 Amazing
Parents
Thank
you, Lifetime,
for all your support through what turned out to be a very
difficult adoption. Approximately
ten months after signing up with Lifetime we got the
call that a birth mom (we’ll
call her Janet for the purposes of this letter) would like
to talk with us. Were we interested? Absolutely! The next
24 hours seemed like days but the call finally came and
taking Lifetime’s advice, Liz answered the phone.
Liz talked and listened
to Janet for over an hour during which time Janet decided
we were the “ones.” Yes, it was as quick as
that!
Four weeks later we drove 550 miles to meet
Janet, to go with her to the hospital for her ultrasound.
We found this day to be very grueling emotionally although
we were obviously excited at seeing our son moving around.
Meeting Janet made her feel more comfortable with her choice
and it gave us more background on where our baby was coming
from.
Throughout this time we kept in regular contact
with Janet via the phone just to check how she and the
baby were doing. Imagine our surprise, two weeks after
our initial meeting, to receive a call from Lifetime to
say that Daniel had been born, 11 weeks early, weighing
in at 1lb, 14ozs & 13 ½ inches long! We made
some very quick arrangements and were there to see him
for the first time at two days old, so small, yet so perfect
and doing remarkably well.
Lifetime advised us right at the beginning
to hire experienced Interstate Adoption lawyers. They were
right! We honestly believe that had we not done so we would
have lost Daniel in the days that followed. Yes, experienced
lawyers are expensive but our son and your child are
worth fighting for.
Our lawyer, in the state where Janet resides
went, as arranged, for her to sign the consent but she
said she did not feel comfortable in signing at that time
because we had yet to pay the expenses we had agreed upon
at the time of match. (Due to the early birth of Daniel,
we had yet to go to court, a legal requirement in our home
state.) We were left that day with no consent & potentially,
no son. You can imagine how we felt. Our lawyer contacted
her again, the following day, to explain that now Daniel
had been born it would be illegal for us to pay the expenses
before consent, as that would constitute buying a baby.
Still not happy to sign, she called our lawyer in our home
state the day after this who wrote up another document
for us to sign stating that, upon court approval, the expenses
would be dispersed from the funds we had put into a trust
account. This helped and that evening she signed over
consent. We finally had Daniel.
Was it worth the extra mile? Absolutely!
Throughout this ordeal, Lifetime was very supportive. We
hope that your adoption is not as hard as ours but if it
is, take hope, you are not alone. It can and will work
out! Make sure you have good lawyers, keep Lifetime involved
and above all stay friendly with the birth mom who is giving
you a very precious gift.
Due to Daniel’s size (at the time of
writing), he is still in the hospital but we visit him
regularly and are looking forward to the day we get to
bring him home. Thank you Janet, for giving us such a beautiful
gift. We will treasure him forever.
Richard & Liz
|
 You Will Get That Call!
Two weeks ago, at around 5:30 am our phone woke us up -- it was Lifetime. A birthmother was in labor and she had chosen us. Within hours, we were flying to California. We arrived at the hospital at 1:30 in the morning and met our son and his birthmother. Lifetime had even arranged for us to have a suite at the hospital so we could stay, even that first night and watch our son sleep and eat. I think we just stared at him all night, we couldn't believe our eyes!
He was released two days later and we checked in to a Residence Inn. We only had to stay a few days before we received permission to leave. Before we flew home, we drove an hour and a half to meet our extended family at Lifetime. These women are beyond words! We formed such a bond with them and will forever keep them in our family prayers of thanksgiving.
We were interviewed by CNN during our visit there. Ann McDermott was there to film a piece on adoption. She wanted to do something with a different perspective on adoption. After five years of longing and heartache, we finally have our precious child.
I write this for anyone that thinks adoption is for other people. I thought that way too. But I'm here to say, adoption is truly for every single one of you. "You will get that call! Your phone will ring!" I don't have specific words of wisdom for any of you. Honestly, I got tired of the process myself. I will end by saying to always keep your schedule somewhat flexible. Who knows, maybe in just two weeks your child will come into the world and it will be your call that comes.
Written by Renee, Adoptive Mother |
So Grown Up ! 
Another Successful Lifetime Family! 
