Because the birth family's kids were going stir crazy in that little room - actually, we all were, the birth family decided they just wanted to leave as soon as possible and not worry about leaving together. Finally, the hospital social worker came in and got them discharged, they said a quick good bye and left.
Once they left, the hospital moved us & Kate to another room that had just become available. At that point, the nurses attitudes started to change. The tension was gone and everyone started calling us mom and dad for the first time. Unfortunately, the baby that was so sick had to be flown to OKC via helicopter. Because of this, Jay and I were allowed into the nursery for the first time. They were worried before about keeping it as germ-free as possible while this poor sick baby was still there.
The nursery nurse took Jay and I in and started going over basic newborn care. She showed Jay how to give her a bath. She said that is a good "daddy job." So right there, Jay gave Kate her first bath.
They also decided to switch her off of milk and onto Soy. She went through 5 outfits - throwing up on each one trying to get her newborn hospital picture taken! Once we finished there, we headed off to check out of our hotel which is where my first post-kate blog post took place.
pps. We were lucky to get a quick court date. Thursday morning at 9am the birth family went to court and relinquished all parental rights. Although we know it must have been extremely hard on them, we hope that maybe this will mark the turning point in their lives, and good fortune will find them soon.
ppps. After the parental rights were terminated, the birth mother decided she wanted to see Kate one more time before they left Oklahoma for good. So, after a quick call to my soon to be brother-in-law/attorney, to assure us that there was no legal way they could change their mind we agreed to meet. I am so glad we did. We met at a McDonalds in the same small town Kate was born. The meeting lasted less than an hour. I took her a photo album I had made for her filled with pics of newborn Kate. She held the baby for a little bit and finally asked her, if she was ready to back to her mom. She handed her back to me. I know you will find this hard to believe but I don't think anyone cried that day. It was good closure for all of us. They planned on leaving for Arizona and we were headed back to Kansas. We never gave our last names or where we lived. They don't have anyway of contacting us except through the agency. I promised to send lots of pictures to the agency as Kate grows up. The birth mom said she doesn't want or need them but someday I hope she will change her mind. Kate will always be my daughter and I will always be her mom but before me there was another woman, another mother, that loved her so much, she gave her the life she couldn't and for that, I will be eternally grateful.
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