Waiting for Our Baby Girl

(Day 7 of 31 Days of Our Adoption Adventure.  Click here to start at the beginning.)         

            Standing in the foyer of her grandparents house, we could not tell if Shiya, the second birth mother we met, was mad at us, her grandparents or the situation. We did not want to be the cause of any conflicts between her and her family. We certainly did not want to talk her into placing her kids for adoption. I asked again,

            “Shiya, are you sure you want to do this?”

            “Yes, yes,” she said in frustration. “I just want to get this over with.”

We didn’t know what else to say. I asked her when she was going to see her doctor next. She told me the next day.

            “Do you need a ride?” I asked. The grandmother jumped in, “That would be great if you could take her. I can stay with Zachary and Grandpa. Is that okay Shiya?”

            “Yeah that’s fine.” She answered without enthusiasm.

            The next day I came to pick her up. She had her three-year-old daughter, Arianna, with her. Her daughter was an exact replica of Shiya, only in the miniature version. She was tiny with straight shiny black hair. She carried a small pink purse and a baby doll. Shiya tried to get her to leave the doll in the house, but Arianna would not hear of it. I took the car seat from Shiya and buckled it into the back seat of my van. The car seat was almost as big as she was, and with her large belly, she was already carrying plenty of weight. Arianna climbed into the car seat wearing white patent dress shoes, jeans with pink trim on the bottom, a light pink shirt and a dark pink jacket. She acted like she knew exactly what she wanted climbing into the car seat with her purse and her doll.

            We might have driven in silence the whole trip had it not been for Arianna. I tried asking Shiya questions about her pregnancy and her other deliveries. She begrudgingly gave me one-word answers. Thankfully, Arianna had plenty to say.

            “Where are we going Mommy? Can we go to McDonalds? Can I get a Beanie Baby there? Can we go to McDonald’s Mommy?” she asked in her sweet persistent voice.

            “No, you don’t need to go to McDonald’s,” Shiya snapped. “You have enough Beanie Babies.”

            “I’m hungry. Can we get some French fries at McDonald’s? She whined.

            Arianna talked and asked questions the entire drive to the doctor’s office. Between her heavy sighs and her frustration, I could tell Shiya had run out of patience with her. She seemed exhausted. I felt bad for her.

           

             It was crowded in the small exam room, with Shiya sitting on the exam bed, me on the chair, and Arianna going from touching things to climbing up on the bed. I met the doctor, who I’m sure was wondering who I was. I told him Shiya decided to place her baby for adoption with us. He seemed unfazed. I held Arianna’s hand and led her out of the room, while the doctor examined Shiya. When we walked back in, he told me the baby was ready and right on schedule. He believed it would be four more weeks, but it could be any day.

            At home I grew more and more excited. Any day we could have a baby girl. I thought Shiya placing her son with us was a long shot. More than likely she would try to parent the two children she had. I prayed everyday for a healthy baby and a safe delivery. At the dinner table every night, the four of us prayed for Shiya, the baby and her other kids. Our daughter and son were looking forward to having a new baby brother or sister. They were completely in with us. It was sweet to hear our eight your old son pray,

            “Lord, please bring more kids to our family.”

Psalm 139:13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb.

***Click here to read  Day 8.***