We have had quite a few weeks! We traveled to Michigan on April 30th (Friday) and were in town for Alex's First Communion on Saturday, May 1st. We had a great visit with Cathy's side of our family and enjoyed seeing Scott, Christie, Alex, Lily, and Cathy's parents. We decided to take Cathy's mom and Christie to dinner on Monday, May 3rd to Outback Steakhouse, to celebrate Mother's Day (we wouldn't be in MI for the holiday).
While we were at dinner, Cathy got a message on her phone from Fb from her cousin Jessica that had her phone number and it said to call her. Cathy told her that she'd call her after dinner.
Cathy's cousin Jessica lives in MI and is a nurse. She has a co-worker named Sharon. Well, Jess is on Fb and has been following our journey with us, as many of you have as well.
So a few weeks ago, Sharon came to work and was telling Jess about some things happening in her family. Sharon's sister's daughter (Sharon's niece), had just found out that what they thought was the flu, was actually a pregnancy. So the family was a little concerned and were trying to work out what they were going to do. The niece is a minor, and bascially decided that she wanted to find an adoptive family to adopt her baby.
So Sharon was telling Jess about this and Jess mentioned to Sharon that we were in NC and in the process of adopting. She told Sharon that we had our home study completed and were on the website and waiting for the right match. Jess gave Sharon the link to our profile on the CAS website, just for them to see it if they were interested.
Well... they were interested.
When Cathy called Jess, she told her the story (way more details than she is putting in here) and said that basically, they had chosen us to adopt their baby. We were in shock. When Cathy asked when she was due, Jess said May 28th.
So... Tuesday the 4th started our quest for an attorney in MI because our agency only deals with NC children due to the Interstate Compact Agreement. We talked to Jess a lot and got more and more information.
On Wednesday, we said goodbye to MI and hello to Indiana. We still were trying to work out information with an attorney. We had two that we were talking to and trying to find the right one for the best price.
While in Indiana, we decided to bring home a new puppy that Steve's dad had found. She is super cute and her name is Elphaba, we call we "Elphie" for short. She's really Ned's dog.
We drove back to NC on Saturday the 8th. We got home pretty late... it was after 9pm. Got up on Sunday and did laundry, Steve put together the new crib that Cathy's parents had bought for us while we were in MI (the old one was missing parts to connect the drop down side... and the company informed us that they don't make replacement parts, so her parents just bought us a new one). Then Steve mowed the yard and did the bills.
On Monday, Cathy had lunch with some friends, took Elphie to the vet, got her Rx sunglasses, and got her nails done. Got home and chilled for a little and then headed off to Burt's to pick up Steve for our Old School Showdown at the Old Durham Athletic Park. The Bulls were playing at their old stadium for one last game. We got there around 5:00 and found an awesome parking spot. Then we realized that the gates didn't open until 6, so we just sat in the car, slowly watching everyone start to arrive and park.
At 5:40ish... Cathy got a cell phone call from Sharon. Instantly she was confused, because she had only been texting Sharon, but she answered the phone and Sharon said, "Hi... it's Sharon. I wanted to let you know that she's in labor..." so a little bit of panic ensued, but we left the parking lot immediately, headed home, called our parents and freaked out a little (A LOT), and got home around 6:00. We threw as much as we could into bags and packed the baby stuff that we thought we'd need, and loaded up the car.
Our neighbor, Wendy, is a life-saver. She came over with blankets and clothes, and said she'd watch the cats for us. She also said she'd watch the dogs overnight, and take them to the vet in the morning to be boarded. We were on the road by 7:30 pm.
We drove through the night and at 3:40 Cathy got a text from Sharon's sister (the birth-grandma) that said it wouldn't be long and the birth mom was doing well. Then at 3:51 I got another text that said, "It's a boy!" I started crying... not only was I excited that the baby was born, but I was exhausted, stressed, and a HUGE ball of emotions! Oh, and I was in the middle of WV. HA!
We ended up getting a picture of Gus a few hours later and that's what killed us. Seeing that he was real and was going to be our son was too much. We both cried and kept on trucking to MI.
