Baby Girl Nursery !

OK, let's wipe our tears from yesterday's blog.  I got many texts and calls saying I made people weep and that was not my intention! :)  Let's lighten it up a little today!!!

NOOOOOPE, not gettin ahead of myself AT ALL ;)  So I know, this could fall through, so technically I shouldn't be all gender specific just yet.  But I have not purchased any gender specific items for this room besides the adorable knobs that if I have to, I can move to my vanity dresser in my makeup room.  Until then, they are showing themselves off proudly on the 20 dollar Craigslist dresser I got!  Look at them gleam!  I also added some random gold knobs I had for a necklace holder project that I never got done.  I only had 4 and need 2 more so they are on their way for the bottom drawers.  Knobs make a difference, I tell ya!

Extreme Close Up on gold polka dotted preciousness!  Clearance 3 buck items!

I know, I get excited about odd things like drawer pulls, but if you know me, that comes as no surprise.  If it is pink and glittery, it may as well be a trip to Hawaii.  We put together the crib my awesome mama got us this weekend.  It took a couple house due to holes not quite being aligned, but we did it! I am happy with the way it looks, pretty simple.  We wouldn't want to outshine the fancy dresser knobs!

I am not doing a 'monkey theme' but they sure are cute.  My brother passed along a monkey hamper they never used (right side) and if you could touch that monkey blanket, you woulda bought it too!  I wish they came in adult size!  If there was a sage green cloud with a monkey face, this would be it!  That green painting is from when this was a guest room, and will be replaced by some gender specific cute thing that I find on pinterest after adoption is complete ;)

I got this white changing table on our community facebook site for 20 buckaroos!  I jazzed it up with some pink baskets I had (seeee, still not purchasing girl stuff!!) and covered the bottom baskets with an extra crib skirt I got free.  Look at da wiw bunny wabbbit.  I may change that to something with gold polka dots, but I like the idea of it.  The mattress cover was a hand-me-down as was the comfy glider that I am sure I will spend many nights dozing off on!  We have darn good people that are so giving and sweet.  It is cool how this nursery will have parts from different people in our lives, it makes it quite special.  OH, the pillows.  That green pillow has gold polka dots (see a theme here?), got it off Etsy and paired with the pink pillow my friend got me years ago, it brings everything together nicely!  That lamp in the back is gold and crystal, yet another glorious hand-me-down from a friend!  The mirror I got from Kirklands last year, it is green and was on sale for 19 bucks!  Love livin on the cheap!!

So I changed this around a little bit, replacing two of the green bins with pink and will put those 2 green bins elsewhere.  This looked too cluttered for me.  That hanging thing on the right included the fabric drawers, baby velvet hangers and the dividers that you put stickers on each.  They come with stickers with days of the week, types of clothing and sizes (I used the 0-3 months, 3-6 months, etc).  All for 25 bucks on Amazon!  I thought it was a nice price, and a gorgeous sage green!  Can't say no to that! See, non gender specific!  I can throw those pink bins in the basement if lil bean ends up not being the lil bean we think she will be at this point.  I got the cube storage at Target (Circo brand).  People usually use the fabric bins in them, but I like these because THEY WERE A DOLLAR EACH at Dollar Tree!  And you can see through them, so it will make changing a baby that much easier at 2am.  You can't see it, but that white basket MAY or may not have a glittery whimsical finish.  Inside it is books Mike's sister got us to start our nursery library!  One of the books is called, "Born From the Heart" and I can not read it again for a while, because I weep.  It is beautiful.  If you are part of the adoption world, you must purchase it!  Those lil fuzzy friends are mine that Mike has given to me through the years.  I have a collection of about 10, that odds are will make their way into lil bean's possession.  I have a couple plans for wall art once baby gender is definite.  So this is it so far!

Hope you love your nursery, pink knobs or not. I will love you pink knobs or not <3

Bumpless Baby Mama

Birthparent Meeting Update!

I imagine this will be a long blog, so get those eyeballs ready and maybe grab some tea ;)

Yesterday was a very emotional day.  This whole ride is becoming more emotional, but different because it is like having split personalities.  Yet even worse because you are feeling all of the emotions all at once.  Sometimes you go back and forth from fear, excitement, etc. but sometimes it is almost as if you are feeling it all at once and your brain is so overwhelmed with different feelings you almost feel numb.  I came out of the meeting basically 'high' and ten minutes later was staring off like a robot, not even able to describe what I was feeling, and nor could Mike.  It is too much to express.

