Adoption

We decided to go through LDS Family Services for our adoption. In order to get on the list, we were required to take some classes and do a home study which took several months. Then we created an online profile so expectant mothers could look through and choose a family. We were told that it could take a year to several years to get picked.

Some of our adoption profile pictures

Around the time our online profile went live, a Bishop in our stake, who knew we were hoping to adopt gave us the name of a girl who was planning to place her baby for adoption. We called and scheduled a time to meet with Katie and her boyfriend, Luke. We had a great visit and they told us that they would love for us to parent their child. We were so excited! It was November, and she wasn't due until April so we knew there was a lot of time for her to change her mind. We decided to leave our profile online with LDS Family Services just in case the adoption didn't happen.

To our surprise, we got a phone call from Family Serviced a month later telling us that we had been chosen to come meet with some a birth mom, Taryn and her boyfriend, Nate. They told us not to get our hopes up, because Taryn was 99% sure she was going to keep her baby, but asked if we would be willing to meet with her. Taryn had promised Nate and her mom that she would meet one couple. Nate picked us. We went in for the meeting and it went well, Taryn was darling. She had already had a baby shower and was due any day so we figured she would keep the baby. However, a few days later she called and asked if we would meet her and Nate at temple square. We met up and she told us that she felt strongly that her baby was meant to be with us. We were ecstatic.

The next 10 days we spent a lot of time with the two of them. They wanted to get to know us better and it was fun to get to know them. We went to dinner a couple times, watched several episodes of "24." and ate hot pockets with them.

On the morning of January 15, David woke me up to let me know that Taryn was in the hospital with contractions 3 minutes apart. We got dressed and headed to the hospital. Taryn wanted me to be the first person to hold Alyssa, so David and I were invited to be in the delivery room. Taryn had decided to have the baby naturally, so she was in a lot of pain. I was rubbing her feet, David was rubbing her back and Nate was massaging her head. Then she got really hot, so we got some ice chips to put on her neck and I did my best to hold up her hair. After a while she asked for an epidural, but it was too late. It was time to push so the nurse and doctor helped her through it. Alyssa was born at 3:37 p.m. Instead of handing her to me, the doctor put her on Taryn's chest. I was glad that he did that. I wasn't the first to hold her, but I got to be the first to feed her. Alyssa was beautiful. That afternoon we went home and started buying things for Alyssa. We hadn't had much time to prepare.

Alyssa's first bottle

The next day we went back to the hospital and I got to hold Alyssa for 3 hours. My family came to see her too. We planned on meeting at the agency the next day at 2:30.

The next day we got a call from the agency telling us that Taryn was having second thoughts, she didn't know if she could do it. They told us to pray for her and put her name in the temple and to plan on arriving at 5 p.m. When we got there, they put us in a room and said that they were still working with her. After some time, they invited us into the room with Taryn and Nate. Taryn began telling us how Alyssa had been doing in the hospital and her eating schedule. She gave us some bracelets that she had made for Alyssa and a blanket that she had knitted for her. She also gave us a pretty white blanket that Brenda (Taryn's mom) had made. We presented Taryn with some gifts that we brought for her. Then Nate asked everyone else to leave the room and they started to say their goodbyes to Alyssa. They stood there and cried and kissed her, then Taryn brought her and put her into my arms. We cried and hugged. Then Nate and David joined in and I promised them that I would love her and do my best as her mom. Then they left the room and we were sitting there with our brand new baby girl.

Just before Taryn placed Alyssa into my arms.

A few days later, we knew that we needed to contact Katie and Luke to tell them what had happened. We scheduled an appointment to meet for dinner. We told them the story and they were happy. They were excited that their little girl would have a sister the same age. That wasn't exactly the response I was expecting. I thought maybe they would want to choose a different couple that didn't already have a baby.

I had become a new mom overnight and was feeling a bit overwhelmed. I didn't know if I could handle two babies. That Sunday I decided to fast and pray about what to do. The same day I got a phone call from Luke's mom. She told me that she felt strongly that she needed to call me that day to tell me how excited they were that we were going to be the Katie's babies mom. That was my answer. I knew that it was meant to be so I quit my job and started preparing myself emotionally.

On April 23rd, we got a call that Katie was in labor. We made our way to the hospital. That night we sat in the waiting room with Luke's parents who told us lots of stories about him. It was fun to hear the stories that we would later be able to share with Holly. Things were progressing slowly in the delivery room, so I laid on the floor and tried to get a little sleep. At 8:00 a.m. Holly was born. We were invited in to see her and then got to help with her first bath. It was amazing. The next day we went back to see our little girl. The following day I went to the hospital and Katie placed Holly in my arms. We shared a special moment, then I brought Holly home.