DOMESTIC - Infant Adoption

I received the call we had been waiting eight months for on April 12, 2006… we had been selected by a birth mother who was in Illinois, and expecting a baby girl on April 24, only twelve days away!

It was one year before that we started the paperwork in hopes of adopting a second child. Our daughter, Amanda, was almost one-and-a-half at the time, and we were very excited about adopting a second child and having a sibling for Amanda, though, admittedly, the thought of going through all of the paperwork and red tape again was not very appealing. Despite that, we forged ahead and waited anxiously for a birth mother to decide we were the family she wanted for her baby, knowing from Amanda’s adoption that the paperwork agony would be worth it in the end.

On April 20 we packed up the car and our two year old and drove to Chicago. We met our daughter’s birth mother for lunch the day after arriving in IL, along with her son and her mother, and we all liked each other right away. She was wonderful with Amanda and it was very apparent how much she loved children, yet knew she couldn’t take care of one in addition to her three year old. She was also so thoughtful she told us she had explained to her doctor that we were there from Connecticut with a two year old, and if she didn’t deliver by her due date, she wanted to be induced the next day so we wouldn’t have to be away from home longer than necessary.

As luck would have it, two days later, on her due date, we received a call from our birth mother’s mother at 5:40AM that the baby was on the way and to hurry to the hospital! We quickly got Amanda up and dressed and loaded up the car for the one-and-a-half hour drive to the hospital. At 7:20, only a few minutes away from the hospital, we received the second call that we were parents to a healthy baby girl, 7 lbs 15oz and 19 ½ inches long! We started crying in the car, and in the excitement accelerated a little too much and were pulled over by the police for speeding. Fortunately, after explaining where we were headed, we merely received a written warning, and now have that embarrassing story to tell Alyssa when she is much older!

On May 4 we finally received word from our agency that the Interstate Compact paperwork had been completed and we could travel back to CT. On the way home we decided to make a surprise overnight visit to my parents and introduce them to Amanda’s baby sister, and their newest grandchild, Alyssa.

We are still in contact with Alyssa’s birth mother through email and at the end of each email we receive from her, she thanks us for coming into her life and for the life we are giving Alyssa. In our opinion, it is she who deserves the greatest thanks in the world for coming into our life and giving us the gift of Alyssa, a true angel from above.

Six-and-a-half months after Alyssa was born, we received the call that the State of Illinois signed the paperwork finalizing Alyssa’s adoption. After hanging up the phone I picked up Alyssa and told her she was stuck with us for good now. Alyssa looked right at me, flashed me a huge smile, showing off her two little teeth, and let out a laugh that warms your heart like only the laugh of a baby can. We have two angels for daughters, the paperwork and waiting was well worth it, and our family is now complete.