email her about once a month.

We were told this happens all the time so I shouldn't be surprised. I am a little bummed though. I guess she may decide to open back up later on. I talked with our social worker and she said after a couple months the birth mothers are happy to see their baby is being loved and taken care of, but they just may not be emotionally ready to respond to correspondence. She encouraged me to continue to touch base every couple months and to also continue to send official updates, letters, and pictures to the agency every 6 months.

Anyone else have similar experiences? Any birth mothers reading who would like to share?

ICLW

2011-10-22T08:39:00.000-07:00

Welcome!

It's been a while since I did ICLW. A lot has changed! On August 16th we got the call that our daughter had been born the day before. We flew down to Florida the next day and she's been ours ever since. The love and joy in our hearts is indescribable.

I'm a Mommy!

Avalyn has been growing and changing like crazy and we are enjoying every minute.

Newborn

1 Month

2 Months

We also have another blog with additional pictures and updates if you'd like to check it out.

Thanks for stopping by!

So So True

2011-10-19T08:05:00.000-07:00

Look at this adorable shirt I found at a consignment sale for $1! It's Old Navy brand.

2nd Post Placement Visit

2011-10-07T07:23:00.000-07:00

We had our 2nd post placement visit last night. Only one more and we can move to finalization! Yay to giant tax credit.

The visit went really well. We covered the same types of things as we did in the first meeting. It was pretty much what has happened in the last month, milestones met, sleeping, feeding, Dr visits, etc. Avalyn was very well behaved! No crying.

Best Baby Products

2011-09-30T22:33:00.000-07:00

My list of favorite baby must haves. If you have any, feel free to comment!

A baby soother. I like the sleep sheep because it has 4 very nice sounds that are not annoying. It can also be easily moved from the crib, to the car seat, to the stroller, etc. It runs for up to 45 minutes.

A VELCRO swaddler. Ava can wiggle out of any blanket no matter how tight. My favorite is the Summer brand. Nice soft material, its light weight so it's not too hot, and the velcro is very durable.

Wrist/Ankle Toys. This is one toy Ava has really liked since she was very young. She will kick and shake. It's really the cutest thing! One rattles and the other crinkles.

Healthy Sleep, Happy Child book. This book was recommended by so many people. I love it so far. At only 6 weeks we are already helping Ava develop sleep routines. The book also teaches about sleep rhythms and we realized we were doing things wrong. Like keeping a baby up late thinking they will sleep longer! Not good!

Bibs and Burp Cloths. Trust me, you can never EVER have too many burp cloths and bibs. We have them everywhere. My favorites are aden + anais burpy bibs. They are so soft and gentle on babys soft skin on their face and they are very absorbent. They are shaped to fit around your neck AND they have little snaps so they double as bibs. Excellent.

Electric Aspirator. The "bulb" from the hospital seems so traumatizing to Ava every time I used it. This is gentle and works great (especially on the loose stuff). Plus, Ava actually likes having her boogies sucked. Oh, and it even plays music to soothe and distract baby!

Triple Paste. This one is a recommendation from others. First thing that come to mind were Desitin or Butt Paste, but this received rave reviews at my baby shower.

Aquaphor. Again, the first thing that comes to mind are Johnsons or Aveeno, but I got this at my baby shower. Awesome! Babys peel, crack, get little scratches from their nails, and get dry scalp. This works great on everything. It can also be used on diaper rash. I also use the Aquaphor head and body wash.

Batteries. Stock up because everything needs them! The soother, swing, bouncy seat, monitor, toys, etc. They die before you know it so always have some on hand!

Earplugs. When ever Jonathan takes over, I pop these in and get some much needed REAL uninterrupted sleep. Makes me refreshed, happier, and a more patient mom!

Hope this helps some new moms, mommies to be, and mommies in waiting!

Ava's Birth Mother

2011-09-19T05:16:00.000-07:00

We have a semi open relationship with Ava's birth family. This means we communicate but no personal information is exchanged (last names, addresses, etc.). We keep in touch via email and she also has access to our family blog so she can peek in whenever she feels comfortable. We also send regular hard copy pictures and letters to the agency, and they forward to Ava's Birth Mother. We currently do not have any plans to talk on the phone or have in person visits. I know some people are very pro open adoption, but right now this is the relationship we are BOTH happy with and comfortable with. I think that is very important in an adoption. We really do want to keep in some form of contact so Ava can meet her birth family when she is older. She also has two siblings we hope she will meet some day. We have been warned by our social worker that birth mothers go through a wide range of emotions and that they may withdraw at times and that this is normal. We will respect these times.

