Arriving at the Hospital

Welcome back to Day 20 of Our Adoption Adventure. To read from the beginning click here.

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            Driving into the empty parking lot at 4:30am, the hospital appeared to be closed. We parked and walked in. We could not find anybody to show us where to go. I saw a sign that pointed to the elevators and the maternity floor.

         During the last few years of our adoption journey I talked to friends who adopted and listened to their stories. They gave mixed reports about how the hospital staff treated adoptive parents. Some hospital staff welcomed the adoptive parents immediately and referred to them as the parents. Other friends told how hospital staff ignored them, did not allow them access to the baby and would not accommodate their requests.

         Knowing these stories, I was apprehensive when we arrived at the maternity floor. I had no idea what to say or how we would be received. We walked down the hallway to a locked door with a large clear glass window. We rang the buzzer, hoping there would be someone to let us in and show us where to go. A short, perky nurse appeared at the window. Before we were able to say anything, she smiled and blurted out,

“You must be the parents of the twins! We’ve been expecting you!”

She seemed genuinely glad to see us. So far this was going better than I expected. I breathed a sigh of relief.

         We followed her down the hallway. She explained that normally the hospital only allows two people to have bracelets for access to the babies for security reasons. Emma had one bracelet and she wanted me to have the other. However, Emma’s mother insisted that she have the other bracelet. The nurse told us this should not be a problem though, because the nursing staff had been informed to give us access to the babies.

         I wasn’t exactly sure how to processes this information. It didn’t matter to me as long as we were able to see the babies. She led us into a small room where another nurse was holding a stethoscope to the chest of one of the babies.

         I entered the dimly let room first. Looking to my right, swaddled tightly in a blanket with a blue and pink striped newborn cap on, was the sweetest baby boy, sleeping in a bassinet.

         I looked to the left and the larger baby was under a heat lamp, wearing only a tiny diaper. The nurse was recording his information in his chart. He was equally as sweet as his brother.

         My heart melted. Silent tears streamed down my cheeks. My husband would say later he could hear the giant splash as I dove head first into the emotional pool as soon as I saw those babies. I don’t usually believe in love at first sight. But there, in that hospital room, looking at those sweet baby boys I fell in love with them instantly.

         The swaddled baby was tiny at just five pounds. He had a perfectly round face, beautiful light brown skin and dark brown hair. When he opened his eyes they were like round saucers on his face. The nurse swaddled up the larger baby. He was longer and weighed six and half pounds. This was large for a twin born three weeks early. His skin was lighter and his face not as round as his brother. I was thankful that even though they had similar features I could immediately tell them apart. They were so beautiful because they were delivered by C-section and did not endure the stress of the birth canal. They heads were perfect. Their skin was smooth. They did not have that wrinkly newborn look. Their dark features were striking under their pastel caps.

         I looked around for my husband. He was hesitating in the doorway, not fully in the room. He looked a little stunned.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Nothing,” he said. “I’m just kind of shocked to see these two little babies after all these months.”

He had a camera and began taking pictures. The nurse showed us where the miniature bottles of formula were.

“They haven’t eaten yet,” she said. “Would you like to feed them?”

         There was a rocking chair in the room. I gently picked up the smaller baby and instinctively sat with him and fed him his first bottle.

“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart . . .” Jeremiah 1:5

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Was it love at first sight when you saw your child?

**** To read Day 21 click here. ***