Welcome to our Blog-recently revamped to reflect the changes in our family. :) I'm thinking the new blog will focus on the adventures of our little family of three, with the star being of course, our little "Noah-Bean".

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Should've called the new blog, "Adventures of An Anxious Mom"...

     So I was always an anxious person, but holy crap! Motherhood has made me a freakin' lunatic! I have never been so dedicated to maintaining consistency and schedules, keeping lists, over-analyzing. To make things worse (and maybe you've heard) babies don't talk for like...two years! How the heck am I supposed to know what is bothering him? And OMG, I don't know what's bothering him?? That must make me a terrible Mom! MORE ANXIETY!

      Today was a perfect example. Noah-Bean slept great for his morning nap, an oddity for him, but took a "craptastic" afternoon nap-meaning he barely dosed for about 30 minutes. So...when we were out and about running errands, he got upset. By this I mean cranky, irritable, and all around unable to soothe. Toys didn't work, bottle didn't work, the all important vanilla puffs didn't work. Didn't help any that it was unseasonably warm, and I don't think air conditioning gets back there to the little one so well-especially since he's rear facing. I ran through my errands and tried to get him back home where I knew he would need another short nap. I explained all of this to him so I don't know what his problem was! (sarcasm here) Poor baby cried in the car which is hell, really. You can hear him sobbing and whining and there's nothing you can do to soothe him. What he really wants after all is to go home, which is where I'm taking him. Side note-I speed terribly when Noah cries in the car seat. I know it's terrible, but I just want to get him out of there and hold him as quickly as possible. As I suspected, Noah was tired and fell right asleep after a few ounces of formula and some rocking.

      Later this evening, I was so excited to try out his new duckie inflatable bath tub. Once again, mommy's excitement isn't always Noah's. Our very pampered boy has been, up to now, bathing with Mom or Dad. This tub was not a good replacement. Poor Noah again cried. In hindsight, it was probably not a good idea for Mommy to wear a scary green face mask tonight-probably not the most comforting to see Mommy looking like a monster. Oh well-tomorrow is another day! Before the tantrum ensued...
thinking about standing up :( 

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Back to Blog :)

After over a year, I've decided to return to my blog-if for no other reason than my own desire to reflect and connect. More lofty aspirations now that I am a stay at home Mom, with fewer opportunities to do so!
To sum up, long story short, yada yada yada...we are parents! I'll spare you the details, as I firmly believe that Noah's adoption story is his alone. He will get to decide when, how and with whom he will share it. We received a call last June from our social worker that a birth mom wanted to meet us. We scheduled that meeting for mid-July, and were told that we MIGHT be parents to a baby boy by the end of August. (BTW Noah's birth mother was in a word-incredible.) The same week that we here in VA endured the first earthquake in years and a hurricane which knocked out power to most of the central VA area, little Noah entered the world. We could tell already he had a flare for drama. :) Because we had no power, we had to move from the hospital into a hotel room in Richmond, which wasn't too easy to find considering EVERYONE was looking for a hotel room. I've never before felt like such a "deer in the headlights". Fast forward eight months-through acid reflux, collic, our first Christmas as a family, sleep regression (followed closely by a decision to co-sleep for now), Noah's baptism, etc.-here we are! We are proud parents (not adoptive, not bio or birth-just parents) to a healthy, happy baby boy. Noah can sit-up, crawl, pull himself up to stand, eat solid foods, and needless to say has quite a personality. At least that's what we're told by everyone-even strangers. "He is the happiest baby I've ever seen" is the comment most often made...that or something about his bald, beautifully shaped head. Guess we must be doing something right!

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Sad Week

So, this is where my commitment to share our process comes into question. Let's just say that we suffered our first disappointment. I've learned some things, however.

