Ethan.

So sorry to keep you all in suspense.  I have had such a glorious last 10 days!  But I am awfully tired, and very very busy with my little bundle of joy.  I seem to have very little time to get on the internet at all these days.  But I wouldn't miss these precious newborn days for anything!  They grow way too fast!  Anyhow, I can't wait to write a nice big blog post very very soon, but as it is, I am sneaking one here secretly as my husband watches the baby so I can nap *shhhhhhhh*

He's so sweet  :-)

But he'd be none too happy if he found out he watched the baby so that I could hope on the blog.... hahahaha

The short version is Ethan is precious, sweet, and perfect.  He is doing AMAZINGLY!  And so is Sandy.  I love him to pieces, and could not love him more, were he born of my own body.  I just can't get over him!  He's amazing.  *sigh*

I have been able to bond with him so much and I can honestly say, I have not left him for one moment since he was born!  Amazing the miracles that God has worked to make that happen.  Our Father is soooo good and hears all our prayers!

May he bless all of you in your day.  Now I'm off to go nap ;-)

Welcome home Ethan.

I cannot wait to post all sorts of wonderful, beautiful, miraculous, details.  But as of right now, I am running on about 4 hours total since Sunday......sooooo......it will have to wait.  Until then, here are some pictures of our precious new son!   Ethan was born Sunday at 7:33pm and weighed 6lbs 6oz.  19 1/4 in. long.

Definitely Sunday.

I am so excited to say that it will be definitely be Sunday.  They will be inducing her in the morning (rumor has it) so hopefully we will see our new son by evening.  I am praising God for the miracle of two things specifically (although there is plenty more to praise him about).

1~ That God heard our prayers and answered them by putting Sandy in the hospital to be taken care of.  This definitely saved her life and the life of our son.  God always hears and takes care of his people.

2~ That I am having success with induced lactation!  It's amazing to watch as my body produces milk (albeit very very small amounts so far) with no baby yet to even drink it!  My friend lovingly quipped "Praise God from who all blessings flow ".  So funny.  Now every time I hear that I laugh.

I am still praying for Sandy and for the birth father.  She will need, as I said before, several surgeries before she can be released from the hospital.  But more than that, much more than that, I am praying for her heart, and mental stability.  I know she will have a hard time with this.  Both in her heart and in her mind.  I know the Birth Father will not make it easy either.  He is on board with the adoption, but very vocal about his heartbreak.  I know he will remind her all too often.  There are so many things about her situation that break my heart.  They go far beyond this adoption.  Please, don't stop praying for her.  I won't.   I know I won't.  Also pray for her other children.

Anyhow, hopefully by Sunday or Monday I will have pictures to post.   :-)  God is good.

The 29th.

Sweet Birth mom is still in the hospital.  Probably will be for some time after she gives birth.  The OB Doctors have decided definitively NOT to induce, irregardless of her medical state or medications, until her 39th week.  We know that she will likely not go into labor on her own due to muscle relaxers.  SOOOOO Sunday the 29th should be the BIG day.   :-)  Please pray for little Ethan to be healthy and strong, and be able to be released from the hospital as soon as possible.

This is a quick update, but it's all the info I can spare to write.  Thank you all for following this journey with us.  We are loving what God is doing in us through adoption.  He is so good to us.

ICU

I don't have a whole lot of time to post, but here is the short short version.  Sandy was admitted to the hospital, not for labor, but for flu like symptoms.  She was then discovered to have several other medical serious health issues.  I was with her all through the night and into this morning.  I finally came home to rest and pick up my kids.  She is showing some labor like symptoms, but not enough to keep her in Labor and Delivery.  She has been transferred to the ICU.  The baby, when he comes, will be transferred directly to the NICU due to the mothers health and drugs (medicines).  We may or may not be allowed access to the baby until he is discharged from the hospital due to the hospitals unique stringent adoption regulations..  If he goes in Sandy's room, then I will be able to see him and bond with him, as Sandy has said that would be fine.  Pray for safety of Sandy and Ethan, and that Ethan will stay only a quick time in NICU and then be released to us.
Thank you sweet precious Sisters!

Dilated...

This is oh so hard to fathom, but it is true.  They finally checked her yesterday, and the baby is head down, facing correctly, low in the canal, she is spotting and three centimeters dilated.  AND THEY SENT HER HOME.   :-(     <-----  that sad face times 1000.

I cannot go into too many details because of the privacy of this precious birth mother, but I can tell you that we were both just sick to our stomachs when they insisted we leave and come back in another week.  She is scared.  So am I.  They even had the nerve to pat her on the back as we were leaving and say "well you should go into labor any day now, make sure you call 911".

