Blog Carnival: What No One Told Me About Adoption

The writers over at Grown In My Heart wrote an article with the same title as above, and invited everyone to add their own thoughts. I've been thinking about this article for a while now, not knowing exactly what to say. The first several months of our lives as adoptive parents are such a blur to me...it was all we could do to keep up with two babies, even with all the help we had.

I believe our adoption agency did a great job preparing us to be adoptive parents. We were required to take several parenting classes before we could submit our dossier to Vietnam. We had several meetings with our social worker, who was an adoptive mom herself, and she was a wealth of information. Our agency responded quickly with answers to any questions we had. All in all, they provided us with a great support system, which left us feeling prepared. But even with that great support system from our agency, our family and our friends, there were still some things I was not prepared for. Here are just a few thoughts...

1. No one told me I would have a full on panic attack in the middle of Babies-R-Us while trying to work on our baby registry. We're talking chest pains, tingling left arm, I thought I was having a heart attack panic attack. When this happened, I had no idea I was stressed! I thought I was going with the flow and pretty at ease. Obviously not!

2. No one told me that my children would not sleep through the night until they were 15 months old. Although sleep routines were formed easily, we fed them every three hours all night long for months.

3. To piggy back on the previous one, no one told me to expect my children to be malnourished.

4. No one told me about eczema.

5. No one told me how much support I would need. Even though I did a lot of things on my own with the boys, I had no idea I would need and want help at night. (Thanks for all the months of taking the night shift, Mom!)

6. No one told me how quickly my children would be accepted into our family and circle of friends. I knew people would love them because they were ours, but even now when I overhear someone talking about the boys, I know they are loved because of who they are, not just who their parents are.

7. No one told me how much I would crave adult interaction. Just two months after our adoption was complete, I joined a Bible study and became a board member of the local twins club. I loved my boys, but I missed my old life. These two groups helped me find a little balance in my life, and I think have made me a better mom.

8. No one told me there were actually cute boy clothes out there, and how long my children would stay in one size! And no one told me how much fun I would have shopping for said clothes.

9. No one told me how much I would love each stage of their lives, and how much I wouldn't miss the newborn stage. I always thought I would be saddened to miss out on those first few weeks of a baby's life, but I didn't. I have loved watching them grow and change and learn. It has been an amazing experience, and I learn right along with them.

**10. No one told me how difficult it would be to get social security cards for our children.

**11. No one told me what a pain health insurance would be.

12. No one told me how adorable footed pajamas are!

13. No one told me how much I would love making baby food.

14. No one told me how much deeper in love I would fall with Dan as I watch him be a dad.

15. In short, no one told me how amazing life would be with two sweet little boys from Vietnam.

**Please note, our issues with SSA and health insurance have more to do with the fact that we adopted twins and less to do with the fact that they are adopted. :-)

Recipes!

I decided last month to get all of my recipes organized and in one place. I haven't added much to it since September, mostly because I don't do any cooking/baking these days. But I think the collection has a pretty good start. Feel free to check it out. Hopefully I will begin updating it a little more often in the coming months... :-)

http://macdonaldrecipes.blogspot.com

Drum Roll....

Every where I go (not that I go many places these days) I get asked about the baby. You know the question I'm talking about, because you've been asked, done the asking or both!

"What are you having?"

I knew the question was coming three weeks ago when Dan and I went in for what most people refer to as "the big ultrasound". "The big ultrasound" is what those people who have normal, uncomplicated pregnancies have around the 20 week mark to have measurements done on the baby (a growth scan). This is often the only ultrasound women have, and it's usually where you find out what the gender of your baby is. Anyway, "the big ultrasound" for me is just part of the monthly routine. I have a growth scan done once every four weeks, so the ultrasound is really no "big" deal to me.

When we went in three weeks ago, our ultrasound techs were pretty sure they knew the gender, but since no one was 100%, we had Dr. Risky do a quick check. He was able to get some very clear images of our baby's private parts, and when we asked him if he was 100% sure, he said, "If this baby is a girl, I will give you your money back." (And trust me, if he's wrong, we will be RICH people!)

