2nd meeting with Birth Mom

Hello Everyone,
I have been meaning to write all day about our meeting last night.  It went really well despite a stressful start for everyone.  The traffic was so horrible again in the Twin Cities, Kevin, Connie, Jessie and her dad were all 30 minutes late.  They were feeling terrible, but it was unavoidable.  Janet, Jessie's mom, Eli, our social worker, Tiffany and I all had a nice visit while waiting for them, and I think the fact that the latecomers were all there at about the same (albeit late) time, it kind of broke the ice, complaining about crazy MN roads!!!

This was the first time we met Jessie's dad, and Eli hadn't met Jessie yet either.  It was really nice for everyone to get a chance to talk and get to know each other better. Connie (my sister) was there to take Eli out to dinner after the beginning part where we all chatted.

After they left, we went over the birth plan, which had already been written up by Jessie and her social worker.  The plan is for us to be notified once Chelsi is born, and when Jessie is feeling up to us visiting. We will get to spend alone time with the baby at the hospital and she will spend time with Jessie and her family as well. This is a time that is definitely more about the birth family, and we understand and respect that.  We will have a special ceremony after discharge that the social workers from our agency will perform, called an Entrustment Ceremony.  It is an important step in the adoption process for birth families and adoptive families.

We talked about some ongoing contact, specifically their family visiting us here at our house sometime during the holidays, hopefully Jessie's siblings will be able to join us for that. They were excited about seeing where we live and being able to see Chelsi's room.

The other thing we discussed was the Child Dedication (like a baptism-what our church does for babies) and they are very interested in attending and inviting some of their extended family, who we are also excited to meet.

All in all, our meeting was wonderful. We really enjoy Jessie and like her parents very much too. Eli was so brave and grown up, introducing himself, talking about hobbies and things he likes in school.  He also asked Jessie a few questions about her responsibilities at their house caring for their dog, and he also asked if he could take a picture of her with her parents.  It is a picture we will treasure.

So, be praying for a safe and uneventful delivery of our sweet baby in about 5 weeks!!!  Can't wait to get that call!!!  Happy Holidays everyone!  We aren't sending Christmas cards, but look for something in the New Year, when we have a new family member to add to our family photo!!!!