Wanna know why I haven't posted much this last few months? Really, really?
...
Morning sickness. In the words of the eloquent Elisabeth Hasselbeck, "I'm like totally three months pregnant."
We found out in early March and told family and close friends right away. Not that you are not a close friend, but we wanted to tell Kelly (baby's birthmom) before publicly announcing this pregnancy. The Very Hungry Caterpillar is due to be born on November 9, 2007. Everything is looking good, and we got to hear the heartbeat earlier this week. Amazing.
So this is a weird place to be. It took several weeks to really wrap my brain around this. It's not that I wasn't excited at first, but more nervous. Babe and New Baby will be just 12.5 months apart. Best friends, right? Then I didn't feel well for the next few weeks and I watched a LOT of TV. I am feeling better now, although I picked up a cold this week. I'm hoping to get my energy back soon.
So what happens about this blog, eh? Will I suddenly go on and on about pregnancy? I don't think so. I don't plan to. One of the hard things about finding out we were expecting was that we didn't want to minimize adoption. So many people have said, "I told you that once you adopted you'd get pregnant." Those words are becoming quite thorny to me. I know people mean well, but adoption is not means to an end. We love our baby more than anything, and God meant for us to have him as our son.
I'm thankful and humbled that I will get to experience the miracles of adoption and pregnancy. I hope this announcement is not painful, but I know it will be for some. I'm sorry.
I'll close this post with my new favorite verse, and I want this for you. Romans 15:13: "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
We're a happy little family of 5 who have been blessed. God has given us each other, our family and friends, and most importantly, with His only son Jesus who died for us. Jesus was adopted by Joseph, don't ya' know!
10 comments:
I'm still very excited for you and hubby & baby. The VHC is a welcome and exciting 4th to your family! I know E will love protecting his new brother or sister!
WOW AMY!!! I cannot even fathom being in that place, but I know that if anyone can do it with grace, it's you.
Hi Amy - hopefully your moving into the 2nd trimester & it will get easier for you. I'm sure Baby E is keeping you busy. We're so excited about your rapidly growing family!
As you know, we are thrilled with your news and are looking forward to helping out with your TWO beautiful babies.
I too get comments like "I knew this would happen" and I want to say, "No, you didn't---at most 10% of adoptive parents become pregnant after adoption", but instead I just smile and nod.
In any case, Papa Bruce and I are looking forward to being NEEDED.
Love,
Mom
It's so wonderful that E will get to have a sibling without you having to go through the stress of adoption again. Plus, you'll get to try breastfeeding which is something you missed out on with E because you didn't have time to prepare with the short notice. As you know from being a mom, people have ALL kinds of comments and after a while you learn to just smile & nod.
Hi. I know you don't know me, I'm just a lurker here. But I know what you're going through. We too adopted a baby through open adoption. When our newborn was just two weeks old, we found out we were expecting. Our second daughter arrived a little early, so our girls are only eight months apart. We got comments all the time about how pregnancy after adoption happens all the time. Of course, this is a myth. Someone even asked me if I regretted the adoption now that we were expecting "one of our own." All I can say is that people just don't get it. You'll be faced with all kinds of comments and questions. I've learned to take them in stride. Some days I take the opportunity to explain my views of our family, some days I just ignore people's ignorance and walk away. Believe it or not, the most challenging comments have come from the younger people in our lives. Last summer a little neighbor (8 yrs) told my nephew (also 8 yrs) that my youngest daughter was really his cousin, but not the older one. My nephew was distraught by this idea as he views them both as his cousins. I had to explain that just because we don't share the same blood doesn't mean we are any less related. Just like his favorite uncle (my husband) is still his uncle regardless of if he came into the family by marriage or by birth. A family is a family. If you need someone to talk to about the joys and stresses of being pregnant while caring for a small child, please feel free to email me. Take care and get some rest.
Just got back from Africa. HOLY COW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As they say in Nigeria, "Well done!" :)
Congratulations! Although not so close together, the same thing happened to me. Our families are very blessed.
I get annoyed when people say, "It always happens that way." It doesn't. It makes me feel bad for my friends who have not had both experiences. I try not to let that steal my joy, though. There are even more painful ways in which people can be ignorangt about adoption. Baby is one lucky boy. I pray that your children will be as close as mine are.
I am soooo behind on your blog. Sorry. I had a crash and had to restore the whole shibang. So, you're back on my "reads" list!
Two weeks ago at a women's event, I got the ole, "So, why did you adopt instead of just having one of your own?" This was a senior adult lady. Another lady piped up and said, "She DID have kids of her own, and Precious is her own, too!" Ha! Old lady cat fight!!
It's not a Plan B. I think that mindset is still pretty slow to change. It's another way to parent and add to your home. I have no plans to become pregnant again, but if I did ... it would mean another child, but this time through birth. I would love to adopt again. Who knows? I've learned to love that fact that only so much "planning" can go into parenting. It's something to THINK about, but faith is what gets you through the day.
We're breaking ground and bunking stereotypes. It's a slow change.
Congratulations again. It's so interesting, the hand we're all dealt.
You don't know me but I was searching for similar information and found your blog. We happen to find ourselves in the same situation. I just found out I am pregnant and our birthmother is due any day, our children will only be 7 months apart. I am so glad that I found you story, I have been feeling the same way, adoption is so important to us and I don't ever want people to think that me being pregnant is a superior option to adopting. Thank you so much for hleping me prepare for the upcoming comments and situations we will face!
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