I admit I use to be one of those people who thought they wanted the bare minimum contact with the birth mother and then she'd just disappear. I thought I'd feel threatened by her. This is just NOT the case. Only someone who's experienced an adoption can understand the feelings that enter your heart. I think about our birth mother often, I genuinely care about her, I WANT to share information with her about Ava. She chose US and trusts US to parent and love her daughter and she deserves to hear and see how her daughter is doing. She loves her as much as we do.

The Rest Of The Story

2011-09-14T21:31:00.000-07:00

August 18^th – August 24^th

After a good nights rest we arrived at the hospital around 11:30am for discharge. An American Adoption representative was there to assist us. The nurses changed Ava into her pretty going home dress and gave us some newborn education materials. We also got to keep her little wrist identification band, cradle identification card, and we got a keepsake birth certificate (not original) with her footprints on it. It was so surreal leaving the hospital. I even got pushed out in a wheelchair while holding Ava!

After discharge we decided to change hotels since we knew we were going to be in town for a little while. We ended up at a nice resort on Clearwater Beach. It was nice to take an hour a day and relax in the swimming pool. Those first few nights were funny. I kept peeking over at Ava sleeping. Hardly able to see because I didn’t have my contacts in and I was only using the light from my cell phone. Overall, she was EXCELLENT for the entire stay in the hotel. Neighbors probably didn’t even realize we had an infant. Jonathan and I took our shifts and worked great as a team. Every day at 8am I put in my ear plugs and was out for at least 4 hours.

A couple days after discharge we were able to meet up with Ava’s birth mom, biological grandma, and aunt. We had dinner and spent about 3 hours together. It was a great time. I think they had a little closure as well. It was nice to get pictures and have these memories to share when she is older.

While in Florida we also had Ava’s first pediatrician appointment and took her for her newborn portraits. We took her to lunch, dinner, and the store. She was good everywhere we went. The hotel even gave Ava her first souvenir. A little bucket with her name on it and a shovel. We hope to return to the beach someday so she can enjoy this!

We did get a lot of questions from people who were wondering why we were out and about with such a young baby. We had to explain that we were NOT on vacation! We didn’t always openly mention adoption. So, I was also told several times how great I looked for just giving birth!! HAHA!! Oh, and that I must have had a lot of indigestion since she has a lot of hair! We just smiled and kept on.

We were very happy to finally get the call that we could head home. All the family was very excited to see her and we just wanted to get settled as a family in our own home. She was such an angel on the airplane. She slept the entire time, even during takeoff and landing. We were relieved. It was very exciting to be HOME!

More Newborn Pictures!

2011-09-14T16:42:00.000-07:00

Holding a necklace my birth mommy gave me

1st Post Placement Visit

2011-09-14T07:27:00.000-07:00

We had our first post placement visit recently. It went really well! The good thing about Florida is they only require 3 post placement visits over a 90 day period and then you can move to finalization. We are really hoping everything can get finalized by the end of the year so we can apply for our tax credit. Right now things are looking that way.

If anyone is wondering what occurs at a post placement visit. Here are the topics discussed.

Recent doctor visits
Daily routines
Milestones met
Support from family/friends
Financial concerns
Contact arrangements with the birth family
Transition into parents and role changes

My Little Beauty

2011-09-10T07:04:00.000-07:00

While in Florida we took Ava for her Newborn pictures. I finally got a proof to show everyone. There are more to come, hopefully I'll get them next week!

The Story Part 2

2011-09-06T22:12:00.001-07:00

Wednesday, August 17^th

We woke bright and early and were on our way to the airport at 3:30am for our 6:00am flight. Luckily, I was able to get a little sleep on the airplane, which made the trip go faster. We had no delays and everything went smooth. Grabbed our luggage, got our rental car, ate lunch, and we were on our way to the hospital. It was about an hour drive. When we arrived at the hospital we stopped in the gift shop and picked up a pretty arrangement of flowers. Then we made our way up to Ava’s birth mothers room. I swear it felt like a maze of hallways and thinking back it was quite a blur! Finally a nurse recognized us from our adoption profile and led us to her room. My heart was pounding. I mean, I was about to meet the woman who had picked US to parent her daughter.

