Adoption Day!! The Best Family is Complete!

The finalization of the adoption was simple. The judge stood, we sat, she flipped through the paperwork asking us to swear that it was true and that was pretty much it. She made us promise to love and care for Mackinley forever and ever. At one point she asked the boys a couple questions about if they liked having a sister but that was all. Some friends of ours came along to share the excitement and take some pictures for us! (thanks Stacy!!)

After that part was finished she showed the kids the courtroom and they got sit in her chair and ask lots of questions.

We are thrilled that the adoption process is a thing of the past and are so happy that from now on every piece of paper regarding our daughter will now say Mackinley Alaine Best! We couldn't be happier!! Our family is complete!

~Till They All Come Home~

Two Quick Things

On Thursday last week we were called by Korbin's doctors and told that we needed to take him to the Watertown Hospital to have an IVP done on his kidneys and urinary tract. Apparently the specialist he's going to in Rochester didn't like what he saw on the kidney ultrasound and needs more tests so that our first visit will him will be more productive or something. I don't know but I do know that I don't like urgent serious tests. Poor Korbin will have an IV with contrast while they do a serious of imaging for about an hour. No food or drink means no ADHD meds which means off the wall frustrated, impulsive little boy. Fun.

On the upside Tuesday is the day that our family will be complete! I'm certain when I say that this time although we thought it once before, after my hysterectomy and all, this time seems much more permanent as we won't be looking to adopt again. I have enough friends who need kids so I'll point the next family emergency in that direction!

My next post will be full of pictures from the adoption!!

~Till They All Come Home~

Four Weeks And Some Boys Love

I am now a mother of three! We're a family of five! I love it! The boys love their little sister. Korbin will sing to her and give her her pacifiers but isn't a huge fan of holding her yet.

Tayton on the other hand is amazing with her. He adores his baby sister more than I ever would have imagined. He holds her and sings to her and puts her to sleep at times when I'm not having any luck! She's going to love him!!

Yesterday I was in the shower and when I came out Mackinley was crying. I came around the corner and Tate had gotten her out of her bed and was holding her and singing softly to her. She was screaming. He looked at me smiled and said "I've almost got her calmed down now Mom". It was so sweet. So I fixed her a bottle that he fed to her while I dried my hair.

Later on yesterday I was washing dishes and Mackinley was laying under a mobile on the floor and fussing so Tayton came out and laid with her and sung her to sleep right there on the floor!

We had our homestudy yesterday. The lady was very nice and very positive about everything. I guess I felt like she was coming out to "grade" us but it was more of just an interview to make sure we're sincere about our motives and that we can and will care for Mackinley. She seemed to be impressed enough that we have no worries.

After the home study Tayton came over to Kirke and I and he said "do we get to keep Mackinley now? Is she ours?" I laughed and said "yes baby we get to keep her and she's always been ours and always will be." He got the biggest smile on his face and pumped his fist in the air and shouted "yay!!!" as loud as he could. It was pure happiness! Perfect!

I had to explain to him that the adoption isn't final yet but that everything is going to be just fine and she will be ours to keep. We all love her so much but his love for her is amazing me everyday!!

Mackinley is 4 weeks old today and here are some pictures from this week!

Brandy made these hats for Mackinley and I took the pictures today. You can tell which one she likes the best!!

I love this one with the braids!

She loves this one!!

When I opened the box I was so excited to see all the handmade goodies from Brandy but I could only find one of these adorable flip flops. So I instant messaged her to let her know that perhaps I had forgotten to tell her but Mackinley was born with two feet. She laughed and explained she didn't mean to send it until the other one was finished. Ooops! But isn't it cute!!

The box also had Korbins birthday presents as well as a big brother gift for Tate. Thanks Brandy we miss you guys so much!!!

~Till They All Come Home~

Mackinley's Story

After a few false alarms and trips to the hospital Thursday night came and "Jane" called to tell me she was in labor. It was 3am. I got up and got around and went to pick her up. She and I headed for the hospital. She was in a lot of pain and I just knew it had to be the real deal this time.

We got to the hospital around 330am and got signed in and were taken upstairs to the OB floor. They hooked her all up and checked to see if she'd dilated and she was at 5cm. My mom came up and was in the delivery room the whole time. At that time I sent a message to facebook saying it was real and we'd be having a baby. I then took a phone call from one of my best friends who lives in Norway. We were on the phone for 10 minutes and then I went back in the room and she was dilated to 8cm and a few minutes later 9cm.

Mackinley was born at 4:47am. All was well with the birthmom and we got put into a recovery room together (the three of us). That choice was made by Jane and her decision alone to make. It was all just fine. Jane was discharged from the hospital Saturday morning and Mackinley and I were able to leave that evening.

She's healthy, and happy and perfect and we are all completely in love with our new little girl!! I was amazed at my bond with her so quickly! I can't wait for her to meet her daddy!

Tayton loves his baby sister!!

Korbin and Mackinley! She was born on his 7th Birthday!!