So, the consensus is in. And even though when people really started hounding me what the question, "What are you having?", and I slyly answered "A baby!" instead of telling them what they wanted to know, the time has come to tell everyone...

IT'S A BOY!

Yes, it appears that Dan and I will be parents to three wild and crazy boys. Whee!!

I'm so embarrased

I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I finally got the pictures from the boys' birthday party processed and uploaded. Their birthday was only 8 months ago... :(

Anyway, you can find them (and other pictures as I get caught up) at http://pix.tazman.net/.

...and we have a winner!

So, I'm totally lame and didn't realize that I would need to create an account and pay to use random.org's generator, which would give me to cool looking winner. If you've been participating on other blogs with giveaways, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Since I wasn't in a position to pay to use random.org's paid features (I must be the last person on the planet without a paypal account!), I had to do the next best thing.

So, without further ado, here are pictures (yes, taken by my digital camera and then uploaded to my computer) of the winning number. The fantastic bibs, blankets & coffee cozy go to...

Congratulations Mary Kate of Our Journey!

You're my winner! Please e-mail me at twins@tazman.net with your contact information and your winnings will be shipped right out!

Thanks to everyone who has played along with me, and huge thanks to Andrea for donating such a wonderful prize. Don't forget to check out her blog and shop at her Etsy shop. :-)

Picture Time!

I know some people come to read our family blog just to see pictures. And after more ultrasounds than I can count for this baby, we finally have a half way decent picture to share. :-) Unfortunately the scanner is attached to a server that isn't working right now, so the best I can offer is a photograph of our latest ultrasound. But that's better than nothing, right?

This little one moved around so much today (a complete opposite of the last appointment, where s/he was sleeping) that our tech had a hard time getting any pictures. We were thankful she was able to get most of the measurements done, and happy she was able to capture even this picture. This baby likes to turn over and lay on its belly, with only its back showing. Silly baby.

One day I'll post a little more about this pregnancy, and what we are doing for prenatal care. You won't believe it.

It's Giveaway Day!

Just a couple of days ago I gave everyone a sneak peek at my first giveaway, but today I am unveiling the whole thing! Without further ado, here are pictures of the giveaway!

Above you see two pairs of beautifully made baby blankets and bibs.

The blankets are called "Bye Bye Baby Retro Giraffe Blanky" and are approximately 31''x30''. They have a cotton woven giraffe front with super, SUPER soft maroon minky on the back, and an edging of a yellow and brown cotton woven. The bibs are made with Alexander Henry's Bangle Dot fabric and backed with either brown or yellow cotton woven fabric. An inner layer has been added for additional stability and absorbency. The bibs have adjustable poly resins snaps, suitable for infants all the way through the toddler years. Check out the next photo for a little treat especially for Mom!

See the awesome coffee cozy? It's just for you, Mom!

The coffee cozy is made with Alexander Henry's Bangle Dot fabric, backed with a brown cotton woven fabric and has a inner layer of a specialty material specifically made to prevent heat/cold from move through it. The cozy closes by poly resin snaps, and is adjustable, suitable for use with Starbucks Grande, Venti, Iced Grande, and Iced Venti cups.

I might be a little biased, but I think this is a pretty amazing giveaway! Andrea does beautiful work, and you can check out her Etsy shop here: Little Lollipoptree.

And now, how the giveaway works...

1. Start by leaving a comment here and that will get you one entry!
2. If you Tweet the link to the giveaway, you can get another entry. Just comment again with a link to the Tweet.
3. Why don't you jump over the Andrea's Etsy shop and take a quick look. Comment here and tell me what your favorite item is for one more entry.

The contest will run until tomorrow, September 4th, at 8pm Eastern Time. I will use random.org to tell me wins this amazing giveaway, and will be in touch to get your information to mail you your prize.

Have fun playing along with all the bloggers at the End of Summer Blog Party!