Easter morning I wished I had a reason to put out five easter baskets instead of our normal four. It made me sad but a peace came over me...next year there would be five, I just knew! After mass Matt asked me if I was happy...that was a loaded question. Of course I was happy but my heart wished for our baby...a baby we didn't know yet but I somehow already loved. I told Matt that I was having a hard time staying positive, what if we never got the call? Little did I know that call would come just a few short hours later.
Easter afternoon I prepared dinner and was getting ready for friends to join us when my phone rang. I was pealing eggs...not a good time to answer the phone but I peeked to check the caller ID. As soon as I saw our social workers name my heart jumped. No, I can't tell you if I cleaned off my hands but I know I will always remember those words she said to me ..."Katherine, we have a baby!!!" We were both so excited - I screamed, she was crying, I was crying, she was pacing, I couldn't move.
Our social worker gave me all the details she could think of while trying to find where she had written them down....then asked "are you interested?" Of course our answer was yes! The baby was a boy, born the previous morning (April 4), weighed 4lb, 10oz, and was healthy with almost no health concerns! We hung up after she told me "we need you to get in your car as soon as you can and start driving."
Meanwhile, as I was on the phone our friends showed up for dinner!!! They were wonderful about everything. They were such a huge help - they watched Bryce and Zoey so we could pack and make the necessary phone calls!!! We did all eat dinner together...it was already in the oven so why wouldn't we? I was too excited to think much about dinner...the check lists were forming in my head - as soon as I finished I was back to getting ready for the trip. Our friends even cleaned everything up for us after dinner...we owe them big time and I swear I will be a better hostess next time!
With the car completely full, we pulled away from the house around nine to make the drive through the night to Lubbock. Matt and I took turns driving and sleeping (mostly Matt drove to be honest) but when we couldn't sleep we talked about names...no other topics, just names. We went through more names than I could imagine but none felt "right". In the interim while we were picking a name, Matt called him Chalupa Batman...and it has stuck!
Once we got to Lubbock we had about three hours to kill before meeting with the social workers. We went to breakfast and walked through walmart but the whole time I was giddy, nervous, tired, and thrilled - we were about to become a family of five! We even headed over to the hospital early so we could install the carseat and hopefully get up to meet our son earlier than scheduled.
As we waited in the lobby for our social workers Matt and I said, almost at the same time, "it is Oliver." We didn't need to meet him first to know that our baby's name would be Oliver James.
About 8:30 we were able to go up to the nursery to meet our baby. I clearly walked into that room but I felt like I was floating and can't remember taking the steps. It was so surreal...was I really looking at our baby?!? He was beautiful, tiny, and perfect. I felt so shocked...like it wasn't real.
Zoey and Bryce adored him immediately! Zoey ran right over to him and asked "is that MY baby?!?" She wanted to touch him and hold him right away...she even got a chance to before Matt! Bryce was a little more shy to get to know Oliver...he was interested but from a distance. Bryce asked to hold him a few hours after meeting him and quietly leaned down to his ear and whispered "I really like you."
The next few hours were filled with waiting and legal paperwork. The birthmom signed over her rights and shortly after he was placed with us! The hospital had a room for us to stay in while they kept him for one more night and allowed all of us to stay. Just a few hours after meeting him for the first time it we were alone as a family of five...yes, their were nurses down the hall but he was in our custody and care!!! Was this really happening? It felt so natural for him to be part of our family but so strange at the same time. I felt like I was in a dream!
Oliver was discharged from the hospital on the 7th and we, plus my cousin who flew in early that morning, drove to Longview...about an hour from our home in Louisiana. Oliver has to stay in the state of Texas until our ICPC (interstate compact on the placement of children) is approved by both Texas and Louisiana. Since we are so close to home, Oliver and I have been staying in Texas while Matt, Bryce, and Zoey have been able to travel back home for school, work, and sports. We do anticipate being able to head home next week some time.
It has been a whirlwind two weeks but wonderful. Oliver is such a great baby - he eats well, sleeps about 3 hours at a time, just LOVES cuddling! He is starting to be more alert in small spirts and is one of the few babies I know who likes tummy time. He has had two weight checks and a doctor's visit and everything went well...he is even up to 5lb, 2.5oz!
Both my cousin and mom were both able to come out to help with Bryce and Zoey and get to meet our sweet boy. It was such a blessing to have them here for all of us. We will have several other visitors over the next few weeks and are looking forward to that!
We are slowly starting to learn what life is like as a family of five and we can't wait to get back home and start a new normal!
We aren't able to share identifying photos of Oliver through social media until after the adoption is finalized but I assure you we will have plenty to share at that point! This first family of five photo has been approved by our agency so for now this is the one we will share!
We are so blessed that this little guy has been placed with our family and appreciate all the continued love and support!
.katherine.