We went straight to the hospital and arrived there around 8:30. The nurses were aware of the situation and knew that we were coming. When we got there, they showed us to the room and we walked in and met his grandma and mom. They were very kind, and baby G was laying in the crib thingy. Then his birth grandma picked him up and brought him over to us and gave him to Cathy to hold. She instantly broke down and was crying like a baby. It was amazing to hold him for the first time and to realize that he was her son! Then Steve held him and he started crying too and it was an amazing first moment as a family.
We stayed in the room with them for a while and then they wanted the mom to take a shower, so we headed out of the room and into the room that they had set aside for us to stay in. It was very thoughtful. Cathy was given the other id bracelet (the baby and mom have to have the same matching numbers on their bands) and we went to the room. We talked to the grandma for a while and got some info and just tried to settle our nerves.
The remainder of the hospital stay is a blur at this point, but we spent most of the morning of the 11th with him. He was 6 pounds 8 oz at birth, 19 inches long and his head was 12.75. He has blondish hair with some red, but not a lot. He has beautiful blue eyes.
We asked if they had a preference for a name and they said they wanted us to name him. We started calling him Gus from that point on. :D Cathy's parents, Christie, and Lily came up to the hospital on Tuesday night to meet him, and they were in the room with everyone. It was very neat to have Gus's birth family there with his adoptive family. One big group all together for the love of one beautiful baby boy.
The mom was released from the hospital on Wednesday the 12th around 11:30. Then Gus was released around 1:30. We were able to say our "see you laters" to his family and it wasn't an awful exchange. We are going to have as open of a relationship with them as they are comfortable with.
We headed to our extended stay hotel with Gus and enjoyed spending time with family. Over the course of a few days, we were visited by several friends and surrounded by Cathy's side of our family. We feel so fortunate to be here in Michigan with family to be apart of the first moments of Gus's life.
There have been some ups and downs during our stay, and we have moved hotels... but it's pretty good. Steve has to fly back to North Carolina while Cathy and Gus stay in Michigan and wait to be cleared from the Interstate Compact. Gus is a great baby and is growing each day! His looks have changed so much from the 11th to now!!
Be sure to check in for more updates on our family!!
:)
The Walkers
While we were at dinner, Cathy got a message on her phone from Fb from her cousin Jessica that had her phone number and it said to call her. Cathy told her that she'd call her after dinner.
Cathy's cousin Jessica lives in MI and is a nurse. She has a co-worker named Sharon. Well, Jess is on Fb and has been following our journey with us, as many of you have as well.
So a few weeks ago, Sharon came to work and was telling Jess about some things happening in her family. Sharon's sister's daughter (Sharon's niece), had just found out that what they thought was the flu, was actually a pregnancy. So the family was a little concerned and were trying to work out what they were going to do. The niece is a minor, and bascially decided that she wanted to find an adoptive family to adopt her baby.
So Sharon was telling Jess about this and Jess mentioned to Sharon that we were in NC and in the process of adopting. She told Sharon that we had our home study completed and were on the website and waiting for the right match. Jess gave Sharon the link to our profile on the CAS website, just for them to see it if they were interested.
Well... they were interested.
When Cathy called Jess, she told her the story (way more details than she is putting in here) and said that basically, they had chosen us to adopt their baby. We were in shock. When Cathy asked when she was due, Jess said May 28th.
So... Tuesday the 4th started our quest for an attorney in MI because our agency only deals with NC children due to the Interstate Compact Agreement. We talked to Jess a lot and got more and more information.
On Wednesday, we said goodbye to MI and hello to Indiana. We still were trying to work out information with an attorney. We had two that we were talking to and trying to find the right one for the best price.
While in Indiana, we decided to bring home a new puppy that Steve's dad had found. She is super cute and her name is Elphaba, we call we "Elphie" for short. She's really Ned's dog.
