 |
||||||
 |
|
|
||||
On the day our youngest daughter was born, in the summer of 2001, the nurses at the hospital were aware of our situation. They knew we weren't there with the expectant mother because we were relatives, but because we were the adoptive parents-to-be. Through the day, as we paced the halls, various nurses would approach us to say what a wonderful thing we were doing. We appreciated it, but it was odd to hear. People don't normally congratulate a new mother or father for being "wonderful"; they just congratulate them for becoming new parents. We weren't doing anything wonderful. We were simply doing what it took to become parents. The person who deserved to be called wonderful was the birth mother. Our part was easy. She was the one who had to make the difficult decision to do what she felt was right for her baby. Heritage couldn't have handled things better. Meeting the birth mother could have been tense and awkward. Instead, we all felt relief. For our part, we saw how comfortable she seemed with her decision, one she had arrived at with Heritage's sensitive support. Thanks to Heritage, she also had a good idea of what we were about. Still, she seemed relieved that we met her expectations of what kind of adoptive parents she was seeking. The day of the birth was an incredible mix of emotions. We were anxious, hoping the baby would be healthy and that all would go well. But we were just as concerned for the birth mother, hoping she wouldn't be in too much pain physically, and every other way. We felt privileged to be there, and when the birth mother handed over our daughter, minutes after the birth, we were overjoyed, of course. We also felt an indescribably deep bond with the birth mother; she'll be in our hearts forever. What made the experience even more special was sharing it with our five-year-old daughter, who also came to us via Heritage. She now has a much better understanding of the adoption process, and of the terrific people at Heritage who we often talk about. When we learned of Heritage, in 1996, we were simply focused on getting a child. Quickly, we came to admire how they operate. Heritage manages to balance the needs of the birth parents and the adoptive couple no easy task and bring the right people together, in the right way, at the right time. So call them "wonderful" too! As for us, our dreams have now been filled, twice. And we'll never forget that it took two special birth moms and a very special agency to make those dreams come true. Stuart and Lisa << Back to Fall 2001 Newsletter |
||||||
|
||||||