Coming out from under the radar

Dear friends and family – We’ve been under the radar for the past couple of weeks and deeply appreciate your understanding, care, and prayers. We’ve got some wonderful news to share and a significant prayer need. Over the weekend of February 26-27, our profile book was under consideration by a 30-year-old birth mom in a Seattle hospital for a preemie birth by Caesarian section due to the mom’s health issues. The baby was born at 8:30am on Monday, February 28th, about four weeks premature. She was 5 pounds, 14 ounces and 18½ inches long. Our portfolio was one of three the mom selected, then one of two and we were asked to come to the hospital and meet her. We were blessed to talk on Tuesday evening with friends who are also adopting about their first meeting with their birth mom and, thanks to a “Ministering to Birth Parents” discussion at our church, felt a little less nervous about the interview than we might have otherwise.
On Wednesday, March 2nd, we met the mom and baby (here she is in her isolette in the Newborn ICU); she’s got a CPAP machine supporting her breathing just like I do at night and the isolette is helping to maintain her body temperature. We came out of the meeting feeling pretty confident we were picked and found out the next day that she had “officially” picked us as the adoptive parents for her baby – only one major hurdle to overcome.
The birth mom is Native American (Cheyenne-Sioux from Minnesota) so our selection requires the approval of the tribal court under the provisions of the Indian Child Welfare Act. Our attorney has sent off the relevant paperwork; the tribe has 10 business days so should be done around Friday, March 18th or early the following week. We have a slot on the court schedule here in Seattle on Friday the 25th at which the birth mom formally relinquishes her parental rights. Katie dropped down to 5 pounds, 4 ounces and was back up to 5 pounds, 8 ounces when we were finally able to visit her on Saturday, March 5th. She was also off all breathing assistance and out of the isolette. This picture is Amy feeding her her first bottle. The nurses in the NICU were great at encouraging us and teaching us to care for her.
On Monday, March 7th, Katie was moved from the NICU to an intermediate care level where one of us could spend the night in her room. Amy spent Monday and Wednesday nights with her, Ken spent Tuesday night. This formal six-week job search period Ken is in has been an incredible blessing has it has provided him the schedule flexibility to spend a lot of time bonding with Katie and supporting Amy. By Tuesday, the 8th, Katie was up to 5 pounds, 11 ounces and continuing to love eating from a bottle. She’s a very calm baby and eats every three-to-four hours during the day and every four-to-five hours at night. On Wednesday, Katie aced her hearing and car seat tests so, good news and bad news, she was going to be discharged from the hospital on Thursday. That’s good news because it’s wonderful that she’s so healthy but bad news because she can’t come home with us until the tribal court rules. We were pretty unhappy at this and really struggled. Meanwhile, the adoption agency was working to identify a foster family for Katie and hoping to find us one where we could visit during the 16 days until the court hearing. This has been a specific example for us that God has a better plan than we could ever conceive of. The foster family are strong Christians and, while we would certainly prefer to have Katie home with us, she’s in a safe home that honors Christ and cares for and prays over Katie and we’re able to honor the legal process. The wonderful story that is Katie’s will now include three moms – her birth mom; her foster mom, Karen; and Amy. The Lord is truly caring for her and for us. Karen invited Amy to attend a Christian women’s conference this weekend; they shared a room and Amy was able to care for and bond with Katie all weekend. Tomorrow, we’re going with them to Katie’s first post-discharge doctor’s appointment. Katie’s going for her first car ride; it was unimaginably tough for us to deal with it not being our car. This is Katie’s story over the first dozen days. We ask for your prayers for the tribal court’s consideration, for Katie’s birth mom, and for Katie and us – that we can continue to bond with her and continue to recognize the Lord’s many blessings in this process. Ken, Amy, and Katie