Faith's Birth Story

Our little girl is here! She surprised us and came almost four weeks early, but was completely healthy - a total miracle given that she was exposed to drugs, smoking, and was early! Our little miracle! Faith Olivia Leonard was born at 4:56 PM California time on February 12th weighing 5 lbs, 6 oz and measuring 16.5 inches long.

Now for the story!
We had planned on leaving February 28th to get to Utah for her scheduled c section on March 2nd. The Dr said he didn't think early labour would be an issue, so we were unconcerned (HA!). We had even purchased airplane tickets...nonrefundable of course lol.
At around 2:30 on the 12th I had a missed call on my cell phone from the birth mom. I called her right back and she said the magic words: "My water just broke!" I think I just stood in the kitchen for a few minutes with my jaw on the floor! Finally, something clicked and I said, "We are on our way," and got Mike. We packed and were in the car with my mom within an hour...couldn't get a flight so we drove 14 hours straight to Utah.
On the way there the birthmom texted us that she had decided to see Faith...it was a little scary, but I had faith in her and God that it was the right thing to do. Around 6:30 on the 13th we arrived at the hospital and got to meet our daughter...such a surreal, amazing moment. We were nervous about how we would be treated at the hospital-our social worker had warned us that some nurses treat adoptive parents like baby snatchers-but that was not the case. Every nurse we had was amazing! We had a private room at the hospital and never had to leave our baby in the nursery...I couldn't imagine letting her out of our sight! The nurses also gave us two huge bags of formula and diapers...they were so wonderful and supportive!
The next two days were exhausting...every time the birth mother's family would come, we had to let them see Faith...so HARD! Early on Valentine's day we got the news that the birth mother had singed the relinquishment, which in Utah, is irrevocable...BEST DAY EVER! We will never be able to top that Valentine's day!
After a few days to let paperwork go through, we returned home and have been enjoying our little one ever since. She is just perfect...we don't even mind being up every hour during the night or changing those blowout diapers...it's all a big miracle to us!
Faith had her first Dr's appointment on Tuesday and is thriving...she's already surpassed her birth weight and grown almost two inches! We are so blessed and just can't believe after so many years of waiting, trying, hoping, and praying God has blessed us with the most beautiful, perfect little girl ever! :)

So close...

Update: If you are joining us from Kelly's Korner, welcome! Here is a brief run-down of our adoption story: My husband and I have been married almost eight years. We started dating when he was 19 and I was 18 and were engaged by the following Christmas Eve. We were married in 2003, two days after I graduated from college! We actually decided we were probably ready to start a family about five years ago, after we bought our first house. Unfortunately, a couple weeks after moving in, my husband was in a serious motorcycle accident. He now has over 20 pieces of metal in his body, but is pretty much back to normal. However, even with insurance, we had to pay a TON in medical bills. Between the house and the medical bills, we were completely broke, so having a baby got put on the back burner.
Fast-forward three years later, and we were ready again. We had rebuilt our savings, all our friends were having kids, we were both healthy - now we just had to try and we'd get pregnant! A year went by, and nothing. I went to the Dr. and started testing to see if something was wrong. I was tested, Mike was tested, and the only thing they could ever find was that I had one tube blocked, but with the other functioning normally, they said we should still be able to conceive.
Another year went by. We tried multiple meds, IUI - nothing worked. Our next step was IVF, but we just didn't feel at peace about that. We had both always been open to adoption; in fact, I always wanted to adopt rather than have biological children! We began to pray that God would reveal to us the path he wanted us to take. Just a few weeks later, a friend asked if we were interested in adoption. An 18-year-old her daughter mentored in Utah was pregnant, and she wanted to adopt the baby out of state, preferably to a Christian couple from California! We were scared, but cautiously optimistic.
We talked to the birth mom on the phone, and she told us she thought we were the ones. We paid for her to take the train to California and got to meet her and hang out with her. Since she returned to Utah, we have been in almost daily contact. She has become so special to us - kind of a surrogate little sister or child! We now have less than six weeks until the due date and are preparing to leave for Utah int he next month! Praise God! We now know why we were not able to get pregnant - because our birth mother was! :)
I can't believe we are getting so close...less than six weeks to d-day! I have been bad about posting, but here is a little run-down of what's been going on:

• Finished our home study! We just had our interviews and home visit this week and our social worker was AMAZING!!! I had heard some horror stories, but we have had a great experience with our social worker...she helped us so much!
• Started preparing to breastfeed. Yes, it is possible to breastfeed without ever being pregnant...it involves a lot of herbs, a TON of pumping with a hospital-grade pump (I affectionately nicknamed mine the super-sucker ;) ), and possibly prescription meds. It is pretty funny when people ask me, "did you know someone put breastfeeding stuff on your registry?" Yes! I did!
• Got to go to Destination Maternity/Pea in the Pod to buy nursing bras. This may seem lame, but it was so exciting to walk out of that store with a bag of things for ME! I felt like I was finally part of the "mommy club."
• Finished the nursery (pics coming soon!). We are on a budget as the adoption is so expensive, so we bought used furniture off craigslist and painted it ourselves...I love the way it turn out!
• Started packing for Utah! For those of you who are new to the blog, we are from California and are adopting a newborn from Utah...this means we have to travel to Utah in the next few weeks and stay for anywhere from 1-3 weeks until we get clearance to return home. This process is very expensive, but soooooo worth it!

