(Part I can be found HERE, part II can be found HERE)
We had planned to take turns on the drive so that we'd be able to drive straight through without stopping. The plan was one of us would drive while the other slept...then we'd trade off. We also decided to stop & fill up with gas when we reached 1/2 a tank so we'd break up the trip more...keeping us more awake and alert. We had made long drives before so we weren't too worried except for the lack of sleep factor...we'd already been up since morning (Nathan since 5, me since 8) and our departure time was nearing bedtime. When we finally hit the road at 10pm both of us were a little sleepy. We said a prayer for safety, downed a couple 5 hour energy shots and headed off. Nathan drove for the first hour, and then I took over. Sometime around 11pm I got a text from Amy. She had arrived at the hospital and had seen the baby. He was born a healthy 6lbs 8oz and had lots of hair. She sent me a couple pictures of him. I did my best to look at them and drive (I know...SO not safe, but I couldn't help myself!) and I woke Nathan up because I knew he would want to see them. He looked at them for a few minutes and then fell back asleep.
I kept driving and made it to almost 7am, which is a miracle...that is a LONG time driving for me. Every time we stopped to fill up with gas I would get the largest fountain cup they had and fill it with Diet Coke. That coupled with 5 hour energy shots, phone calls from my mom & singing along with my ipod is what got me through that long, dark, boring night.
We updated Facebook when we passed landmarks...the comments and messages helped make the drive pass faster, and also gave us hope that this was really going to happen.
On Tuesday late afternoon we made a pit stop in Denver to pickup the stroller and carseat we wanted...my mom had scoured the internet to see where we could find it between our home and St George. We also made another attempt at finding a gift for the woman who was going to give us a baby. We found the perfect thing and got back on the road. By this time my poor body was sick of the car. We'd been on the road for about 20 hours and we were still not even to Utah. The last leg of the drive was DRAGGING. It probably didn't help when I tried to get off the interstate to grab some dinner and ended up taking three wrong turns. That move got me immediately booted out of the drivers seat. Once Nathan got us back on the highway the sun started to set...and I started to worry. We were entering Eastern Utah and there isn't much there. The piece of I-70 just West of the Colorado border through to Salina, Utah is desolate. I mean DESOLATE. No cell service, no gas stations, no electricity, no houses, no farms, hardly any other traffic. It was freaky. I had much stress worrying about us breaking down and being stuck there for the rest of our lives...which would undoubtedly be shorter once the truck driver serial killer picked us up (yes, I obviously watch too much CSI).
The whole drive I was texting Amy and updating her on our progress. She was with the birthmom - who I'm going to call T - who was still sure in her decision. At some time during our conversations on Tuesday Amy asked us if we would be ok with meeting T....um, YES! She had decided she wanted to meet us and wanted to have a semi-open adoption...with letters & pictures being exchanged through the agency. This was a huge relief to us, we had wanted an open relationship! We felt like it would be so much better as Miles grew up if the channels of communication were open between he & his birthmother.
The plan was for us to come to the hospital when we arrived that evening and then we'd sign paperwork Wednesday morning. But the longer we drove, the later our arrival time got. I told Amy we wouldn't be getting in until 11:30ish and told her we totally understood if it was too late, we'd just go in the morning. She told us that T wanted us to come, no matter how late it was...even if she was asleep. She wanted us to "meet our son."
We pulled into St George at 11:45pm on Tuesday May 18th. We had been on the road for 15 minutes shy of 27 hours....with nothing more than gas-ups to rest and stretch our legs. We had bags under our eyes, our feet were swollen and our rear ends ached...but we didn't care. We parked at the hospital and found the right floor. The nurses were all very sweet, which is something I had worried about, I have heard HORROR stories from adoptive couples that nurses were mean to them. The nurses showed us to the waiting room and they went to get the baby. They wheeled him in and it felt surreal...like we were just visiting a friend who had a baby. They told us we could take as much time as we wanted, just to go get them when we were done.
When I lifted him out of the bassinet and held him for the first time, I didn't have an overflowing of emotion...in fact I don't recall that there were even any tears. It just felt calm & right. We snapped a few pictures, took turns snuggling him and then decided we had better go get checked into the hotel & get some rest...tomorrow was a big day.