So...the meeting.  On the way there, my wedding photographer said he would do newborn photo session for a HUGE discount since we are adopting.  I was so excited, I called my mom and she started laughing at me.  I was like "What are you laughing at?!"  She said, "You are just so YOU!  You focus on the weirdest things when big events are happening.  All the little details, like chanigng the knobs on the nursery dresser and photos!"  I thought about it, she WAS right.  I guess it is a distraction from the bigger things :)  They are SUPER cute knobs, though!

We got to the agency, filled out paperwork, handed over our left leg/fat check, and then she said, "They are here!!"  MY heart dropped as I looked up and saw the birthparents.  They looked so young and were absolutely adorable.  They had such high energy it made everything easier, and I felt better being myself/high energy.  The BM was beautiful.  Gorgeous darkish red hair and gleaming bluish green eyes.  Fair skin, but not dull, almost like porcelain.  She was exactly my size,  plus a baby bump!  The BF looked straight out of a surfer magazine, about 5'11, athletic, with light brown hair and pretty blue eyes.  The agency suggests bringing a small gift for BM, so I got her a journal and the BF (can't leave him out!) a table top little football thing and scrabble bookmark (he loves to read).  I passed the gifts over and the BM squealed and opened the pink chevron bag, "OH WOW THANK YOU!"  Her face lit up, but not as much as the BF's when he said the bookmarks, "Oh my God, this is awesome.  AND IT'S scrabble?! I love scrabble!  We play it all the time!"  Score.


And then we started chatting.  They both had such magnetizing personalities.  I didn't expect it to be so 'easy' and not awkward.  They were both a riot, super goofy, and the sadness and negative feelings all sat quietly tucked under the table as we covered them up with getting to know about each other and even joking around!  Clearly we were all distracting ourselves from the hard part.  Which of course did come up, and at this point we were pretty comfortable with each other.  BM started to talk about why they are placing their baby girl up for adoption, and I started getting the ol lump in the throat.  The Social worker slide her a tissue.  Then BM looked up at me and tears were filling up in her sea-green eyes.  I said, "If you go, I go!" (the tears were already in the cannon!) and the social worker slide a tissue over my way, too.  She continued to talk and our tears remained quivering as we both tried to be strong.  Two minutes later we were all back to talking and joking.  There were a couple moments of tear welling, but overall, it was a very positive meeting.  The social worker mentioned multiple times how similar me and BM were, and that was a very cool thing to me.  Quite a compliment.

The BM and BF were just amazing.  Both highly intelligent, in college, but more importantly, such unique awesome personalities.  If all goes as planned, we will be raising one energetic, smart, funny, amazing little girl! 

I promised BM that we would give her child a very fun life, full of unconditional love and be surrounded by tons of family and friends.  I went to go on and she interrupted me and said, "I have no doubt in my mind about that, that is why I picked you."  She told us about how at her Dr appointment, while she was choosing between us and another family, when they asked where the adoptive parents lived, she said our area.  She said her gut decided for her at that moment.

The social worker at this point looked at me and said, "Do you want to tell her what you told me?"  WAY TO PUT ME ON THE SPOT lol!  I said, "The dreams?"  She said, "yea?" So, I did.  I felt comfortable enough with them both.  I said, "OK, well I have had both dreams and 'visions'' my whole life, kind of like predictions, lots of them accurate...OH GREAT now I sound crazy person!" (but they were cooky, so I knew they wouldn't even flinch) "But I have had multiple dreams/visions for the past 7 months that we end up bringing home a baby girl in July.  With reddish hair."  The BM was like, "That is amazing.  Weird thing, I get 'visions', too."   So, we are both pale faced freaks with big mouths and psychic dreams :) 

I was nervous when we left because there was talk that they had planned a baby shower.  That made me think about how they at some point felt they could do it themselves, enough to have a shower.  It had been lingering, so I emailed my social worker my concern.  She emailed me back more specifics of how they came to their final decision and said they were very mature and thoughtful and that these are the types of situations that work out, ones that have been well thought out.  It made me feel better.  Again, whatever happens happens, but of course I am absolutely terrified.  The situation seems so great and like the stars aligned so perfectly, and it would be an 'ideal' situation.  I know that fate is fate and God has a plan...and if bringing baby girl home forever is His plan for us, I sure like his style.

