Third Trimester Shock!

Last week, on January 30, 2015, we had our second home study meeting in Macon. This was our second of the three required home study meetings and we knew going in that Rocky and I would be separated and interviewed individually by our case manager. There was no drama leading up to the meeting, the trip went smoothly and the meeting was pretty painless and went as expected. However, we walked out of the meeting feeling completely different than we felt walking into the meeting.

Walking in, the adoption process felt like a long walk on a summer day. Coming out, it felt like a quick sprint with a close finish line! This change in the way we felt all came from a simple date being set...the date for our third and final home study visit. This final visit was set for just days away! And we know that it'll only be a couple months after that visit that we are finished with the process and are waiting on our baby!

When you're pregnant, although anything can happen, you have a pretty good idea of when your baby will come. The changes in your body and belly and the baby itself, if not the calendar, keep that due date front and center. But with adoption, it feels we just went from 2 weeks pregnant to 7 months pregnant overnight! It's like we have a "due date" now and it's soon!

On the other hand, once our "due date" comes and we are officially on the "waiting list", it could be a matter of days, weeks, months or even years before our baby is born and with us! There is just so much unknown and so little that you can prepare for until you get that phone call!

Rocky and I left the meeting and after having an "oh shit!" moment together, we immediately started thinking of baby names! Rocky actually started the name conversation which let me know that he too feels we are pregnant and very pregnant indeed! This adoption thing feels real all of the sudden and this baby feels real all of the sudden. And the need to pray for this baby who may or may not have been conceived yet, who may or may not have been born yet, is more real than ever! "This baby" just became "our baby" although we don't know a single thing about him or her!

I suddenly cannot wait to be this baby's mommy and to become part of his or her story and to share that story (the parts before me and after me) with him or her someday.