Our Adoption Story: July 2015

On July 10th around 3 o'clock, Clint and I got a call from birthmom, Katherine, saying that her water had broken. We dropped everything and headed on over to the hospital.

Parents to be!

Just a few hours later, we held onto Katherine as our baby made his grand appearance.

Lawson Cooper
7lbs 6oz, 20 1/2 inches long. Perfect!

Clint and I cut the cord together. Lawson was cleaned up and placed right in our arms.

We had planned on having our own room, but because the hospital was nearly full that night, we ended up rooming in with Katherine. This worked out great since she wanted to take care of the baby as much as she could before being discharged. For two days, all three of us took turns caring for him.

The most blissful, exhausting, wonderful night of our lives.

Enjoying some midnight snuggles with our son.

The next day started off rough as the reality of the situation began to set in. Katherine's support team that was there the night before had all gone home and some weren't comfortable coming. To their defense, open adoption can be a confusing thing and they weren't sure what to expect. Although Katherine reassured us she stood by her parenting plan, we couldn't help but worry for her. I prayed that God would surround her with peace and certainty that only He can provide, and He answered big time! We had SO many visitors that day. Even some of Katherine's family who hadn't supported her decision before showed up with hugs, tears, and congratulations for us. The room was buzzing with JOY over this precious baby's life.

Our attorney was surprised when he entered the room to this. This is just a small fraction of the visitors we had. Open adoption is beautiful!

The signing of THE papers was not at all what we imagined. We thought we'd be in our own room counting down to 48 hours after birth, looking at this baby in our arms, and biting our nails until someone knocked on our door to deliver the news; The papers had/had not been signed. Instead, our attorney flew in the very next morning. When he walked in the room, there were so many people there loving on Lawson that he had to ask, "Is there a Cori or a Clint here? Raise your hands." I bet that was a first for Mr. Kirsh! Aside from Katherine, Clint, Lawson, and I in the room, there were 2 social workers and about 10 visitors lined up on the couch listening to everything the attorney read off. Clint was actually sitting on the arm of the couch because our room was so packed with visitors during the signing. The baby was being passed around and we all laughed and commented as the attorney sorted through Katherine's paperwork and explained our rights.

Shortly after, we stepped outside to a social worker who asked us how we were feeling. Fine? Those were THE papers we had been waiting on, she explained. "Congratulations Mommy and Daddy!" We hugged and cried. Is this real life?!

As Lawson and Katherine's discharge came closer and closer, Clint and I tried taking short breaks out of the room to give her space with the baby. We knew what she was facing was so big, and our hearts hurt for her. She had been wonderful through the whole thing. She let us stay with her and the baby during the entire hospital stay and allowed any of our own visitors to come in, asking them right away, "Want to hold him?" {Katherine is incredible if you can't tell!} She had just given us the most amazing gift we could ever receive, and it was painful watching her hurt because of that gift. After some teary hugs, she helped us pack up our car, and Clint walked her to her vehicle.

Unlike when we drove away from The Women's Hospital last July, our baby was in the backseat. Praise Him!

THANK YOU Katherine for making this birth plan, and thank you to Lawson's birthfather for allowing this plan to happen.

If our story doesn't show you how much better God's plan is than your own, I don't know what does. I'm not happy we had to go through all the pain and loss that we did to get here, but I'm sure glad we got here. We had to let go of what we thought our life should look like in order to experience the joy He had waiting for us. He is good!

JULY TWENTY-THIRD

Happy heavenly birthday Colt and Case!

One year ago, after 5 weeks of labor and many medical interventions, Colt and Case were born via C-section at 24 weeks gestation. They lived approximately one hour before passing to heaven.

With Lawson's due date being tomorrow, July 24th, one day after the twins' birthday, we can't help but feel his older brothers had a hand and bringing him to us. To celebrate their first birthday in heaven and to recognize them too, we'd like to share some pictures of their lives.

We're expecting...

TWINS!

Early ultrasound said Boy/Girl. What a surprise 3 days later, it was Boy/Boy!

18 weeks. These little men grew fast! Being able to experience pregnancy
was a blessing, and I think it helped me relate to Katherine as she would talk about
all the sensations she was feeling.