I was hot-gluing googly eyes onto raw potatoes when I got the call that changed my life.
The soft voice of the social worker on the other end said that Carl and I had been picked by a local birth mom to adopt her newborn baby girl.
I don’t remember what I did with that glue gun or those potatoes, but I somehow managed to find a nearby stairwell to lean onto for support.
Born a preemie weighing in at 4lbs 7oz on January 25th, she was sent to an out-of-town hospital for care.
Carl wasn’t doing anything dignified (either) when I called him with the long-awaited and amazing news. I think his hiking boots are still in need of the laces he dropped, and left behind at the local shoe cobbler.
We spent the next three weeks driving many long hours to see our baby girl get stronger in the hospital. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is not where any parent wants to be. Dealing with feeding tubes and seeing scary machines designed to measure heart rates and breathing patterns is not ideal. I have a huge respect for the nurses and doctors who helped our daughter during those long weeks. I have an even bigger respect for the many parents we met, and the kindness shared.
Our daughter’s name is Chloe.
We brought her home on February 15th, a very happy and healthy kiddlet. We haven’t slept a wink since that amazing day.
Like our lives, this blog just took a turn.
My sincere apologies to those waiting for an email reply over the last while. I’ve had my hands a little full as of late, and my three-month-stale inbox doesn’t demand a diaper change. 🙂
Send coffee, please.
Love,
Kerry
P.S.: To Karmavore of See Theo Run, there are not enough THANK YOU’s for your helpful words and kind advice during our adventures in local, open adoption. So, Thank You. 🙂
Our friends and family deserve many Thank You’s too.
oh congrats. Thats amazing, wonderful news. All the best to your new family.
@Rob LOL! I’m not going anywhere. 😉
Congratulations! What wonderful news.
Not being totally nonsentient I was aware something was up.
Congrats on your unexpected life segue. The next 18 years will be anything but boring. And I think I’ll cancel my intent to drop by and have you sign my book in a couple of weeks 🙂
Congrats, you two! You deserve it… uh… her.
Congrats! Having a little one is the most amazing thing in the world! Sometimes I feel like my heart is a hot air balloon about to burst or soar away with all the love I feel for my precious daughter.
@Kerry: I have enough friends who are parents of newborns to know that you’ll still have your hands totally full in two weeks. Not to worry – I’ll be back there sometime in the next couple of years and you’ll be searching for a reason to come out to a coffee shop and talk to an adult 🙂
Have you seen the “Minimalist Mom’s” web page and her first book? The Minimalist Mom’s Guide to Baby’s First Year.. Has wonderful Idea’s. I too am going to be on this journey sometime in the fall and don’t want to spend a fortune on things that really end up as clutter and into a landfill… Have fun on the journey!!
Very happy for you guys! My biggest piece of advice is use the baby as an excuse to bail on any and all comittments! Sounds like she’s SO healthy. Gah, Now I’m all teary again.
congratulations how incredible!!! oxoxoxo
Congratulations! Hopefully you’ll share a few photos of her with us.
Kerry – my sincere congratulations on this fabulous turn of events in your life. As the proud papa of seven, I can attest to what a terrific journey you and Carl are embarking on.
Congratulations!! So excited for all the new topics you’ll be able to cover now! 🙂
Congrats! You are at the beginning of such a wonderful journey! Enjoy your little Chloe!
So that’s what the post about the crib was for…Congratulations!
Congratulations on your wonderful news! As the post above stated, now we know what the crib was for. Happy news….lucky you, lucky Chloe!
Congrats Kerry! This is the ‘best’ kind of expensive though! 🙂
Oh so happy for you all. A child is such a blessing! Coffee and baby powder do not however taste very good together (don’t ask how I know) so keep the coffee creamer far far away from the baby powder.
Yippee! Congrats to you & Carl on your precious new addition!
Kerry;
Such exciting news – congratulations. Feel free to ignore the fans who love you for awhile – I’m confident saying we’re all thrilled for you and will wait news and pictures and stories of how to raise a happy, healthy child without busting the bank.
Hasta luego from Mexico…
Congrats Fox! I totally understand about the NICU. Such an intense wave of emotion to get them out of there!
I knew it!!! I had you back at the Feb 27th post regarding baby spit up… Just waiting for the big announce. 🙂 Congratulations!
