Rob and I have always talked about adopting however we always spoke of it as a dream. We never realized our dreams could come true or that we will be blessed with another sweet and precious newborn baby boy or girl. Here is how Rob and I came about our decision:
It all started with my health. When I was pregnant with my 6 year old daughter, I developed Pre-Eclampsia and had to be rushed to the hospital for an induction. Thank God Monkey Tail, as we lovingly call her, was only three days early. She was born with no health complications. She was a perfect little baby, she slept and was easy going. She is now 6! Monkey Tail is big into Disney Princesses, Girl Scouts and is about to begin FIRST grade! I am so lucky to teach in the same school my daughter attends as it is a blessing to watch her learn from a distance and foster friendships that may last a lifetime.
Not long after Lydia turned one, we found out we were going to have another baby! Surprise! We were nervous but excited. We found out a few days before Christmas of 2009, through what was supposed to be our gender identifying ultrasound that our daughter had a terminal birth defect called Anencephaly. In Layman's terms, her brain did not develop. Grace was born and died on January 17, 2010. She lived a short time here on Earth yet is living forever in our hearts. We talk to our children about her and share (what's age appropriate) her story.
In the summer of 2010 we nervously discovered once again we were expecting. I was considered a high risk pregnancy due to my previous experiences. This was very scary as we went to weekly ultrasounds to make sure our coming baby was happy, healthy and had a full brain. Our odds of having another child with Anencephaly rose tremendously as we had already had Grace. Luckily Rob's and my fears were cleared at our 18 week ultrasound as we were expecting a healthy baby boy! My body however was not healthy enough to sustain another full term pregnancy. I developed Pre-Eclampsia early on and was placed on bed rest a few days shy of the start of my third trimester. At our 35 week ultrasound it was discovered that our Bug-a-Boo had developed a heart arithmia, my Pre-Eclampsia was worsening and I was measuring beyond full term due to an increase in amniotic fluid. So here we go again, we were induced and Bug-A-Boo was brought into this world as a preemie. His heart arithmia cleared up and he is a beautiful, caring yet rough and tumble three year old BOY! Bug-a-Boo loves Disney, the Rescue Bots and playing outside.
We also strongly believe that there are alternatives to abortion and we hope that we can save a life and offer a loving, supportive and caring home to a child who really doesn't have a choice in the matter. Every child deserves unconditional love and let me tell you, we've got it!
These are our concerns, my body and mind have decided that we are not going to have anymore children however we can adopt! Yay! Our dreams of having a larger family can still be fulfilled!
God is good and can move mountains, all in His time.
Please consider helping our out on our journey. Here is the link to our gofundme page: Stokes' GoFundMe site.
Note-
Please be kind- I am new to blogging in a newer generation. The last time I actively blogged was with Xanga in the early 2000's. Also I am obviously not an English teacher...
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