I am sure there are more details Im forgetting, and if you have questions just comment below.  My brain is on extreme overdrive and emotions flowin!  I want to thank all of you who have followed my story and been there, it honestly means more than you know.  Your care for us and our journey makes it more fun and we feel so supported.  The calls, texts and emails are overwhelmingly beautiful.  We are very very lucky people.  So thank you for that.

Taking out another tissue, waiting for you...I just want to hit Fast Forward and have you in my arms,
Bumpless Baby Mama

It's a Girl! And What to Get the Birthmother ?

Disclaimer: The baby is NOT born yet, will be born in the next couple of months...

MAN...it just gets harder and hard to not get excited.  I am doing my best.  But my best was when my social worker sent me an email this morning that said, "Pick out some girl names!"  I shrieked out loud, I  nearly broke the windows.  So my best isn't doin so hot! I am doing a lot of talking to myself in my head these last few days.  "Chill out.  Things can change.  This could fall through.  Think positive but chill the hell out!"   And then my mind drifts to adding pink dashes of color throughout the nursery and picturing if she will have red hair like her mother.  And obviously as a planner, we have had names picked out for months now, for either gender.  I will leave that detail out until everything is finalized, gotta hold back in SOME way ;) 

HEY! Come here, stork...gimme that baby! 

I have even googled dominant vs recessive genes as far as their hair and eye color goes (the birthmother and father are Caucasian)?  I literally have written up equations to figure out the most likely combination.  Trying to find control in a completely we are not in control situation.  IT is a cute combo, btw!  I will save that detail, too.  Can't get ahead of myself.  Too late for that, huh, pink nursery stuff already dancing around in my head??  But when the social worker is telling you to get a name ready, it is encouraging.  Odds are in our favor, but statistics are statistics.  I feel like God does not do statistics!  God has plans for people and trying to figure out likelihood of a failed adoption by numbers something like this is pretty useless.  I will just trust that the big guy has it all laid out for us and in less than 2 months we will know either way.

 That looks about right?!

We are meeting the birthmother and birthfather next week.  The agency encourages you to bring the birthmother a small gift.  NO PRESSURE! lol...I mean, it isn't exactly a happy birthday party here!! What kind of gift do you give someone that is heart broken and this is not a fun time for them?  Since we both write poetry, I thought it'd be nice to write a poem, but that seems to personal for now. Then my friend said if she loves to paint, too, give her some sort of paint supply...artists paint their way through emotions, it'd be perfect!  So I am thinking about that.  Any more ideas welcome! :)

Our meeting will basically be just talking/asking questions and they say you can bring a photo album to show them even more pics of extended family, etc (they have already seen our profile book).  UMM, our photo album is on facebook lol!  We have just one printed album off snapfish of our first year of marriage, etc. that I made for Mike cause we are cheesy lol! 

Wow.  I just realized our birthmother meeting is on our wedding anniversary.  What are the odds?? God's odds, I guess! ;)

Trying REALLY hard to hold back,but it is tough, Lil bean,

Bumpless Baby Mama

We Have Been Picked!!!

HOLY ROLLER COASTER!  The last 48 hours have started our adoption emotional horror!  My jaw is aching and head spinning, but we finally got some news.  Faster than we thought.  I will back up...Monday afternoon I got a message that a birthmother had taken our profile and someone else's home with her to 'stew' and choose and they would let us know by today.  I have been trying to distract myself while at the same time planning cause I am a MANIC PLANNER!

 The Last 48 hours

So today, I went into the chapel (that's right! I know where to find Jesus!) and prayed that the birthmother would find peace and confidence in whatever choice she makes, whether it be us or the other couple, or even deciding to not place the child.  As I sat back at my desk, my phone rang and the familiar number gleamed brighter than ever and I just knew it was the call.  I took the phone and ran down the hall like I was being chased by a bear, far away enough so nobody could hear me (just in case I DIDN'T really know and ended up weeping curled up in a ball in the corner).

