A Bittersweet Day

The official transfer from the social worker, Kathy, to Jason and me.


I never thought I would champion the use of a pacifier. Notions do change with children!



Pink, pink, pink

This was not a staged moment. He loves to snuggle with her and make soothing sounds.

Today was a crucial day in Baylie Jae's adoption. Her sweet birth mother (who will on this blog be referred to adoringly as "J") legally transferred her care to us, and to my surprise, I faced conflicting emotions. There are so many people who love Baylie, and I guess that through this year of waiting for a match I lost sight of anyone else's feelings other than my own.

The grace with which J handled herself and her focus on our joy rather than her own pain touched me in ways I can't even understand. After the paperwork, we spent some more memorable moments together, and while we will see each other again before we leave this state and while we will keep in frequent contact, I watched the nurse wheel J from her room and down the hall. She had her dear husband standing immovably by her side as well as her sister-in-law who demonstrated such maturity through this difficult situation, yet my heart broke for her. I found myself even having to remember that there was a beautiful little one waiting for me. I could not allow the grief to overshadow the elation of my daughter. Wow--MY DAUGHTER.

Thank you, J.

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Baylie is a model baby (all mothers out there are snickering and rolling their eyes), but really, she is! She sleeps about four hours between her bottles, and she quietly tolerates the jostling from our clumsy hands and her brother's well intentioned love. Brayden really loves her. The morning she was born, he announced, "I love Baylie more than my train table." That's a lot.

We will adjust to hotel life for a while and hope to be home soon.

What a time that will be!