Mia's birth part 3

In some ways I have been dreading this post. The days following Amelia's birth were some of the most wonderful, but were also very difficult. Some of which I simply do not believe I will be able to write about on here. It's too personal...still so raw. But I'll try to start where I last left off...

After Amelia's bath, we all settled down quite a bit. She went to sleep and Meri got a good rest in. We had the lights down low and we were all kind of in and out. Oh who was there. Right. It was Meri, her Mom Elinor and Dad TheKing, Brad and I, and her sister Bear1. It was peaceful and calm. The feeling in the room was warm and loving. We each left and went to grab lunch down at the cafeteria at different times so someone was usually in the room with Meri.

Mid-day our case worker came for a visit. It was nice to see a familiar face but he brought with him more news of the birthfather. We listened with apprehension as he told us his requests. The main one was that he wanted to have a phone conversation with us that evening very late. At first we were apprensive and undecided. We had been on this huge high from all that had happened that day (this is still Thursday, the day Amelia was born) as well as being completely exhausted (I had been up for 56 hours at this point. Remember all the adrenaline I talked about? Yeah, it was gone!) and it was almost more than we could take. We soon consented, however, and left the hospital to check into a hotel to get some sleep before the meeting. We said our see-you-soons and headed out first to get some food- BBQ at Oklahoma Joe's WOW!- and then to check into the Extended Stay a mile from the hospital.

Poor Brad...as soon as we walked in, he laid down and didn't get up for 5 hours lol. He slept hard. I think I was feeling pretty nervous about the call coming up and I finally drifted off getting about 4 blessed hours. I remember thinking a lot as I lay there listening to Brad sleep so deeply. Amelia and Meri were on my mind a lot but I also was thinking about this 'meeting'- the call. What new requests would he have for us? What legal right did he really have at this point? Does he want her to raise? What if I tell him what I really think of him right now?! lol. I had no idea what was going to happen.

Alarms are a useful tool. When they are set properly, and go off, that is. Yikes. Mine was set but not turned on and Brad apparently thought I only needed about 3 minutes to get ready and leave once opening my eyes. hmmm. Oops! So we rushed out, still a bit bleary eyed, and went to the case workers office to have the phone conference with him.

I can't go into a lot of details here but I will say that overall it was a fairly positive conversation. Awkward at first, but some of that eventually smoothed out. He told us that he wanted us to raise her...to take her to the temple so that she could be sealed to a Mom and a Dad. He said that he respected us to do our best and that he fully supporting us being her parents. That he would give us his email and the ball would be in our court to open the lines of communication or leave them closed forever. We were grateful for him saying that. Earlier in the day we saw a picture of him for the first time which was excellent timing so we could put a face to the voice. In all, it went well. He promised to sign the relinquishment papers the following day and even agreed to fill out a medical questionare so Amelia would have knowledge of her medical background. There have been ups and downs with him in this latter portion of the entire process but with both of us working in the medical field, we greatly wanted that report and are still looking forward to getting it.

After we ended the call, we stayed and talked with our case worker (in case you're curious, technically this case worker 'belongs' or 'represents' Meri in this adoption. However, with everything being so open, I just use the term interchangeably- he is 'our' caseworker meaning Brad, Erica, and Meri's.) for awhile. The next day was the big day to sign a lot of papers and so we had a few things to go over. Eventually we exhausted our question bank and headed back to the hotel. We went right back to sleep and were back at the hospital in the morning. Meri had changed rooms and was looking great. She had slept fairly well and you could tell. It was reassuring to see her and Elinor.

The paper signing wasn't really a big deal actually. What I mean is of course it was a 'big deal' but it wasn't an emotional roller coaster or tears or upsettedness or any of that. It was like, ok this is the next step lets go. Maybe because we already knew at that point nobody was leaving the hospital until the next day. The case worker spent some time with Meri and the notary and her lawyer and then he came out to see us and have us sign our parts. Things were straightforward and easy to understand which helped. 

After we all signed we joined back together in Meri's room. We were starving and Meri was ready for Chili's ( I can't blame her! ) so Brad and I left to go pick up the order and bring food back for everyone. In the meantime, the birthfather was having some representatives come over to have him sign. We tried to wait to go to Chilis until after it was done but finally, we had to go. The order was ready. So we left, feeling kind of uneasy, just wanting it to be finished and be done with surprises!! When we came back we were disheartened to discover he hadn't signed yet. A 5 minute process was now up to almost an hour. To say we were on pins and needles would be a vast understatement. Finally, we got the call- HE SIGNED! It was complete. Everyone had signed their name and initials enough to qualify to be the President and that part was over! I know I wasn't the only one who was relieved. Poor Brad haha I thought he was going to lose his breakfast. He had been pacing waiting for the news. We let out a huge sigh and went to tell Meri and her family who were equally as relieved.

Later, more family visited and gifts were given, which I'll talk about another time. Then it was time to go and get ready for Saturday, when there would be joy, yes it was there, but which would also end up being one of the most emotionally traumatic days of my life. 

THURSDAY:

Resting in the hours after birth

Brad holding Mia for the first time

She loves Grandma's blanket and had it with her the entire time at the hospital, even in the nursery where she slept both nights.

She had a little rash show up a few hours after birth that cleared up much quicker than the doctor thought. yay!

FRIDAY:

Signing day (Friday) when we got to the hospital she was having a hearing test

which she passed 100%!

We tried putting a hat and sock set on that Mom sent. Haha, her little feet and so long and quite {perfectly} skinny, the socks weren't on but few seconds. The headband was so large we decided it might make a better belt lol. Either way, she's adorable!

A few kisses when it was time to go on Friday. We missed her each second we were apart!

You can tell from our faces we fell for her right away! She may be small, ahem, petite, but oh boy she has us wrapped around her little finger!