The story gets from bad to worse, when I finally met with the labor and delivery social worker.  It was a horrible meeting.  She called me a "non-parent" and said I shouldn't expect to hold the baby or touch the baby, for DAYS, unless the baby is in the room with the birth mother and the birth mother says I can.

seriously?

I know *Sandy will let me , but Sandy didn't want to spend a lot of time with the baby, for fear of attachments.  So they told her, that the baby would have to be with her, or in a nursery (without me).  Sandy's instincts kicked in and in a way of protecting the baby from being in the nursery for two days with neither mother, she said the baby needs to be in her room the whole time.  She has told me to be in the room with her too.  But oh man, so hard!  To bond with the baby, RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER while I watch her try not to, is just going to break our hearts.  Why are people so difficult???  This social worker could have easily said, "you know what, we have your legal paperwork, I have spoken to both of you and know both of your desires, and once we have the AD22, we will have no problem accommodating your requests".  But no.  She had to call the shots.  I am all for leaving it to the birth mom and the legal paperwork.  I will in no way to go around that.  But the birth mom says that I am the mom and says she wants to see the baby, hold the baby, and then give the baby to me and be done.  They are now forcing her to bond for two days.  I am hoping my agency will get there and straighten this all out.

Anyhow.  At this point, I am not sure if I have to worry about this hospital at all.  Sandy is 3 cm dilated, dropped, and feels yucky.  She will NOT make it to her next Thursday appointment.  So it looks like she will be delivering at home (if they can get her legs open.  They are almost stuck in a closed position.  she would need assistance), or in an ambulance (if she can call in time) or at her local hospital in the Desert.

Would it sound redundant to as for prayer again?

She is in God's hands.  Ethan is in God's hands.  I MUST remember this always.  God will win.  No one else.  Whatever his will is, pray that I would accept it.   Also, I am trying to induce lactation so that I can feed and bond with the baby, can you pray that I will be able to produce milk for my little guy?  Thank you sweet ones!

The appointment.

Hello sweet people!   I (again)  am sorry it has been so long between posts, but I just have so little to update.  Nothing has "happened" yet.  We have a big doctors appointment tomorrow.  I say big because they might ACTUALLY do something tomorrow that results in some sort of appropriate health care for this precious woman.  We have had a REALLY frustrating struggle getting this hospital's Maternal Fetal unit to treat this woman as her needs demand.  It has been a super big mystery to me, my family, and several doctors I have talked to outside of this hospital, as to why they are not treating her as most pregnant high risk wheel chair-bound women are treated.  They have not done an ultrasound, they have not checked her wounds (she has two severe wounds/ulcers/bedsores), they have not checked her cervix, they have not given her a plan for delivery (either c-section OR induction).  The last time we were there for an appointment we waited 3 HOURS  just to be taken back to the appointment.  It was beyond NOT OK.  Then they again did nothing, medically speaking.  They asked her the same questions they had asked before....."do you have other children? when were they born?  Was it vaginal or C-section?".  I finally just said for them to look on her chart,  because they asked us these same exact questions last time.  I got a little perturbed  when again they were ready to finish the appointment without discussing the delivery, or checking her, or giving an ultrasound.  We were told twice she would be given one and each appointment they changed their minds.  Why?  I have no idea.  But after pushing and reiterating how dangerous going into labor at home will be for this woman, which of course they already know, they finally agreed to check her cervix and do an ultrasound at the NEXT appointment.  That next appointment is tomorrow.  Yes, they made her next appointment, in her third trimester, three weeks apart.  GRRRRRRRRRRRR.

 *breath*

Anyhow, we are really looking forward to having some answers tomorrow for her.  This poor woman just wants to be done with this whole thing.  She has been such a trooper.  I am so proud of her.  I have never met a person who had a harder, more emotionally painful life, than this woman.  She has been amazing through all of this.   Now, the scary part is that she told me today that she is feeling "weird" and sort of "sickly" and out of breath.  She is also feeling a sort of "pressure".  She is mostly numb and cannot really feel "pain" or tightening, but can sense the pressure internally.  When she has trouble breathing, that often means she is having Braxton Hicks contractions.  I am sooooooo hoping she does not go into labor tonight.  It would be a terrible situation.  One that they would survive, only by the Grace and Miraculous power of God.  I will update all of you on how the appointment goes tomorrow.  We are hoping she is dilated so that they will have to keep her there and not send her home.  That way she will be well taken care of.  

On a good note, my home group from church raised $805.00 for her!  YAY!  We are hoping to buy her several medical supplies soon, and maybe some treats as well. :-)

Until then!