Finally Time
Our road to adoption started years before we ever stepped foot into our meeting with LifeLong. Close friends of ours had adopted twice, and that started our interest in taking classes and finding out more information. After a few years of moving around, we finally decided it was time to get serious about growing our family.
Once we met with the LifeLong staff, we were ready to move forward as we joked we were not getting any younger. LifeLong being LGBT friendly was so important to us. As we started our adoption process, we had a great support system made up of our family and friends. We were ready to embark on our journey to become parents!
A Long Road
Once our profile was posted live on the LifeLong website, we were hoping to hear from an expectant mother right away, but like many other waiting families, that was not part of the plan for us. As we continued to wait for our child, we were feeling anxious about how long the process was taking and whether or not we would ever adopt. After talking with LifeLong staff, we made the decision to open up our preferences so our profile could be shown to more expectant mothers.
After more months had passed without being chosen, we started asking questions about what would happen if it did not happen for us. We tried to live life and stay positive. It was hard at times though, since time kept passing.
The Call That Changed Our Lives
After 20 months of waiting, we received the call that would forever change our lives. It was early in the morning; Maury had left for the office, and Chris was cleaning the house. The phone rang, and it was LifeLong calling with an opportunity! As we listened to the details of the situation, Chris’s heart stopped. This was really happening! A baby boy had been born early that morning, and they needed us to travel there right away. Chris called Maury immediately, and once Maury answered, he asked, “Are you ready to be a dad?” Chris dropped everything and headed to where the baby was; Maury would arrive shortly after.
When Chris arrived at the hospital, he was waiting in the lobby when a man and woman walked up and asked if he was Chris. They said, “Wow, you look just like your profile.” It was the birthparents! The birthmother asked Chris if he would like to meet the baby, to which he answered, “Of course!” The walk to the NICU felt like the longest but most important walk I would ever take.
We laid eyes on the tiniest baby boy as his birthmother uttered the words we had waited so long to hear: “There is your son.” With eyes filled with tears and hearts filled with love, we saw our son, Wyatt, for the first time.
Worth the Wait
When we started this journey, we had no idea it would take all the time it did; however, we now know there was a plan for us from the start. Our son was worth every minute we waited! We kept believing this would work out for us, and it did.
After adopting Wyatt, we wanted to keep the door open for his birthmother to have as much communication with us as she was comfortable with. We feel it is important to have Wyatt know where he came from and we would do anything to maintain communication with her.
Advice we would give to other waiting families would be that there is light at the end of the tunnel! Don’t give up. There will be hurdles, but you signed up for this and that baby was chosen for you. This will be the best thing that ever happened to you. Our lives have forever been changed and moved by not only adoption but Wyatt’s exceptional birthmother!