1. Rob is the most supportive husband ever.
2. He should be the contact person for our social worker from now on.
3. It's not my job to be the professional in this process. Although I am a licensed clinical social worker and counsel families for a living, I'm not the professional here. I'm the one that needs the support, so it's up to me to ask for it when I need it.
4. There is support out there, and I'm going to use it. I've heard from others who have gone through this or are going through it. I'm planning on contacting them and establishing a support network of sorts.
5. Rob and I can get through this! There will be other setbacks and heartache, but we can and will get through this.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

No News isn't always Good News.



Love this pic of Cohan, and I think his facial expression is pretty accurate for the following post.
I warned you all that at times my posts would be my way of venting or expressing frustration. I guess today is that kind of day. We have heard nothing from our adoption agency or social worker in about two months-since our homestudy was approved. So, after going back and forth in my mind about wanting to get information but also not pestering our social worker, I decided to call her. (Considering that I think of Baby Baker almost every minute and literally jump anytime any of my phones ring in anticipation of "the call", I thought one contact every two months isn't too needy.) She responded quickly with an email explaining the following: "Admittedly things are on a slow wave right now and we anticipate things picking up in the near future. That's how adoption works. Hang in there..."

So, we wait...and wait...and wait. It's hard to wait, as everyone knows, especially for something you want more than anything you've ever wanted before. In other news, I'm quite the anxious wreck lately. I worry about everything and am prone to crying at any moment. I'm told that the emotional roller coaster of adoption is similar to pregnancy in that aspect. Wondering how much longer until I go "Raising Arizona"!!

Monday, January 31, 2011

Gavin




It occurred to me recently that I have not included one of my favorite little boys in the whole world-Gavin- in my blog. Gavin is my 6 year old nephew, son of Rob's sister. Gavin has been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, which sometimes causes him to have trouble communicating his needs and socializing with peers. Despite those challenges, Gavin is one of the sweetest, happiest people I've ever known. In June, he added "Big Brother" to his list of accomplishments and I can't wait to add "Big Cousin" too!

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Nesting

Nursery planning is soo difficult! I had no idea. I have found it to be similar to wedding planning. There is so much pressure to get everything just right, especially when you have waited as long as Rob and me. I look at furniture, bedding and artwork online daily-literally. I go back and forth between getting just the "bare bones" essentials and designing a beautiful room like the one that's been in my imagination for so many years. The hard thing about adopting is you obviously don't know about gender, but you also have no idea about due date or even exact age of the baby. (Rob and I are open to adopting babies up to a few months old.)

I thought going to the baby stores and looking at things in person would help. Not so much. I had a total anxiety attack looking at all those things and having no idea what I actually will need. (How many blankets?? It seems like each blanket is designated for a specific purpose! Mind blowing.) I also had this feeling like I didn't belong, kind of like I snuck in the back door of a very exclusive club to which I wasn't invited. All of this was in my mind, of course; people were very kind. The other difficult question is about registering. When you're pregnant, this is a no brainer. When you're adopting, the issue is much more complicated. Everyone is very sensitive to the unknowns of the process. Family doesn't want to plan a big, elaborate shower and then have something happen. You know what I'm referring to-the possibility that things don't go according to plan. We'll just leave it at that. So, we will probably have more of a meet and greet when Baby Baker is safely in our arms and legally ours. Hard part is, we'll probably be caring for Baby Baker way before then. We'll have to have all the appropriate blankets, right?? But more than having the items that we need, the Baby Shower is also a time when other family members, other mothers usually, gather around the expecting mother. They offer advice, love and support. I am so blessed in this area. I have so many wonderful mothers (family and friends) that consistently offer their love and support. I'm so grateful for this. I think the blog has served as my way of having that need met, too.

So here we are-cribless and blanketless, trying to determine what next steps to take. For now, I think we'll focus on priming the room we finished off (no paint yet since we don't know about fabrics in the room) and installing new floors. Hopefully, we'll make some decisions soon, and can start posting some pics!

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Red Thread ornament - CafePress

Red Thread ornament - CafePress

Every year, Rob and I get a new ornament to represent whatever we were going through that year. This is our ornament this year-love it. :) Next year, it'll be a "baby's first Christmas" ornament!