To close, here are some things you can be praying for-please!

• Pray Faith stays cozy in her birth mom for as long as possible...contractions had to be stopped once already, and we want to avoid our little girl having to stay in the NICU.
• Pray for us that all our travel expenses will be covered...we have had almost $2,000 in unexpected expenses in the past two weeks, which is VERY stressful to say the least!
• Pray that everything goes smoothly with our travel plans and the relinquishment. Our birth mother has never wavered in her decision, and she and I talk pretty much daily, and I have no doubt she will remain firm in her decision. I just want this to be a peaceful, wonderful time for us to share our love for Faith and rejoice in her birth!
• Pray that breastfeeding goes well...this seems like such as small thing, but it is the one thing I can do to really bond with Faith from the start and nourish her the way I could if I carried her in my tummy :)

That's it for now...pics of the room coming soon! The next Drs appt is February 2nd, so I'll update then with our travel plans!

Craftiness and Nursery Progress

First, please pray for CC and Faith in these last ten weeks...CC has had some stomach pains, and she has been scared. As of today, she's feeling better, but we still want Faith to stay warm and cozy for at least 8 more weeks!

We are finally starting to get Faith's nursery together...such a big step, and so scary knowing that we could always come home empty handed...such a big test of faith (no pun intended)! We had to go buy a crib last week because the one we had was drop-side, and all drop side cribs have now been recalled. Kind of a bummer expense-wise, but I LOVE the new crib! Her bedding should be here any day and I can't wait to see it! The walls are aqua, and we accented it with white trim and molding. This is the view when you enter the room:

The view facing her crib:

The lettering above her name reads, "Such a big miracle in such a little girl."

Close-ups of the crib:

I have been trying to make as many things as possible for her room. I got some white wood letters on sale and added buttons and rhinestones to make them more personalized:

I also painted four canvases for her room...her bedding has mermaids, and we are going for a beachy feel :)

I also made a wreath with strips of linen, tulle, burlap, feathers, an iron letter 'F' and some rhinestone buttons

This is not the best pic, but I'm really happy with how it turned out :)

That's it for now...more pics to follow soon with the rest of the furniture and bedding! 





Faith's Giveaway

As many of your know, there are some big expenses that come with an adoption. For us, one of the biggest is the cost of having to take two weeks off work without pay and pay for a place to stay in Utah for up to two weeks - we are estimating we need to raise about $3,000 for this and another $1,000 for our court costs while we are there. To help us, some friends have put together a giveaway with some great prizes! A $5 donation gives you the chance to win many great prizes! These include (most of these are local to the Fresno, CA area - sorry!):

Gift Certificates:


$100 gift certificate for Academy Hardware of Sanger

2 One-hour massage gift certificates ($90 value each-two separate prizes)
Brow wax & 30-minute mini-facial courtesy of Vanessa at Amenities Spa & Salon at Fig Garden

Two certirficates for three combination plates, courtesy of Chapala’s Mexican Restaurant of Sanger (two separate 3-entree prizes)
One pound See’s Candy

Gifts:

Two small original landscape paintings by Central Valley artist Tim Esau

Various artwork in varying styles created by local artists

1983 collector set of uncirculated Olympic Silver Dollars ($50-$75 value)

Baskets and their contents:

Beauty and Hair Care:

One free hair cut at High Style Salon of Fresno

OPI nail polishes

Biolage Limited-Edition hair care products

Assorted lotions, body washes, and styling products

Colorful carrying tote

Gifts for Baby Boy:

Jungle themed hand-made fleece blanket

Two custom created onesies

Three hand-knitted hats, sizes vary from newborn to child

Sock Monkey themed photo album

Gifts for Baby Girl:

Penguin and friends hand-made fleece blanket

Two custom created onesies

Three hand-knitted hats, sizes vary from newborn to child

Forest Friends themed photo album

Wine:

One bottle of Treatch Cellars, Muscat of Alexandria

One bottle of Treatch Cellars, Nebbiolo 2007

Two Wedgewood wine glasses with box of wine glass charms

Wine bottle opener

Wine bottle carrying case

Bath & Relaxation:

Bath pillow

Box set of seashell candles

Coconut vanilla body wash

Two hand-crafted Cobble Creek soaps

Bath poof

Vanilla scented diffuser

Hand-held bath massager

Home Spa Set:

Seven hand-crafted Cobble Creek soaps

Loofah sponge

Pumice stone brush

Chesapeake Bay candle, Sea Salt Air scented

11-piece box pedicure set

Decorative washcloth

Hawaiian Treats:

Box of mango coconut patties

Box of coconut chocolate patties

One pound of Kona coffee

Box of passion fruit tea

Honey-roasted macadamia nuts

Kona coffee-glazed macadamia nuts

Chesapeake Bay candle, Vanilla Rum Brulee scented

 
We appreciate your support and prayers! If you want to purchase a ticket, either email me at pookiebearl@yahoo.com, use the "donation" button on the right hand side of the blog and put "Faith's giveaway" and the number of tickets you want in the message line, or give me a call! We have over 4,900 left to sell! The raffle will be held January 1st...don't miss out! :)

Why adoption?