We are also ‘preemie’ parents… our son (born 2 months early) soon caught up, and is now the tallest kid in his grade! Chloe will amaze you!
Congratulations! My husband and I are the adoptive parents of a young man who is graduating from high school this month. I remember well our phone call 18 years ago!
Congratulations to you both and a big welcome to wee Chloe…truly wonderful news!!
Congratulations again Kerry. All I can say is it gets easier as time goes past. the 2yo can practically entertain herself now, though it did take 9 months until we got what we considered a proper evening. Our new one (almost 3 months) is waking up about 3 times at night making for a bit of a rough time of it.
In the sleep front – don’t kill me – it took Theo until he was about 20ish months to start doing solid 10-12s at night. But he hasn’t looked back. We’ve been sleeping full nights now for almost a year!
congratulations! what a wonderful way to begin your year. Best wishes.
What a blessing! Congratulations to you Carl and Chloe. Every day will get better and better!
Congratulations, Kerry – fantastic news!
So very happy for you! Only eight years ago we went through almost the same thing. Our daughter was born prematurely, we travelled to see her during the week she was in (not as long), and we finally brought her little self home to our family.
Congratulations!!
Oh and we were matched after her birth. It was a wonderful, busy time!!
+1
So fantastic… I am one of those babies…Congratulations on you new family member..
Bless your hearts for providing Chloe with a loving home.
Congrats!!!! So exciting and exhausting. This past October we spent every dime we had in savings to adopt a baby girl. She was 4 1/2 pounds at birth and spent her first month in the NICU. So similar to your story. So crazy! You are amazing for still blogging because I barely got a post out in the first three months she was home.
Congrats all round. Premies are amazing. Being the mom of two premie boys I fully appreciate your sleep deprivation. That part gets easier. There may be some developmental delays. Usually nothing extraordinary, but if you notice some real lags, it’s better to get help early on.
A major congratulations to you. Your life has changed in so many ways. IT is the hardest job on the face of the earth but yet the one that brings you the greatest joy. The more joy you give, the more joy you get back. Now that’s a bargain!
Congrats on Chloe! Looking forward to the wonderful blog posts she inspires 🙂
I’ve been a loyal lurker for years via Wise Bread, and I have never commented. But this? This deserves coming out of my hidey hole to say CONGRATS! Fabulous news. Amazing 🙂
I am thrilled for all of you! Our “baby” just turned 28 this month, but every time I recall the day we got ” the call” I feel the tingles of excitement and exhillaration that I know you felt also! It seems like yesterday. The day will come when you get to sleep a full night, but even in the most exhausting times, cherish every moment! Blessings to all of you. Give Chloe a kiss from an appreciative reader!
Oh Kerry, what wonderful news. I remember when we got the same call 22 years ago. I tried to go through a doorway and ran smack in to the wall!! Enjoy every second with your precious baby girl, as they grow up so fast.Our baby will be 22 in May. Congratulations to all 3 of you.
Warm congratulations on becoming proud parents of Chloe. You’ll love it, even the difficult times. I look forward to seeing pictures.
Congrats! Kids are expensive, no doubt, but definitely worth it!
Congratulations!
Congratulations on getting your wonderful baby girl Kerry!!! You’re awesome and you deserve everything good!!! Best of luck and congratulations again!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂
What magical news! How lucky for Carl, Chloe and you! All best wishes to your family!
Congratulations Kerry
Although I was adopted when I was 8 it is still a wonderful thing and when she gets older and you tell her make sure you tell her that she was chosen by you. Makes a kid feel special
What a lovely story you have to tell her when she is bigger. Enjoy the journey, children are so amazing.
MAZAL TOV!!! We’re really only to pass love along & you B”SD
guys have taken a giant leap!
Ra’anan
Jerusalem
What wonderful, wonderful news. May God bless you all. Being a mother is the best ride you can ever be on. I am oh so happy for you
YOU are a gift from God to your little angel, as I am sure she is to you.
Congratulations! That’s awesome!!!
Aw, that’s so exciting. You are making me all teary! But I’m 7 months pregnant so that’s not too hard.
Enjoy the ride!!
HUGE CONGRATULATIONS AS A MOTHER OF 4, LOTS OF UPS AND DOWN..MOSTLY UPS,
LIFE WILL BE Sooo MUCH SWEETER!
