Some are wondering how our visit went with Hope's birthmom. I think it went well. We did spend some time with her. She and her best friend joined us at the Children's Museum one day. Hope slept most of the time. When Hope finally did wake up I did let Corina feed her and hold her. Hope prefers to be with mom, so Corina only held her for a little while. That evening we picked her up and took her out for dinner.
The next day I had asked Corina to come with us to get Hope's picture taken. That went well. We were at the mall for a few hours. Anything we do with Hope takes awhile. She is a really slow eater. Hopes pictures turned out well. Hope didn't want her picture taken and only wanted to eat.
Another day I picked up Corina and she came back to the house. I had my doubts about brining her to the house. I didn't want to be judged or have her think she made the wrong decision. Anyway, I did bring her back. She went grocery shopping with us and to Hope's 2 month check-up. I do have to say that our doctor was great! He showed Corina how well Hope is doing and didn't exclude her at all. After that, we went back to the house and she stayed for dinner.
I think we may have saw one or two more times. I know she did come back to the house another day. I told her that I wanted to make sure that she saw Hope as much as she needed too. I spent a lot of time with her. For two quiet people, it was at times hard to make conversation.
Over all, I think our visit went well. There were times I didn't want to share Hope. But I know it is good for Hope to spend that time with Corina. As a mom, I have to do what is best for my child. My friends and family can not believe that we would spend that much time with Hope's birthmother. Not everyone understands what an open adoption is and the benifits of an open adoption. Clearly open adoption is not for everyone. I know before we adopted Halli we were not wanting an open adoption at all!!!! Over the years I think our views and opinion have changed. I also know that while Hope grows up we will have to set some more boundaries with Corina and those boundaries will probably change has Hope gets older. Life happens. What may be good one year, may not be good the next. You never know. The only thing I do know. Is that I will need to be doing lots of praying and listening to my heavenly Father!
Please feel free to ask any me any questions. I'm always happy to talk about adoption. :) I'll try to add pictures later. Hope is growing fast!
Halli was so excited about the new year. There were fireworks going off and we didn't have any. So Halli made her own, feathers. She grabbed handfuls of feathers and through them up in the air. Also as you can see, Hope is trying to sleep through all of this.