We had planned to take turns on the drive so that we'd be able to drive straight through without stopping. The plan was one of us would drive while the other slept...then we'd trade off. We also decided to stop & fill up with gas when we reached 1/2 a tank so we'd break up the trip more...keeping us more awake and alert. We had made long drives before so we weren't too worried except for the lack of sleep factor...we'd already been up since morning (Nathan since 5, me since 8) and our departure time was nearing bedtime. When we finally hit the road at 10pm both of us were a little sleepy. We said a prayer for safety, downed a couple 5 hour energy shots and headed off. Nathan drove for the first hour, and then I took over. Sometime around 11pm I got a text from Amy. She had arrived at the hospital and had seen the baby. He was born a healthy 6lbs 8oz and had lots of hair. She sent me a couple pictures of him. I did my best to look at them and drive (I know...SO not safe, but I couldn't help myself!) and I woke Nathan up because I knew he would want to see them. He looked at them for a few minutes and then fell back asleep.
First look at our little guy.
I kept driving and made it to almost 7am, which is a miracle...that is a LONG time driving for me. Every time we stopped to fill up with gas I would get the largest fountain cup they had and fill it with Diet Coke. That coupled with 5 hour energy shots, phone calls from my mom & singing along with my ipod is what got me through that long, dark, boring night.
We updated Facebook when we passed landmarks...the comments and messages helped make the drive pass faster, and also gave us hope that this was really going to happen.
On Tuesday late afternoon we made a pit stop in Denver to pickup the stroller and carseat we wanted...my mom had scoured the internet to see where we could find it between our home and St George. We also made another attempt at finding a gift for the woman who was going to give us a baby. We found the perfect thing and got back on the road. By this time my poor body was sick of the car. We'd been on the road for about 20 hours and we were still not even to Utah. The last leg of the drive was DRAGGING. It probably didn't help when I tried to get off the interstate to grab some dinner and ended up taking three wrong turns. That move got me immediately booted out of the drivers seat. Once Nathan got us back on the highway the sun started to set...and I started to worry. We were entering Eastern Utah and there isn't much there. The piece of I-70 just West of the Colorado border through to Salina, Utah is desolate. I mean DESOLATE. No cell service, no gas stations, no electricity, no houses, no farms, hardly any other traffic. It was freaky. I had much stress worrying about us breaking down and being stuck there for the rest of our lives...which would undoubtedly be shorter once the truck driver serial killer picked us up (yes, I obviously watch too much CSI).
The whole drive I was texting Amy and updating her on our progress. She was with the birthmom - who I'm going to call T - who was still sure in her decision. At some time during our conversations on Tuesday Amy asked us if we would be ok with meeting T....um, YES! She had decided she wanted to meet us and wanted to have a semi-open adoption...with letters & pictures being exchanged through the agency. This was a huge relief to us, we had wanted an open relationship! We felt like it would be so much better as Miles grew up if the channels of communication were open between he & his birthmother.
The plan was for us to come to the hospital when we arrived that evening and then we'd sign paperwork Wednesday morning. But the longer we drove, the later our arrival time got. I told Amy we wouldn't be getting in until 11:30ish and told her we totally understood if it was too late, we'd just go in the morning. She told us that T wanted us to come, no matter how late it was...even if she was asleep. She wanted us to "meet our son."
We pulled into St George at 11:45pm on Tuesday May 18th. We had been on the road for 15 minutes shy of 27 hours....with nothing more than gas-ups to rest and stretch our legs. We had bags under our eyes, our feet were swollen and our rear ends ached...but we didn't care. We parked at the hospital and found the right floor. The nurses were all very sweet, which is something I had worried about, I have heard HORROR stories from adoptive couples that nurses were mean to them. The nurses showed us to the waiting room and they went to get the baby. They wheeled him in and it felt surreal...like we were just visiting a friend who had a baby. They told us we could take as much time as we wanted, just to go get them when we were done.
When I lifted him out of the bassinet and held him for the first time, I didn't have an overflowing of emotion...in fact I don't recall that there were even any tears. It just felt calm & right. We snapped a few pictures, took turns snuggling him and then decided we had better go get checked into the hotel & get some rest...tomorrow was a big day.
Us and our sweet baby. Wednesday May 18th, 12:06am.
27 hours in the car...totally worth it.
6 comments:
Reading with tears running down my cheeks ... So happy for you!
This made me cry just as much as when I first heard about it.
I'm crying too! It makes me remember what my mom told me about what they went through to adopt me.
I can't tell you how happy I am for you both! And I know you guys are even happier, which makes this all even better. I loved reading this story; it's such a miracle! Congratulations, both of you! I think parenthood will be a very big adventure. :-)
Yah yah yah!! And that drive is a KILLER!!!!
You are makin' people cry across the globe. So so happy for you both.
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