A Bicycle Built for Three

Little Man is now 11 days old.  He was discharged to us a week ago.  It still doesn't feel real; sometimes Husband and I jokingly say it feels like we've been doing an exceptionally long babysitting gig.  However, there are also moments where we still tear up thinking about the fact that we get to call him ours.   We've learned a lot in the last 11 days.  After various experiements with diapers and feedings things are starting to go a bit more smoothly.  Husband and I have taken to doing shifts at night so that we each can get rest.  Little Man has proven to be a good baby.  He wants his food when he wants his food, and he is not a fan of diaper changes -- he also is really, really not a fan of outfit changes.  He latches well onto his bottle, except when he doesn't.  He sleeps for two hours at a stretch, except for when it's an hour or only 30 minutes.  He does well in the bassinet, except for when he doesn't.  We're all ...

After getting through another Mother's Day I returned ready to face the last few weeks of school.  While I have some great students and families, I was burned out and ready for an extended break.  Little did I know the break would come in an unexpected form... Last Wednesday we received a long-awaited update from the agency about the expectant mother, informing us she was ok.  No sooner had we breathed a sigh of relief we received a second text -- a friend of the mama's had just informed the agency that her water had broken. Shock didn't begin to describe what we felt.  I immediately stepped into the hallway to call Husband, who was thankfully working from home that day.  We began to brainstorm all of the things we needed to do should we suddenly have to hit the road.  It was an agonizing wait for a follow-up text, but eventually we were told that mama was still in labor and she would let us know when to make our move.  I left work early, leaving instr...

A year ago I wrote about Mother's Day being my dark day -- a time to hide from social media and the world.  What a difference a year makes...or does it?  Being matched this year gives me a glimmer of hope for next year, but it also gives me pause.  What if things fall through and next year is the darkest yet?  I try not to think about that, but if I said it didn't consume all of my thoughts I'd be lying. I realize, though, that even if I get to celebrate next year I need to be more mindful of those who don't.  I've seen a greater number of posts about being sensitive on Mother's Day towards those who have lost mothers or children or who have yet to become mothers.  I appreciate the sentiment, but perhaps it needs to be shouted out even louder.  While that extra bit of tact is helpful one day of the year, what about the rest?  I always cringe when I'm part of a conversation that centers around children because I dread the inevitable question of whe...

We are still in wait mode.  After some initial preparations that would have been difficult to do last minute (like car seat, bassinet, and pediatrician consult), we find ourselves with so much to do yet hesitant to do any of it.  Other than buying some baby clothes, we will get whatever else we need after the baby is born -- in part because we need to see sizes, but also so that if something goes wrong we don't have to go through the pain of bringing home a carful of unused things.  We find ourselves hanging onto every little text from the agency, yet those texts don't come that often.  Today we did learn that the expectant mother has not been in touch for a few days.  We were assured that this happens and that the agency is well-versed in these situations.  We also received a valuable reminder that our view is very different than the mama's view.  The adoption is constantly on our minds; we think about it as we go to sleep, we wake up wondering if any...