I can’t believe I’ve not updated our blog in so long! Time sure is flying by…it’s hard to believe it’s already November. I (Whitney) finally feel like I have an update to give you on our adoption, as I spoke with the adoption agency yesterday for the first time in several months. Because the birth of our baby is quickly approaching, we are officially going “on hold” with the adoption until after the baby is born. As sad as this sounds, I really don’t believe this pregnancy has slowed our adoption down one bit. As of right now, we still wouldn’t have received a referral, so I feel like this pregnancy couldn’t have come at a more perfect time. I’m so excited as we get closer to meeting both our biological baby & our adopted baby! Dreams are coming true!
It was really exciting speaking with the agency yesterday. I found out we are #3 on the waiting list, so when we return to being an active waiting family after the baby is born, we won’t have to wait toooo long before getting matched with our child. Once we get matched with our child, we will get to bring him/her home in 8+ months (taking 2 separate trips to Ethiopia). After getting advice from the agency, they feel it’s in the children’s best interest (and we agree) that adopting one child at this time, rather than adopting two, is most likely the best decision for now. Our child from Ethiopia will need extra time for bonding once they arrive home, so it’s important we have the time available to make that happen.
I am currently 30 weeks pregnant! I can’t believe I’ve made it this far & am so close to meeting our baby! And as most of you know, we are expecting a little GIRL. We are so thrilled! Here are some photos documenting my growth over the last 7 months:
14 weeks (my sister is also pregnant, due 10 days after me!!!):
15 weeks (the day we found out it was a girl):
20 weeks (on our “baby moon” in Vail, CO):
26 weeks (Jake took this picture, it was used on my baby shower invites):
30 weeks (taken after my baby shower):
And now for some pictures of our baby Cora, taken at 28 weeks!!!!!!
We are so fortunate to have wonderful friends & family who came out for my baby shower last weekend. It was so amazing to see all the people who already love baby Cora so much! And we are so grateful for all the generous gifts we received. Jake even got to come for the very end of gift-opening, which was nice:
Thanks again to everyone who has prayed for us this entire journey, both adoption & pregnancy. It means the world to us!
Looking forward to providing more updates in the coming months.