 This could have been me, today.  Minus the glasses.  I am one ugly crier!

Our social worker screamed out, "Hey!  I have excellent news!"  She proceeded to tell me that we had been picked and the details of the birthmother and birthfather's situation, due date, and said they wanted to meet us!  OH MY.  This IS an open adoption, may as well start now?!  I want to keep some things private on here for now, so won't disclose some details, but I paced around the chapel with a huge smile, trying to also remember that things can still change, minds can change.  "So, what is the percentage of disappointment (what they call a birthmother changing their mind) at this stage?"  I sounded like the opposite of myself, logical and wanting numbers!  I am a normally emotionally driven person, but with big events I turn 'corperate' as my friends say. She said they don't keep those statistics, only disruptions (BM changing their mind AFTER placement) which is 8-12%.  I called the hubs with the update and we set a time to meet with them next week.  Then I pooped my pants.  Ok, I didn't.  But my heart did beat pretty far out of my chest, though my coworker said I was holding it together quite well.  I mean, this could be it.  If they don't change their minds, this IS it.  How fast this is all happening, yet I want it to speed up! 

I am filled with a flood of emotions from nervous to excited to trying SO hard not to be too excited, knowing they could still change their mind from now until 10 days after the baby is born.  Do you let yourself feel the feelings of excitement or do you push them back to protect yourself?  Whatever my body is doing with those feelings, a lot is going on in there!  My abdomen is burning up and my jaw is still aching with tension!  We don't know the gender yet, the social worker said she'd check to see if she can tell us or the birthmother wants to tell us.  How strange, the birthmother said she picked us because her and I have the exact same hobbies and she felt we were so similar it was scary!  Pretty cool.  She sings and dances, draws, paints and even writes poetry!  I don't know if I know one other person who writes poetry (in my life).  God does amazing things.  Though things can always change, I am excited to see where this ends up. 

Is it you, little bean?  Is it really you?
Bumpless Baby Mama

Waiting in Line Behind Angelina Jolie and Her Gold Crib

The adoption competition continues.  There is a new couple in town on our agency's website partner I talked about in a previous post.  I continue to try to 'get to the top' as often as humanly possible, but I have tough competition.  Looks like a new couple is on the site and the wife is as determined as me to stay on the top.  It is honestly humorous how fast we have become!  I decided to check out their profile.  At first I was like OH WOW, I WANNA LIVE WITH THEM!   I WOULD TOTALLY GIVE THEM MY KID!  First, they are like freakin models.  The husband is all chiseled and Ken-like, and speaks multiple languages.  Hey, whatever, I speak English and remember 8 words in French.  Every pic of him is him on some adventure!  Rock climbing, sky diving, scuba diving in blue waters of some surely magical island!  The list goes on, but I get nauseous thinking about it, so I will move on.  Then, HER!  Oh, her.  Does she go to the salon every day?  It looks that way!  If I looked like her I would probably have a mirror attached to my decollete and stare at myself.  And she is a professional singer, of course.  My dream is her reality!  I bet she sings like an angel and all of the blue birds come sit on her shoulder while she serenades her husband. 

"Sommedayyy my Prince will coooome"  OH, wait, he already did.

They are clearly very well off, with pictures everywhere around the world, and snapshots of their home are like WOAH!  Talk about gold and whimsical!  I am not saying I am not happy with my life, we have an amazing life, home and I appreciate it all.  JUST SAYIN!  They are rollin in it!  Surprised they are not flaking off gold themselves.  As I was clicking through their pics, it comes to their nursery.  OH MY HOLY most glorious nursery I have ever seen. Straight out of a fairytale.  THEY HAVE A GOLD CRIB!  As in where a royal baby belongs.  If I were their lil bean I would never grow up and stay in that thing forever.  I bet it has hidden wheels that transition into teenage-hood as the child does.  Then it becomes it's own little house as the child becomes an adult.  

It was similar to this.  This is 4 thousand big ones.  Do you think I can fit in it?

