Meet Little Violet

Well, I am a mommy!  I can't believe it!  As I sit here typing, I have to look at her to remind myself that yes, this is real!  Little Violet Marie was born on December 9, 2010 at 2:14 PM.  She was 7 lbs 4 oz and 19 inches long.  Now here is our story....
     We had a phone call with our birthmother on December 6th to discuss our hospital plan.  We were so glad she actually wanted to talk to us and check in.  We were lucky, she didn't have to do that!  But that is a recurring theme to this story, how wonderful the birthmother was.  During our phone call, she let us know that her due date was moved up to December 12th!  We were so excited we could hardly keep from hooping and hollering on the phone!  We had to remember that while we were excited, she was scared.  We ended our phone conversation with a promise of information from her next doctor visit.  She kept her promise and we heard by e-mail on Wednesday, December 8, that the doctor stripped her membranes which was supposed to induce labor.  If she didn't have the baby by December 15th, they would induce at the hospital!  I stayed late after school on Wednesday and prepared for a sub for the following week and that night Jeff and I packed a bag with essentials...just in case!  We also got an email from our social worker saying that she wanted to schedule a conference call to talk about our legal issues on December 13th!  I don't think she was informed about the change in due date!  Thankfully we found out at 9:00 on Thursday morning, December 9, that we could be worked in at 9:30!  I called Jeff and pulled Meghan King into my room to take over so I could lock myself in the first grade kitchen to try and digest adoption legality!  I got an email at 9:25 that said something came up and that we would have to push the call back to 9:45.  I was slightly annoyed at this point, but what can you do?  So I waited.  At 9:40 the call came and to my surprise the birthmother's social workes was also on the phone.  She said we needed to travel right away!  The birthmother was in labor!  I called jeff and then ran to the office to get a sub.  I was streaming happy tears!  I tried to get it together when I made it back to my room to say good bye to my students.  I told them I had to go to be a mommy and then the happy tears came back!  My poor kiddos, I tried to tell them I was happy, but I don't know if they understood!
   I was greeted at the house by Jeff running frantically from room to room trying to get everything together!  We threw our stuff in suitcases and were on the road in 30 minutes!  My sister describes the scene as Jeff and I running through the house yelling things we needed to pack... "Where are the bows?  Did you get the camara?  You need comfy shoes!"  Just as we were ready to pull out, my Mom showed up to calm us down and make sure we had everything.  I love that our family is so close!  We were off!
   Jeff was the driver of this trip, and for once I was not asking him to slow down!  We made it to Cameron and got a phone call from the social worker that the birthmom was dialated to a 9!  We were an hour away!  30 minutes later we heard that she was ready to push!  We were praying that we would make it!  With two GPS's giving us directions, we made it to the hospital and started running!  We ran straight to a help desk and then kept running to the elevator to take us to the maternity floor.  We were jumping up and down because the elevator would not work when we realized there was an intercom button for security.  We were buzzed in the nick of time!  The nurses directed us to a waiting room where we sat staring at each other.  How long would it be? 
     We waited about 30 minutes when I hear it, her first cry.  15 minutes later a nurse came out to tell us she was here and healthy.  The birthmom wanted a few minutes with her alone, and then we were allowed in.  Words cannot describe meeting her for the first time.  She was all wrapped up and alert.  Her blue/gray eyes staring into mine.  I held her close and whispered how much I loved her.  We got to spend a half hour alone with the birthmom and Baby Violet, talking about how beautiful and special she was.  We got to watch her first bath, poor thing and talk to her as she got her first shot.  The birthmom was extremely tired and asked the nurses to get us our own room so we could take Baby Violet with us.  Without this request Baby Violet would have been in the nursery.  Thank goodness for the birthmom.
     Jeff and I were finally alone with our baby girl.  We just held her and told her all about our family.  We didn't sleep a wink that night even though she almost slept through the night.  We had to keep checking to make sure she was breathing, keep checking to make sure that she was real!  At one point, a nurse came in to check her vitals.  Violet started crying and then choking.  The nurse finally got the fluid suctioned out and handed her to me because she was so upset.  As soon as I started talking to her, she stopped crying.  At that point I knew that she knew I was her Mom.  I will never forget that moment.
     The hospital stay was so precious!  We got to spend many hours alone with our baby, just getting to know her and learning how to change very small wiggly diapers!  She was so tired and slept most of the time, but Jeff and I did very little sleeping!  We kept staring at her, just making sure she was breathing!  We try and do more sleeping now!  The birthmother and her family also wanted to spend precious time with Violet.  This was a very special time for her.  Her strength radiated from inside her.  Every time we would go pick little Violet up from her room she would thank us for letting her spend time with her.  What a humbling experience.  Here I was a mess for leaving her for a few hours and she was giving me her baby!  She made quite an inpact on me in those few days in the hospital.  She loves our baby so much, but is not thinking about herself, but of the baby.  That is true love.
     After a few legality hiccups, we were on the road back to Kirksville.  31/2 hours with a newborn baby who had never been out of a swaddle blanket in a snow storm!  She did remarkable well!  We stopped quickly at Jason and Amanda's house for a quick diaper change and bottle and were off.  Jeff did not drive so quickly this time!  We were greeted at our house by our families.  They had a sign in the yard, balloons, lullabyes playing and a few sentimental surprises!  Mom had my prom dress turned into a bassinet!  It is so special because Jeff and I started dating when he asked me to prom almost 12 years ago!  It felt so good to share our baby with people who love her so much! 
    The past few days at home with her have been magical!  She loves her swing, loves to eat, and loves to bounce!  She is a mover and a groover!  She has tiny little feet and big bright eyes!  She does not like her diaper changed but does appreciate a wipe warmer!  She loves her bottles and can almost eat 2 oz at a time now!  We are so proud of her little milestones, like eating for the first time.  Keeping a pacifier in her mouth all by herself, and sleeping in a bassinet for a few hours by herself!  She is our precious gift from God.  A true story of redemption.  We love her so much and can't wait to make it a little more final in about 4 hours!  More stories to come!  Thanks for your love and support!