So darn sweet!

Heading home from the hospital!

In the elevator on the way home from the hospital.

Mackinley Alaine!!

Korbin teaching Mackinley about video games!

I love my baby girl!

~Till They All Come Home~

Mackinley has Arrived!

Our beautiful little girl was born at 4:47am today. The birthmom and I arrived at the hospital at 3:30 and she delivered in just over an hour.

Mackinley Alaine
7lb 14oz
20 inches long

Me and my little girl!! She was so sweet when she cried I couldn't help but giggle a little.

~Till They All Come Home~

Update and Appology

I suppose I've been missing from the blog world lately. It's been quite an interesting two months around here. We moved from MO to NY. The boys and I spent 9 whole days in NY before deciding to head to MI to await the arrival of our little girl because the birth mom (Jane) was having lots of issues.

We've been here in Michigan for 3 weeks today. Jane is dilated to 2-3 cm right now and hopefully we'll be having a baby soon. My family had a baby shower for us on the 6th and we had a wonderful time catching up since I haven't seen many of the guests in years! I had a great time and got lots of great things for Mackinley.

Her name will be Mackinley Alaine. We will call her Kinley for short. The name Alaine is after our mom's middle names Alice (Kirke's mom) and Jane (my mom and grandma's). I just squished them together and came out with Alaine.

Mackinley is due on March 23 and we're hoping she arrives soon so the boys and I can get back to NY with Kirke. We have two lawyers hired and waiting for the birth to get the ball rolling. One is here in Michigan where we will get a power of attorney so that we can take her to NY with us. She will also handle the birth parents termination of parental rights. Then we have another lawyer in NY that will handle the petition for adoption and representing us there. I'm relieved to have all of the legal stuff in the hands of lawyers and we just need to wait for her arrival.

Please pray for a healthy baby. I know that this pregnancy has been rough and Mackinley may have a rough start. Please keep her and the birth mom in your prayers. We know that if she's born with problems we'll handle them as they come and that we can handle whatever we're given but we pray she's alright!!

Thank you for every one's support and hopefully I'll be posting pictures very very soon!!

~Till They All Come Home~

Adoption Update

Everything is going fine, we've been super busy. We moved from MO to NY over the past two weeks. It's been crazy. We cleared our house on post Jan 29 and stayed with friends till the 3rd of Feb. Then we drove to Michigan till the 9th to visit my family and then we headed up to NY. Since arriving in NY it's been madness. We unpaced all 9000 pounds of our stuff and painted a ton! We've been working on getting things ready for the arrival our little one in March.

Jane (birthmom) has been having a rough pregnancy. I was scheduled to come home March 1 but after she spent more time in the hospital Friday night being monitored having contractions we decided I'd come home a week early. So here we are in Michigan waiting on the arrival our daughter. She's not due until March 23 but the doctor says she will probably come before then and that she's far enough along now for it be okay. Keep your fingers crossed and pray for a safe delivery in the near future. The sooner she's born the sooner we can get back to NY for her to meet her Daddy!

~Till They All Come Home~

Adoption Is On Track

We talked to our lawyer on Friday about some concerns we've been having that I can't mention here because I want to protect the privacy of Jane as well as our own. But the good news is that the lawyer certain that there is nothing that's going to stand in the way of this adoption taking place as easily as we had hoped aside from of course Jane changing her mind. But we're certain that she's not going to do that. She and I talk nearly every day and she's anxious to be the one who's able to make our family complete by adding a little girl to our world!

We are ready for the baby other than clothes. We have two boys who are super environmental and we're going to use either cloth diapers or gDiapers with our daughter. We like the idea of saving money and doing our share for the environment.

The pumping is still going the same. I've added the herb fenugreek twice a day. It could take weeks to start actually producing milk and not just small drops of whatever. I've ordered a book about adoptive breastfeeding and plan to attend the next local meeting of the La Leche League International.

So everything is going perfect and a huge weight was lifted from our shoulders as well as Jane's and the rest of our families. It's the greatest feeling ever to have the confirmation that our daughter will be ours in about 3 short months!!

~Till They All Come Home~

This video is from the 19th when we told the boys that we having a girl. Enjoy!

~Till They All Come Home~

Breastfeeding without Pregnancy: Adoptive Mom's Can Breastfeed

Everyone knows we're adopting a baby girl in March. When I had both boys I didn't hesitate with my decision to breastfeed them. Tayton nursed for 10 1/2 months and Korbin for only 6 weeks when a kickass case of mastitis along with him being hospitalized for 3 days on top of still having an 18 month old at home made it too much to handle and he went on formula.

If we were having this child ourselves we'd definitely chose breast milk as her source of nutrition. I wasn't aware that adoptive mom's do have the option to breastfeed also. I know that a lot of adoptions don't have a long period for planning like we happen to be blessed with so it might not work as well for some. For us having 7 months to plan for our new arrival we've have time and have done our research.

