I have been meaning to write about Chase coming to our family and finally I have a little down time and I want to write it down before I forget the miracles involved. Spoiler Alert: This will be a little "wordier" post, so beware!
We have felt ready for another baby for awhile now. We have had many "feelers" out there hoping to find the baby meant for us. In early May we heard about a local adoption agency that had several babies that they had not matched with families, so we decided we would go ahead and put our paperwork in with them and hope for the best. Well, after a month, we weren't matched yet and we were not totally impressed with this agency, but we still felt like our baby was on its way and we just needed to find him. I was a bit discouraged, but just felt like he was close.
On Thursday, June 13th, I got a call from a friend, who is very active in the Utah adoption scene, she said she received a call from a different agency who were really look for families and, again, had several babies that needed to be matched with a family. Well, we were leaving for a family reunion the next day, so, I hurried and got all are paperwork in with this second agency and again we prayed that our baby would come soon.
On Friday, June 20th, 2008, we got back from the family reunion and I received a call from the new agency telling me they had a birth mom who had began contracting that was due the next day and was not yet matched. And could they show our profile to her, because she did not know whether she was having a boy or girl and we were the only family, at the time, that did not have a gender preference. I said, "OF COURSE!" And please have her call me if she had any questions!"
Later that evening, I was at a work dinner and I received a call from the agency saying, "Um she would really like to talk to you.....could you talk right now!" I walked out of Applebees and into my car and spoke to the birth mom for the first time. We spoke for a few minutes and had a nice connection. At one point she said, "My boyfriends name is Courtney' and we both thought that was a nice connection. She asked to meet me the next day.
On Saturday, we went to lunch. I was so nervous, because I felt so good about all of it, but I, of course, had little control. Within 5 minutes of meeting one another, she began to cry and said, "I was so scared to come out here, (she is from Indiana)I didn't know what to expect and I wasn't even sure a family would want my baby. But I think you guys seem so happy. And I want you to have this baby." She was crying. I was crying. Both ladies from the agency were crying. It felt so good. We went on to have a wonderful 2.5 hour lunch. Near the end of the lunch, a real miracle occurred. The birth mom told me that she wanted to give us all of her personal information, even though she didn't have to. (We only knew one anothers first names, little else.) So, the lady from the agency leaned over to me and said, "I am not suppose to do this, but since she said she was going to give you their personal information, I can tell you...guess what the birth father's name is?" I said "what" and she said "Courtney Brown." The birth father and myself have the same name. It was just a testimony to me that Chase was meant for me. We then proceeded to tell the birth mom and she again began to cry, confirming, I think, her decision.
The following week I received a call on Wednesday saying that the doctor thought that the baby was not growing inutero and needed to come as soon as possible. I was told to be at the hospital that evening when they would begin inducing her.
I went to the hospital and actually ended up staying the whole night with the birth mom. We talked and watched movies and increased our bond. The next morning, Chase decided to come really quickly. I was able to be in the room and watch as Chase came into the world on Thursday, June 26, 2008 at 11:33 am. Six short days after hearing about him and less than two weeks since giving our paperwork to the new agency. ( I knew the Spirit was telling me he was on his way.)
He was immediately swept out of the room to be checked out, because he was so small. Only 4 lbs. 9 oz. I spent the day between the nursery and the birth mom's room. He was struggling those first couple days of life. His breathing was fast, he wouldn't eat and he couldn't keep his tempature up. We were a little worried.
The next day relinquishment paperwork went on without a hitch. Right at the 24 hour mark the papers were signed and he was ours. I still hadn't been able to hold him and I was dying to do more than have him grab my finger.
On Saturday, the doctor decided to put him in an incubator and give him a feeding tube. But he also said it was ok for John to give him a blessing. My brother, Drew, came over and they gave him a wonderful blessing. He literally, didn't even need to use the feeding tube from that point on. He continued to improve from that point forward and was able to come home on Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008. The doctor said to me that day, "We were really worried about him after those first couple of days, but I really think that blessing made all the difference. He couldn't have done any better than he did. I am trying to think of a reason to keep him, but I cant think of one."
He is the baby we were waiting for. The Spirit was preparing our hearts and the way for him to get to us. We feel blessed everyday for both of our miracles.