We drove back to NC on Saturday the 8th. We got home pretty late... it was after 9pm. Got up on Sunday and did laundry, Steve put together the new crib that Cathy's parents had bought for us while we were in MI (the old one was missing parts to connect the drop down side... and the company informed us that they don't make replacement parts, so her parents just bought us a new one). Then Steve mowed the yard and did the bills.
On Monday, Cathy had lunch with some friends, took Elphie to the vet, got her Rx sunglasses, and got her nails done. Got home and chilled for a little and then headed off to Burt's to pick up Steve for our Old School Showdown at the Old Durham Athletic Park. The Bulls were playing at their old stadium for one last game. We got there around 5:00 and found an awesome parking spot. Then we realized that the gates didn't open until 6, so we just sat in the car, slowly watching everyone start to arrive and park.
At 5:40ish... Cathy got a cell phone call from Sharon. Instantly she was confused, because she had only been texting Sharon, but she answered the phone and Sharon said, "Hi... it's Sharon. I wanted to let you know that she's in labor..." so a little bit of panic ensued, but we left the parking lot immediately, headed home, called our parents and freaked out a little (A LOT), and got home around 6:00. We threw as much as we could into bags and packed the baby stuff that we thought we'd need, and loaded up the car.
Our neighbor, Wendy, is a life-saver. She came over with blankets and clothes, and said she'd watch the cats for us. She also said she'd watch the dogs overnight, and take them to the vet in the morning to be boarded. We were on the road by 7:30 pm.
We drove through the night and at 3:40 Cathy got a text from Sharon's sister (the birth-grandma) that said it wouldn't be long and the birth mom was doing well. Then at 3:51 I got another text that said, "It's a boy!" I started crying... not only was I excited that the baby was born, but I was exhausted, stressed, and a HUGE ball of emotions! Oh, and I was in the middle of WV. HA!
We ended up getting a picture of Gus a few hours later and that's what killed us. Seeing that he was real and was going to be our son was too much. We both cried and kept on trucking to MI.
We went straight to the hospital and arrived there around 8:30. The nurses were aware of the situation and knew that we were coming. When we got there, they showed us to the room and we walked in and met his grandma and mom. They were very kind, and baby G was laying in the crib thingy. Then his birth grandma picked him up and brought him over to us and gave him to Cathy to hold. She instantly broke down and was crying like a baby. It was amazing to hold him for the first time and to realize that he was her son! Then Steve held him and he started crying too and it was an amazing first moment as a family.
We stayed in the room with them for a while and then they wanted the mom to take a shower, so we headed out of the room and into the room that they had set aside for us to stay in. It was very thoughtful. Cathy was given the other id bracelet (the baby and mom have to have the same matching numbers on their bands) and we went to the room. We talked to the grandma for a while and got some info and just tried to settle our nerves.
The remainder of the hospital stay is a blur at this point, but we spent most of the morning of the 11th with him. He was 6 pounds 8 oz at birth, 19 inches long and his head was 12.75. He has blondish hair with some red, but not a lot. He has beautiful blue eyes.
We asked if they had a preference for a name and they said they wanted us to name him. We started calling him Gus from that point on. :D Cathy's parents, Christie, and Lily came up to the hospital on Tuesday night to meet him, and they were in the room with everyone. It was very neat to have Gus's birth family there with his adoptive family. One big group all together for the love of one beautiful baby boy.
The mom was released from the hospital on Wednesday the 12th around 11:30. Then Gus was released around 1:30. We were able to say our "see you laters" to his family and it wasn't an awful exchange. We are going to have as open of a relationship with them as they are comfortable with.
We headed to our extended stay hotel with Gus and enjoyed spending time with family. Over the course of a few days, we were visited by several friends and surrounded by Cathy's side of our family. We feel so fortunate to be here in Michigan with family to be apart of the first moments of Gus's life.
There have been some ups and downs during our stay, and we have moved hotels... but it's pretty good. Steve has to fly back to North Carolina while Cathy and Gus stay in Michigan and wait to be cleared from the Interstate Compact. Gus is a great baby and is growing each day! His looks have changed so much from the 11th to now!!
Be sure to check in for more updates on our family!!
:)
The Walkers
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