Then I clicked more and FINALLY!  A fault!  I im'd my bff immediately and said "I FOUND THE FAULT!"  What I thought were 3D butterflies on the wall of the nursery were dragons.  My bff insisted it was still whimsical and nice.  All I could envision was Angelina Jolie's child's bedroom, fully equipped with the vile of blood she used to wear around her neck.  And these dragons.  I bet there are gargoyles in there somewhere too!  Ok, I know...I am reaching.  Right before I clicked out to congratulate myself on finding maybe one notch against our competition, I read the title of their photo album: "After a failed adoption last year, we still have our nursery, so it is all ready for your child!"  My heart sank, and I have not clicked to get to the top again.  After you, dragon lover...

I am waiting for you in line, lil bean, right behind our friend Angelina. 

Bumpless Baby Mama

How to Answer the Question, "Why Are You Adopting?"

Today I had the pleasure of my first 'bad reaction' to adopting.  I was at work and a woman came in, that I have only met once before.  She has a lovely British accent, so that somehow made me feel like I could cut her some slack.

What are the odds I'd find THIS random thing (I AM an old bean!!)

I don't normally mind discussing adoption, or why we are adopting for that matter.  In my case it has never felt like a disappointment, or a last resort.  As I have mentioned, I have considered it since childhood and believe God has a plan for all of us and we can not be disappointed.  And how can any child be a disappointment!  Children are miracles.  So back to the lady with the lovely accent.  She asked what's been going on in my life, anything knew?  I said we are in the pool for adoption.  She cut me off, "WAIT!  you mean, for a child??"  I said yes with a grin and she said a soft..."oh."  I said, yes we are very excited!"  She lowered her voice, "Why do you have to do that?"  I responded, "Well we don't HAVE to do anything, we chose to.  I, myself, have always considered it and to get personal, I had a procedure done that left us with a very high risk of a not so healthy pregnancy, so the natural choice was adoption."  She stared off..."Well isn't there anything you can do?!"  I said, "Yes we are doing it."  She said, "No no, like at least surrogacy??"  Her tone was worse than her words.  Her words were ok coming from someone that knew me better, I felt like it was a little personal for most people.  I myeslf, am pretty blunt and open, so I don't mind answering, but I was thinking, good thing she is asking ME this stuff, and not some of the adoptive parents I have met.  Especially people who have gone through many miscarriages, infertility or can not afford to try anymore.  If I were in their shoes, this could have been a very uncomfortable conversation.  So I ended with the answer to her question "Isn't there anything else you could do?  It just seems so sad you won't have your own children"  with a smile and an honest answer, "Well, he or she WILL be our child.  And we want to adopt.  We are excited to adopt!  There are many children out there that need good homes and we believe we can provide a nice, loving, fun life for a child.  I don't care if they have my eyes, or my husband's smile.  I care that they have a beautiful life."  BOOM, eat that while you drink your tea!

SURE, looking back at our own features would be fun and cute and icing on the cake, but that has never been what creating a life or family is for either of us.

So here are some nice answers for those who are not close to us but want details on why you are adopting:

"Why are you adopting?" : "Because there are many children out there who need good homes and we feel we can provide that for them."  

"But, can you not have children?" : "We are having children." 

"But, biologically?" "We are having children how we choose to have children." or you can point to your heart and say, "They will be coming out RIIIGHT here!"  I have used that one.  I know most people are not odd enough to do so.

Hopefully they would get it at that point.

I know people are curious by nature.  I am, too.  But I have learned through this process, if you do not know someone well, just do not ask this personal of a question.  People will tell you if they want to share with you, trust me.  You know if you are close enough to ask these kinds of questions.  Some people like me may feel fine discussing it, but some may not.  So err on the side of caution.  Lots of people adopt because they have fertility issues, other people just want to give a child a nice life, and some may be a combination like us.  So just assume it is one of those 3 lovely answers.  And hug them and support them and be excited with them!  A baby is a baby wherever they may come from. 

I feel you growing in my heart every day, lil bean!

Bumpless Baby Mama

They Have Created a Monster!