This is wonderful news – as you say it is truly life changing. Our three children have brought us more joy that we could ever have imagined. I know from the way you write and the good sense that permeates your writing that you will make a wonderful mother. Chloe is a very lucky girl
Congratulations!! I went down the same path 37 years ago and have a beautiful boy who has grown into a wonderful adult. Enjoy your journey.
Congratulations on the beautiful addition of Chloe to your family.
Hi, Kerry, it’s April 28, is Chloe sleeping more than 4 hours at a stretch yet?!! All the best to you, Carl, and your beloved little girl.
Congrats! That’s so wonderful 🙂
Congrats!
Congratulations! Little girls are the most wonderful thing in the world. I am so happy for you both.
Well isn’t that the most wonderful news ever? You are in for a lifetime of joy! Congratulations Mom and Dad.
Congratulations!! 20 years ago I made the hard decision to give up my son for adoption. I was so very blessed to connect with people who wanted an open adoption. I was thrilled that I got to meet the people who my child would call mom and dad and was grateful to know that one day they would tell my son about me. The day I walked out of the hospital was the hardest day of my life but I knew I was doing the right thing and even more so I knew that the people I had chosen already truly loved my son as their own. These people were the most amazing people I have ever met and I still feel that way today. In fact 20 years later, the people my son call Mom and Dad, I call friend. They gave me the precious gift of allowing me to have a relationship with not just my son but with them as well. I can not find the right words to express how I felt when they told me that they wanted more than just sending me occasional photos. I will forever be grateful for my son’s parents. I know that my “open adoption” is not the way it is usually done but I hope that what ever arrangement you have is just as rewarding as ours has been.
Good things come to good people…enjoy your precious baby and take good care of each other!!
A son is a son till he takes him a wife, but your daughter’s your daughter all the days of your life. Congratulations and best wishes to all of you. Chloe is a beautiful name.
Our “sudden” bundle of joy is now 42. It is a wonderful ride. Good luck.
Congratulations and many blessings to you and your family.
Congratulations for that little angel that God put in your hands, many blessings for you and your family, a new chapter to write in this big book called life that for sure would be full of precious memories!
Congratulations, what great news and a little person will have a wonderful home.
Congratulations. Much Love. Savor the Journey & Continued Blessings.
Woohoo!!!!! Coingratulations on your little miracle. Expensive yes, but also priceless!!!!!!:)
Chloe is so sweet a name. Congratulations!
Enjoy those blessings of your new daughter.
Wonderful!! Congratulations! Beautiful name!
How beautiful – you were chosen! It doesn’t get any better. Sending you pink bubbles filled with happy congratulations.
Congratulations! Children are a real blessing!!
Such happy news! I can’t wait to hear what Chloe will do to your creative juices now. You will both be amazing parents! Congratulations!
That is SO wonderful! Congratulaions on your sweet blessing!
Congratulations! Parenthood is the most amazing adventure 🙂
Congrats to you and your family!!! I look forward to what this new addition brings to your blog.
Many happy days ahead!
Congrats!
Kerry and Carl, I’m so happy for you on your new little girl. I am sure you will be excellent parents.
Take care of your new SquawkKit!!
Oh, Kerry, CONGRATULATIONS. Chloe sounds absolutely perfect. :HUGS:
But the paybacks are a million to one 🙂 Congrats on your new daughter !!!!
Congratulations!
Welcome Baby Chloe!
Congratulations 🙂
Congratulations! You will have some work, especially the sleep issues in the short term! Nap every chance that YOU can.
I haven’t read all the comments, but don’t ever let anyone tell you that “holding your baby too much will make them feel entitled” – hold her every chance you get. It’s even more important since she’s adopted. My wife and I have adopted 4 times, ages 1 day, to older teenager, some open, some not, and I tell you that adoption is the biggest blessing that could ever be bestowed upon a parent. Everyone who is able should take an opportunity to adopt – there is always a child in need. It might be the hardest thing you ever do, but so worth it!
Dear new mom and new dad, the most important thing is to do everything you do with love. It was and has always been the most important thing, and always will be, but somehow, becoming a parent reminds us of the importance of love: for ourselves, for each other, for our planet. The present so desperately needs our love, and the future depends upon it.
