My last post was about Jarrod and I beginning the journey to adoption. After that post we got serious about finding the right agency for us, one that was bigger so that it had more options. We searched the depths of the Internet and finally came across an agency called Gladney.
Gladney seemed to be the perfect fit. They had multiple options both international and domestic and they were also a national agency which meant their birth mother data base was larger. This would make wait time less since a birth mother could choose us from pretty much any where in the United States.
We submitted the initial application and were selected to attend an all day orientation about Gladney's services. At the end of the orientation we would have the option to purchase an application and move forward in the process. Awesome! So we signed up for the April 12th orientation and patiently waited for the weekend to arrive. Weeks went by with much financial planning for the future and as the date got closer we found a hotel where even the dogs could join us. It was going to be a whole family affair!
About 2 months short of our orientation date we ran into a roadblock. A pretty huge roadblock at that... We learned that we were pregnant ourselves! A wonderful and amazing roadblock that left us speechless.
We contacted Gladney to see what this meant for our adoption process and though they were happy for us, they said we could no longer pursue adoption. At least not until our own child was around the age of 9 months. With our own pregnancy so new this information admittedly bummed us out because we were so ready and so eager to begin the adoption process. It was tough to take a step back and put that dream on hold even though we had the most amazing dream unfolding in front of us.
Please don't get me wrong, we are over the moon with excitement that we will begin to build our family by two legs (not 4 more this time) come the end of October. We also realize that everything happens for a reason and that even though we had to put our adoption plans on hold, it will not be forever. We fully plan to begin the process again as soon as the newest member turns 9 months. We feel so passionate about adopting that we don't see our minds ever changing or forgetting that dream.
I know what you're thinking... Enough about the adoption process, tell us about the about the baby on the way! Well since you asked, and the information is now public knowledge here are the answers to some commonly asked questions:
When are you due? October 30th (I'm hoping for the 31st so they have the same birthday as my late grandpa DiTommaso)
How are you feeling? Pretty good. Nausea has subsided for the most part. Though I'm still pretty tired.
How far along are you? We just hit 13 weeks so next week begins the 2nd trimester.
Will you find out if its a boy or girl? Yes.... But we're not telling!
Do you have names picked out? See above :)
How do the dogs feel about it(ok no one asks this, but they should...)? They are super excited to have another human to love and adore... And of course play with :)
Well I am sure that's enough information for now. Thank you for all the well wishes and words of encouragement. We are so excited to bring this child into the world to know the family we love and the friends we call family.