It wasn't an easy decision to make but we've decided to make the commitment and see if I can produce milk and nurse this baby. I visited my family doctor who made sure I was aware of the commitment it's going to take in order to trick my body into thinking it should be produce milk and he did a little research into the medicines I had read about and in the end decided to prescribe Reglan and I bought a pump.

I've started the pills and pumping. I want to give my body plenty of time and not feel rushed as we get too near the end of the pregnancy and not have results. I'm happy to report that it is going well so far. I'll be thrilled when the first real drops appear but for now I'm happy with a little moisture as a sign that this is meant to be and we'll be able to provide this great source of nutrition and bonding for our new baby girl!

~Till They All Come Home~

We're Going to have a Daughter

And here she is making her first blog appearance!

We're very very excited that we're going to be adding some pink to this very blue family! The ultrasound tech said everything appears fine and she's tracking the due date the same as first estimated March 23!

~Till They All Come Home~

An Explanation

I posted from my phone to let anyone interested know that Janes ultrasound was cancelled. Her doctor was home sick the day of the appointment and while her appointment was at the hospital so she should have been able to have her ultrasound. She had told the nurse that her daughters were sick with the flu, possibly H1N1, and with the possibility that she could be infected they weren't able to let her have the ultrasound.

It has been rescheduled for the 19th. The doctor called her this morning and decided that even though she isn't feeling too bad now, he wanted her on Tamiflu anyway because of the risks for her with H1N1. She'll be taking it until the 19th as of now and possibly for another week after.

It worries me. I hate that I can't be at the ultrasound. I'm sad. The good news is that we got to see family and we got to see Jane a couple times and she seems to be doing well. She's showing now and we're hoping the rest of the pregnancy goes good and that this will pass.

The boys are happy to be home, Kirke's happy we're home. I'm happy to be home. Only I'm not feeling overly happy for some reason. I guess it's just leaving so much undone at home.

Keep thinking pink... Blue's nice too.

~Till They All Come Home~

Adoption Update

The birth mom, birth dad and I met with a local attorney today. The first one we met with said it would cost their minimum fee of $4500 and would be a simple process. Today's attorney said it would be a simple process and therefore cost us only a fraction of the price.

Today's meeting was very reassuring. I need this boost of confidence. The birth parents are very secure in their decision to allow us to adopt the baby. The attorney and I had a chance to chat a little after the birth parents went out to the car because I was waiting on a text from Kirke with some information. She was very helpful and seemed to be looking forward to helping us with this process.

I'm very excited and Monday is our ultrasound!! Think pink!! And if it's blue then think healthy!!!

~Till They All Come Home~

No More Mama Drama

We heard from the birth mom today and she is doing fine since moving out of my moms house. We're going to get her a cell phone on our plan and we'll be able to maintain better contact. Tomorrow she has her 16 week appointment and will be calling me from the doctors appointment so we can hear the heartbeat! I'm so excited!!

Everything is still moving forward. And she's still very on board. The one statement she said that reassured me most was "I am not going to bring another child into this lifestyle". After I asked her about her feelings about the adoption and any second thoughts. She's very certain that she's doing the right thing for this baby.

Oh and big news!! She's also going to schedule her ultrasound in November during the time I am home visiting.

I feel better!

In addition our family is all well. No more sickness here! Woohoo!

~Till They All Come Home~

Surprise! We're expecting!!

Wait a minute...... I had a hysterectomy nearly 5 years ago. Oh yeah and Kirke had a vasectomy two years before that because me+pregnancy=horrible! I didn't handle being pregnant so well. so while we always wanted more than two kids we knew that I would not handle another pregnancy especially with two naughty little blond boys running around.

So you are probably wondering what on Earth I'm talking about then right?

Well we have a family member who has found herself in a situation with an unexpected pregnancy. There is no way she can keep this baby as she struggles to make it work with the two small children she already has.

My mom has been the communication link between me and this family member, we'll call her Jane just to keep things straight. Mom told Jane that we would like to adopt the baby. Jane was very happy about this and has already told her doctor that she is giving this wonderful gift of being able to add to our family!

Our baby is due in March. Jane and Kirke and I will be communicating and working together to find an adoption facilitator in their area that will help us with the process. Due to this being a direct placement adoption between relatives things will be handled a little differently than a regular adoption.

I'm excited, and scared and most of all grateful that Kirke and I will be adding to our family and the boys are very excited about having a baby brother or sister! I'm scared that Jane might change her mind. That's really the only thing I'm afraid of at this point. I'm praying Jane is taking care of herself. She is giving us a wonderful gift and I'm certain that she will do her best to make sure this child healthy.

We weren't expecting this opportunity to come up and many of you are probably shocked by this news but we're excited and happy and we know in our hearts that this is right for us!!

**Please reserve any negative feelings/thought/opinions for somewhere else. We have been talking this out for a few weeks now and come to a decision that we believe is right for our family. Thoughts, prayers, well wishes and other positive comments are always welcome and much appreciated!

~Till They All Come Home~