Thank you for sharing all your gifts and wisdom with us all these years. Looking forward to more, on a schedule that makes sense for you. Be kind and forgiving to yourself: This is a time of change.
Best wishes!
Welcome to the wonderful world of parenthood.
As a mother of a 13 year old girl, do not teach your baby girl the word “no” or “whatever”.
Congratulations! I’m sure Chloe will inspire you to come up with even more wonderful ideas on adding more “delicious and fun” to your lives.
Congratulations! I had to wonder about some of the recent tweets … My son turns six today. Welcome to the mom-club, and enjoy the ride. It is totally worth it 🙂
CONGRATS ON YOUR BLESSING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My Preemie was born April 29, 1952. He is 60 years old and is still working. He weighed 3 lbs at birth but now has to watch his diet.
Congratulation on your new bundle of joy.
It’s a new chapter, and a new beginning for you both.
I’m sure you will have some frugal and eye opening new ways to save money with baby on board now.
I’m so very happy for you, Carl and Tibo.
Congratulations to you and Carl! I look forward to your posts on making your own baby food (healthier and cheaper) in a few months when Chloe is ready to start “solids.” Have fun raising an amazing daughter.
Aw! I am so happy for you! I had 2 preemie kids (that’s why I stopped there) and they’re both strong tweens now. Love her every day and watch her grow. And I recommend yard sales and 2nd hand stores for clothes!!! 😉
And here I thought potatoes already had eyes… Hearty congratulations to you both 🙂 Wishing you a moment in every day to realize how blessed you are.
Congratulations! What a wonderful surprise!
Wonderful! Best thing that ever happened to me twice in my life.
Congratulations! Sending virtual caffeine!
CONGRATS! So happy for you.
Wow! Congratulations! What a fantastic journey and an incredible blessing. Be well, sleep when Chloe does. 🙂
What lovely and happy news! Congratulations to you, your husband and little Chloe on finding a family in each other!
Enjoy every minute- it will all be a distant happy memory so soon you will hardly believe it! I often find myself wishing I had snuggled my little girl just a minute longer and try to always remember “This too shall Pass” for every situation.
That’s such amazing news! How incredible! There is nothing like that phone call. Blessings to your whole family 🙂
Good for you! So excited for you guys (and Chloe). Thanks for sharing.
Congradulations,
I think you will be inspired by the birth of your new baby to come up some unique insights on frugal savings.
I wish I had all the resources out there now, when my son was born.
Thanks for all your hardwork on you blogs. I enjoy reading each blog.
Congratulations!!! What a wonderful news! 🙂
I know this comment is super late, but I feel compelled to tell you congratulations. CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Congrats on the new addition to your family!
I get a little behind on my reading and you turn into a mom on me. THAT IS SO GREAT!!! Enjoy every second of this next year, it will be gone before you know it.
Wow, that is a little baby, even smaller by a few oz than my older son. Let me know if you need any help at all on the wonderful world of raising a NICU baby. BC has excellent supports (our son was born there as well).
Best of luck,
Tim
How wonderful! Worth every red cent and farthing! —– and sleepless nights ——- and stinky pants ——– and spilled food —- and — oh well – it is worth it all!!!! Congrats!
Congrats! I am sure it is going to be wonderful! Enjoy the time bonding and sleeping. Your readers aren’t going anywhere.
[…] at SquawkFox, there’s been some changes made! The new adventure, though, hasn’t interfered with Kerry’s original and humorous spin […]
Congratulations! Wonderful news – and love your recent baby-themed posts.
Have you considered writing a post about adoption agencies, adoption costs, and how to navigate that world so that one can have a snuggly baby without having to re-mortgage the house (is that possible)?
My DH and I may be going down this route, your perspective would be a breath of fresh air.
Hi Kerry,
Though late, I just wanted to wish you and your new family congratulations!
Your story sounds like mine, as I was born on January 28th weighing 4lbs, 10oz, and adoptive 5 months later by my parents.
Every year on my birthday and adoptive day I take time to thank both my mothers for everything they have given me, and the sacrifices they have made.
I saw this quote, and it spoke to me, and thought I may share it with you, if you haven`t already heard it.
I didn’t give you the gift of life,
But in my heart I know
The love I feel is as deep and real
as if it had been so.
For us to have each other
is like a dream come true!
No, I didn’t give you the gift of life,
Life gave me the gift of you.
Author Unknown