Adoption is not about this!  But I can not help it!  I thank goodness I did not play sports because my competitive nature is out of control.  SO, here it is.  I will lay it out for you.  Our agency has recently started a partnership with another agency website that, for free, posts our profile, too!  Awesome, yes!  The problem is, I noticed that if you edit/update your profile, you go to the top of the page.  So guess what I have been doing way too frequently?  YES, updating our profile!  I want to be first!  LOOK AT US!  SEE US!  GIVE US YOUR BABAAAYYYY!  At first, I actually was changing our pictures, or adding a word here or there, removing a word, anything to edit it.  Then I said, let me try to see what happens if I just hit submit without actually changing anything.  DING DING!  Still puts us at the top of the page.  Score! 

Then the war started.  Apparently I am not the only one who is clued into this little trick.  Me and Some New Yorker have been Updating the hell out of each other all day LOL!  Luckily it is a quiet day at work.  They must be having a quiet day as well.  OR MAYBE THEY DON'T WORK.  ARE THEY GOING TO WIN!?  Right, right, not a race.  Well KINDA is.   I am ready!

Adoption "Go Now" Box and its Contents!

In the 42% chance that we get an 'emergency placement' call, we must be ready to go.  We could go as far as 8 hours away.  We could be staying in a hotel in another state for up to 2 weeks.  Not my ideal image of starting off life with a new baby, but possible reality.  I have started getting together our "GO NOW" box, as I have named it.  Because, well...we will have to "GO NOW!"  As in immediately.  Obviously the car seat is one important one.  That is not pictured.  I will add that once we install it, which we should probably install the base as recommended by other adoptive parents.  Seems weird driving around with it, but do we want to be fudging around/figuring that all out on our way to our destination?  Not so much.  So far this is what I got! (plus onesies and other lil precious baby clothing that are in the wash.)

1. Cleaning Essentials. Bath.  Babies are messy.  This lil treat has a newborn attachment on it, which makes me very excited.  Look at that luxurious pillow lil bean will get to be all snuggled up in as they get a sponge bath.  They got it pretty good, those newbies!

 

The only downside to this is baby will have to bathe with the hot sun on their back.  Get it? harrr har har...

2.  Car essentials: The car ride could be a VERY long one, especially for a lil newby!  I am now full equipped to stalk them as they sleep, poop and suck at the air when they are hungry.  And those window tinter thingies (yes of course that is the official name!) will come in handy on a big trip.  The Baby Care class said not to ever use them because if you get in an accident they can become flying objects and stab your child in its head.  YA, wonder why we are paranoid parents these days.  Let us block the sun from our freakin child, please.  The odds of that happening are less than our baby burning up and screaming for 8 hours. 

 

Right?  Ugh.  Should I return them?! ;)

3.   Pee and Poop Essentials:  I love anything with the word Swaddle on it, so of course I picked up these lil Swaddler Pampers.  Even the baby seems impressed with them, "OOOOOH!"  And check out the cool design on the Baby Wipe Container.  I mean, the Natural Care notation.  I have cream too, forgot to add it in! And what are those pink and green (yes my fav colors!) things with labels?  You know I need my labels, and everything separated in life.  I am surprised I let my food items touch each other on my plate.  Let me introduce you to what will be my new Bag best friend, SugarSnap Dividers!  They can make any bag a diaper bag!  I am going to get a Diaper Bag that doesn't have TOO many dividers, so we can squeeze these cuties in!  Interested?  http://www.amazon.com/sugarSNAP-Customizable-Diaper-Organizer-Pouches/dp/B00EHWFK70

Yes, I spent $30 bucks on them, don't judge.  It is less than we would have to spend on my therapy if everything wasn't in bags and labeled in a pink and green bag.

4. Snuggly Essentials:  There is that Swaddle word again!  Wrap that baby up and hope they sleep more soundly!  You can not see the sheer deliciousness of the fuzzy fabric on the giraffe blanky, but I could walk around draped in that all day.  If it were big enough.  You know I'd do it.  Added in a light blanky, they say to pack different weight blankets since you don't know what the temps will be!  Annnnd obviously we needed a few fashionable burp cloths.  Burping in style sets the child up for a fashion trending making life.  "Daayum, you are nasty, but you do it in STYYYlllle!"

Notice the monkey theme.  This was not planned, but I noticed as I got certain things that I was clearly attracted to monkeys.  Umm.  That sounded weird.

