Day 2: Meet the Family!

Friday, September 29th:

After such a late night, all the kids woke up. . . super early, of course!  They were so eager to go meet Theo.  Thankfully, sweet Ms. Connie came to the rescue again.  She had stocked the kitchen with all our favorite breakfast foods.  I have never been loved on by a complete stranger so fully.  I am almost certain she will have a rather large jewel in her crown after ministering to us. 

Unfortunately, we awoke to a phone call from the hospital social worker.  She said there had been some confusion and birth mom had not discharged and we shouldn't have had all the freedoms we had been granted the night before.  However, if we did paperwork when we got there that could be fixed.

I was anxious to get to the hospital.  On one hand I wanted to care for Theo and spend time with him.  On the other hand, I was stricken with nervous fear at the thought of meeting our birth mom.  Up until this time we had only Skyped once and sent a few messages on Facebook.  She doesn't speak any English, so communication had been sparse to say the least. 

My mind was full of so many thoughts:  What if she doesn't like me?  What if the kiddos act out and she thinks I am an unfit parent?  What if, what if, what if.  Let me tell you - if you think you are even an okay parent, try adopting.  You will question everything you ever did.  That birth mom has one final gift to give her child - a family.  The fact that we were deemed fit is humbling and terrifying. 

We arrived at the hospital with the clan and stepped into the NICU to scrub up.  The nurses were so sweet to give us a hand with all our little hands.  They even gave the kids big brother/sister buttons!

We walked out of the scrubbing in area . . . and right into our birth mom!  She had come down to see the baby with the social worker.  We detoured into the family lounge to give her some time alone.  A few minutes later the social worker came back to ask if I wanted to talk to her through a translator on a phone.  Of course, I agreed!

So, here I was sitting in the room on opposite ends of a phone speaking to the woman who has just given me this tremendous gift.  All I could say was "Thank you."  I told her his name and she smiled and gave me a thumbs up.  She didn't have anything to ask or say.  She just smiled.  I will always tell Theo about his mother's smile.

Danny took the kids up to the Ronald McDonald House.  This hospitality house was a lifesaver!  We were allowed in for day use.  It was outfitted with a playroom, living area, and huge kitchen.  The kids could color, do schoolwork, watch movies, and play games.  They served a shared meal each night and had food to fix as needed for breakfast and lunch.  Since we couldn't have all of us spending all day in Theo's room (and who wants to watch 6 kids in an empty waiting room) we found ourselves up there all day most every day.

Finally, the kiddos got to see Theo!  They were all upset at him being in the isolete but were thrilled to finally lay eyes on him.  Juliet gave me the biggest smile and said, "Let's keep him!"  Yes, that was the idea . . . Jonah jumped right into his role as big brother.  He worried about each beep and alarm and wanted to know exactly what each one meant.  I asked Juliet if he was a good baby.  She answered, "Yes, him doesn't cry and him wiggles in him's little cave."

We spent the rest of the day taking turns going down to see.  Oh, wait, no.  I hogged most of the time down with Theo.  It was just so quiet and peaceful . . . and quiet.  I rocked and sang and prayed over that little boy.