When we walked in and met eyes, a sense of calm came over me. We exchanged hugs and talked for about 30 minutes alone together before we went to the nursery to meet our baby. When I first saw Avalyn she was in her little bed behind the nurses’ station with a little pink hat on. I still remember them wheeling her around and seeing her precious face. They allowed us to go into a private room to spend some time together. At first her birth mother didn’t want to hold her, but after asking her a couple times she agreed. I have a picture of them together and it will be special to share it with Ava one day. We spent about 2 ½ hours together and talked about all kinds of topics. I spent a lot of time just gazing down at Ava’s face, I was so in awe.

We left the hospital for a short while to find a hotel and get situated and eat dinner. We finally got the call around 8:30pm that the birth mother had signed all her paperwork and discharged. Ava would be discharged the next morning. We had to go back to the hospital and sign the rest of our adoption paperwork. We were exhausted and thankful we had one more night to get caught up on our rest before bringing our baby home!

The Story Part 1

2011-09-02T08:23:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, August 16^th

I was on my way back to work from my lunch break. I was talking to my mom when I heard the second call come in, look down and saw “AA”, and said, “gotta go.” I basically hung up on my mom, lol. I pulled off into a parking lot. The BMS (Birth Mother Specialist) asked if we could conference Jonathan in. So it was very special that we were both able to get the news at the same time. The BMS told us we were selected by a birth mother. At this point, I expected her to say the baby was due in a month or two. But instead she said a healthy baby girl had been born the day before! She went on to tell us all the match specifics and told us we had an hour to decide. If we wanted the match we would have to arrive in Florida within 24 hours. It didn’t take long to decide! I was over the moon excited but a lot of panic set in, SO much to do in so little time! The 3 minute drive back to work seemed like an eternity. I had to go meet with my boss and pretty much tell him I was leaving ASAP. I tied up all loose ends and I was out of there! After that it was a whirlwind of activity. We had to go to the agency to sign/notarize the match agreement. We had to wire money. We had to pack, clean the house, get a cat sitter, and flights. Jonathan and I also found time to have a nice dinner that night and went to the cupcakery for dessert. There were no evening flights so we enjoyed one last night in our home as two. I felt very at peace with the match, but I was still a big ball of nerves and excitement. I got maybe 1 hour of sleep!

Meant To Be

2011-08-27T12:37:00.000-07:00

You may remember that we were planning to do a 2nd IVF cycle last year. It was scheduled to start on 11/22.

I put Ava's birth date into a conception calculator and guess when her "Probable Conception Date" was?

November 22, 2010.

Does that give you chills or what!

We Are Home!

2011-08-25T21:03:00.000-07:00

We got the call yesterday that we were released to leave Florida and come home. So happy to be home. Now I need to get the house in baby order.

Speaking of being happy. This baby girl was happy to be home too! Oh, and I was relieved that she did so good on the airplane. Not a single cry out of her, she slept the entire time.

Beach Babes

2011-08-23T15:15:00.000-07:00

Please Know: Baby only in sun for about 30 seconds!

The Sweetest Thing

2011-08-22T10:36:00.000-07:00

I don't think you can get anymore precious than a daddy with his little girl!

Baby Love

2011-08-20T10:10:00.000-07:00

I'm still working on writing up all the details. Yesterday was pretty busy because we had our pediatrician appointment, checked into our hotel on the beach, and also had dinner with Ava's birth mother, grandmother, and aunt.

Nights have been going pretty good. Lack of sleep yes, but do I mind NO!

In the meantime, here are a few pics.

Your Life Will Change Forever

2011-08-17T16:50:00.000-07:00

It has been an INSANE 24 hours. But guess what, we are parents to a beautiful baby girl.

Avalyn Kate

August 15th

7lb 4oz

20 inches

We are exhausted, I've only had a couple hours of sleep. So, I'll post tomorrow after things settle down. Thank you for your thoughts!

So Close

2011-07-25T09:50:00.000-07:00

Last week we were asked if we wanted to have our profile shown. The agency usually does this if the placement is above your budget or outside your APQ (Adoption Planning Questionnaire).

The birth mom is due this Wednesday. We gave the ok to have it shown even though it was a little outside our range.

Found out today the birth mom chose another family. Basically, I had a week of major anxiety over nothing! I'm glad the agency doesn't notify us every time our profile is shown.

Back to waiting.