Why adoption?
For me, I was always interested in adopting. It was never a matter of if I could have biological children or not, I just knew God had called me to adopt. I am talking as far back as high school people lol...I was the girl who watched the World Vision commercials and BAWLED...still am ;) I thought I wanted biological children too, but it was never that important for me to go through the whole pregnancy experience. I know it is for some women, and I totally respect that...I think God was just preparing my heart for what was to come.
We did try to conceive for two years...went through the weekly (or more) infertility Dr. visits, I took up to 4 meds a month and gave myself a shot (yuck!). But we came to a place where we had to stop and ask ourselves - was this how God wanted us to build our family or were our own desires and stubbornness clouding our judgment? At that time, our next step was IVF, so we decided to walk away and let God speak to us.
A few weeks later, we got the email that would change our live.
A friend from church emailed and said her daughter knew of an 18-year-old in Utah who wanted to give up her baby for adoption. We prayed about it, talked to her, and I have to say, I have never heard God speak more clearly...Mike and I felt such an overwhelming sense of peace...we knew this was our baby.
Mike was always ok with the idea of adoption, but thought he also wanted a biological child. Funny how things change, because he felt the same tug on his heart as I did when he heard about this precious one, and once he saw pictures of his sweet little Faith, he feel so madly in love it made no difference who carried her in their tummy. My husband has a huge heart, and I love how he lights up when he talks about his daughter.
We are constantly reminded by people that things could change, that the biological mother could change her mind. However, we are at peace and have chosen to walk this path that God is leading us down with joy, hope, and faith (and Faith!).

I didn't give you the gift of life,


But in my heart I know.

The love I feel is deep and real,

As if it had been so.

For us to have each other

Is like a dream come true!

No, I didn't give you

The gift of life,

Life gave me the gift of you.

Author: Unknown

The baby stuff is taking over...

So over the last week and a half baby stuff has begun to take over our extra bedroom:

This what the side of our extra bed now looks like: baby bags, a baby carrier, hangers, blankets, swaddlers, a baby sleep timer, a boppy...I'm sure there's more that I'm forgetting! We've also got quite a start on Faith's wardrobe, as you can see below:

We have bought (OK, I have bought lol) clothing in multiple sizes - 0-18 months - I can't pass up a good sale! Hair bows, a pacifier clip, hats, shoes, socks, bibs...I will have to change Faith every few minutes for the first couple years of her life - ha! These are a few of my favs:

A little black and silver sparkly skirt and rock n roll shirt and little jeans with heart pockets.

Two cute little sundresses for next summer...my mom also bought her a little bikini and cover-up!

A little hedgehog sweatshirt, a cute sweater and velour skirt (with matching pink boots), and a grey velour dress from Baby Gap, complete with a hood with ears :) all in bigger sizes for next winter.

Possibly my favorite...a little fleece coat and hat with leopard trim...so cute!!!

We also got the fabric swatches for the bedding we're having made by a lady on etsy...they are laying on a rug I got for the nursery floor:

This is the picture from etsy of what the bedding will look like when it's completed, although we made a few changes - added a monogram and a different crib skirt:

I registered for this matching glider at Babies r Us, but I'm going to just buy it if I don't get it:

We are ripping out the carpet in her room, replacing it with the same wood flooring we have throughout the living room and hallway, and painting the walls a sandy color. We are planning on adding crown molding and a chair rail and painting the area under the chair rail in the sandy color with pale aqua stripes. I'm also looking for a cute chandelier for the room and I need to start refinishing her dresser, crib, and armoire...so much to do! I can't wait to see it all come together, but most of all I can't wait to have my little girl in her nursery and in my arms! :)  We also have THREE baby showers coming up this winter...we already registered at Target and Babies r Us...it's so surreal though, it still seems like a dream! It's just so strange when you've wanted something for so long, prayed for it, dreamed of it, and then it becomes reality...I'm sure we will spend many nights watching our sweet daughter sleep, in awe that she is ours...we are so blessed :)

Baby Leonard is...

a girl! A sweet, beautiful baby girl! We have chosen the name Faith for her, as "faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we cannot see," and she is our realization of God's promises, the answer to our prayers. We can't wait to meet her!

                                                                Faith Olivia Leonard