Sleeping Essentials:  I was advised by another adoptive mother to get this Graco Pack n Play Travel Lite.  It has the bassinet attachment and then we can use it when we get back for naps and all that jazz.  I am thinking about also getting a Moses basket (I didn't know what this was either until a few months ago.  It is not Moses' actual basket.  That one is probably pretty wet.  But it is tiny and some people swear by them. 

Got this jam for 30 bucks from online yard sale!  I should probably test it to make sure it works huh?  

Sanity Essentials:  Stop crying and use this, lil bean!   Oh, and since I know I will be the paranoid first time mother that feels a head that is a teeny bit hot and wants to run to the dr., I invested in not one, but TWO thermometers.  Just to be sure.  One of those forehead ones that makes you feel like you are baptizing your child as you take their temp, and one that is WITHIN THEIR NOOKIE!  How cool is that?  Accurate?  Not sure, but that is why I come prepared.

I tend to buy things that say SAFETY on the packing.  Good marketing ploy, Safety Brand.

Feeding Essentials:  No boobs needed here!  No pump...just these lil guys.  I heard that you should have a few brands to see which your baby prefers.  Spoiling the lil bean already!  OH, you think these are the only 3?  Nope.  I am embarrassed to show you the array of "Anti Colic" and "Will make your baby smarter, stronger and faster than any other baby!!!" bottles.

Without lots of extra burping, though, who will use all of those fashionable burp cloths?

I am sure there is more, this is my start.  Any recommendations welcome.  

Waiting to fashionably burp you while I safely bathe you after taking your temperature through all of your orifices then stealing your fuzzy blanky,

Bumpless Baby Mama

Will My Adopted Child Look Like Me?

A weird question, isn't it?!  And if you are adopting an entirely different race, then the odds are less, but still can happen.  Oddly enough, through my ears bleeding while  I spoke to about 63,943,279 adoptive parents in my research for this exciting journey, SO MANY of them that say their adopted child, or in some cases, children look like them?!  Sounds very odd, right?  Or possibly sounds like they are just trying to see themselves in their children?  One woman told me (over the phone, I had not met her), "You would not believe the resemblance, our son is a spitting image of my husband!"  I am thinkin, sure lady.  And I look like J-Lo.  She was one of the first to have told me about an adoptive parent/child resemblance.  Then she went on, "They have the same shade red, curly hair and bright blue eyes!"  OK, now this was getting weird.  Red hair is not the most common feature, and neither is curly.  And blue glowstick eyes?!  My dad had those and I didn't even get those icy blues passed onto me biologically!  But as I talked to more people, I heard more of these stories.  People commenting on what a spittin' image Lil Sally was of her mama, or Lil Billy was of his papa!  Will our future lil bean resemble us?  Seems possible, even if it is a small resemblance. Hopefully they will unbiologically take after the hubs. 

Pretty cool stuff.  But why?  Of course, some facial expressions or mannerisms will be learned, so that can make a general "You look like your bumplessmama!"  But the specific passed on physical features made me think.  Maybe it is just because we tend to be drawn toward familiarities in people, whether it be physical features, a familiar type of voice, or mannerisms.  I was drawn to my bff because she looks like Marilyn Manson, and she me because I look like Brett Michaels.  Don't look too close, you may actually see the resemblance.

OK, stop looking. It was a joke.  Sort of.  Not really. Anyway, I can not tell you how many of my friends are similar in features.  I will be drawn to a friend early on, and then realize months later they remind me of another friend.  I was friends with Sam for months before I realized she had my other friends' eyes and freckles, and ability to drink wine as fast as me!  Two of my friends have a similar inflection in their voices.  It is similar to when my mom used to scream at me when I was being a bad lil bean, so clearly I was drawn to them, frequently asking for hugs.   The adoptive parents I spoke to that said they had child/parent similarities all had something in common in their adoption.  They were picked through a profile book. 

That means a birthmother sifted through multiple books and chose them.  Maybe they had features that reminded them of their own family?  Maybe the bumpless mama's eyes looked familiar, without the birthmom even knowing?!  Maybe she recognized a thin lipped smirk in adoptive papa because her father had the same smile.  And maybe these familiarities are passed onto the child, leading to lool-alikes?! 


Here's to you, future lil Brett.  You will look great in leopard print, too!
Bumpless Baby Mama