Wow. Just Wow!

Where do I start when I attempt to describe my feeling over the last couple of days??? Ukulele is here.... and I am in awe, shock, wonder, and most of all, I'm in love.

She arrived at 9:44 p.m. on Wednesday, December 17. She weighted 5 lbs 11 oz, and was 19 3/4 inches long. Not bad measurements for a preemie! (She was 4 weeks early.) She has a head of dark hair, and large dark blue eyes (for now). And her lips? Well, Ms. Jo.lie may be paying her plastic surgeon a visit for an upgrade!

Firstmom is doing great and should be going home tomorrow. I'm hoping that she is not in too much pain since Ukulele needed to arrive by c-section.

The surrender was signed last night, so by December 30 we should be good. GatorMan and I, however, are the legal guardians for her, so even if the surrender is revoked we'll retain custody until the guardianship is terminated. I honestly do not see Firstmom revoking her surrender though. She was very positive during the surrender signing and excited that Ukulele was with us.

Ukulele got to come home with us this morning! We were so happy to break her out of jail and drive away. And having her here now is just fantastic..... although... I have not gotten through the first night yet....

I am now at the point where many of our blogging friends have found themselves, or hope to find themselves - how do I handle this blog? It's titled WAITING for the Ukulele.... and now she's here. So this is what I have decided to do. I am going to keep this open as an adoption blog and only talk about that aspect. I have so much to tell all of you regarding how we were treated by the hospital, doctors, and even some of the nursing staff. Put it this way - being a red-headed-step-child would have been a trip to Disney World. Seriously. I'll save it all for future posts... but the hospital board should be expecting quite the letter from us and our attorney.

Anyway, I am going keep writing about what it is like to maneuver around the biases that we already found to exist regarding adoption. I'm hoping most of it is going to be very positive and that the worst of it is now behind us. I'm sure mom-stuff is going to sneak in. Despite that, I hope you all keep reading.

Oh, one more thing. I'm going to be creating a separate blog that I am going to post pictures on for family and friends - but it will be password protected. When I get it created, I'll let you all know what the address is and offer the opportunity to get the password. And for those of you wanting a sneak peak a little early..... Enjoy!

What Is This?

Can you guess what this picture is of? I'll give you a hint.... it allows the wearer into secure areas....

SHE'S HERE! OUR UKULELE IS HERE! She joined us last night around 9:45 p.m. eastern.

We became Ukulele's legal guardians today, and tomorrow Juno signs the surrender papers....

I'll post more about Ukulele when we get her home. And if I can find a way to password protect a post, I'll get some pictures in as well. Trust me though, she's beautiful!

Heart's Racing

We went to the attorney's house tonight to complete some paperwork and answer some remaining questions.

We're getting close. So very very close.

So close that we will probably need to add another stocking on the fireplace for Santa.

My heart is racing.....

Getting Ready

Today was fairly busy, and definitely surreal. A good friend of mine took me shopping to help me get "provisions" for Ukulele. I bought bottles, medicines, formula, diapers, wipes, pacifiers.... so much stuff for such a little lady! My friend also gave me some clothes and blankets.

So when I got home, I boiled bottles and pacifiers, washed clothes and blankets in baby-friendly detergent, and cleaned out space in my closet. Ukulele is not even here yet, and she's already taking over her mama's closet!

Speaking of the closet, there are two little dresses in there, just waiting for her precious little self. GatorMan bought his daughter her first two dresses - with matching cardigans. He can't have his little girl showing too much skin! They are just so darned adorable (GatorMan and the dresses!!!)!

I wrote my birth mother letter. But I am actually calling it a "First Mother" letter. Juno will always be Ukulele's "First Mother," and I made sure to address that in the letter. In some respects it was easier to write that I had imagined. Like many of you suggested, I just wrote from my heart. Don't get me wrong, though, it was still difficult - just easier than I anticipated. I'm going to hand-write it tomorrow. I do not think that typing it is personal enough. AND - I get to start crossing off one of my "to-do" things on my List of Thirty-Eight. I love that Juno will be receiving my first letter off of my list. I'm hoping she gets to receive many more throughout the year as Ukulele gets bigger.

No other updates on Juno's preeclampsia. I am guessing if it was really bad, the doctor would have kept her in the hospital. We will hopefully know more this coming week.

I've Been Tagged!

BabySmiling tagged me!

The rules are:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Share 7 random and/or weird facts about you.
3. Tag 7 random people at the end, and include links to their blogs.

BabySmiling tagged me because she said it's "now or never" since Ukulele may be here soon! So, here goes.....

1. I really enjoy condiment sandwiches. I take white bread (or hot dog buns) and put ketchup and mustard on it. I love them. They taste even better if the bread is warm.

2. If I laugh too hard, and I mean REALLY hard, I snort.

3. I sometimes practice my Oscar acceptance speech in the bathroom mirror.

4. I sing songs to my dog and cat - but I change the lyrics so they apply to the animal I am singing to. This occurs numerous times per day.

5. I have an insane fear of heights, but love roller coasters.

6. I am really good with power tools and fixing things around the house.... like replacing ceiling fans, light fixtures, faucets, etc.

7. I legally changed my name to the nickname I had since second grade. My legal name does not include my first name I was given when I was born. However, do not tell my grandmother.... she picked my name for me. It would break her heart if she knew. But, I never looked like - nor felt like - my first name. In second grade I received a nickname, and it stuck. Now it's legal.


Now you're it!

HeavyHeart - I owe her a tag-back, and, she is just so sweet - I'd like to know something quirky about her!
Elle - I love her sports analogies, and I bet she has some good stories.
Barren - I'm new to following her blog, and she cracks me up.
Melanie - she is a fellow attorney, and I know attorneys are funny people.
Barrenness - because the bridge in her blog picture is one of my favorite bridges.
Heather - I always enjoy reading whatever she writes.
Will - because I'm still laughing about the rocket ship post.

Six weeks? MAYBE NOT!

Juno may have preeclampsia.

Do you know what that means?

Possible early baby. As exciting as that may be, I am now very concerned for Juno's health and Ukulele's health. Juno's doc is keeping an eye on her and Ukulele, and she is going to have a blood test next week to verify preeclampsia (although is it "pre" if she is over 32 weeks now? I'll have to wiki that one....). If she is, a c-section will be scheduled.

Intermediary thinks we may have a Christmas baby. Juno had a check-up today, and Ukulele looks fantastic! She's "breathing" in womb, her measurements are great, she's developing as scheduled.... and I am just so damned excited I can barely focus!!!!!

The longer she "cooks" the better - but we are just so excited to meet her!!!

Need Help - and.... Juno Update!

Need Help:

Does anyone have a resource, or ideas, or any guidance whatsoever, on how to write a thank-you letter (or something of the sort) to Juno? We are not sure if we should write a letter to to her for giving us what biology has deprived us, or what we should do. Even this post is all over the place... not sure what we are supposed to do in this situation. We feel like we should be doing something for her, but with a private and closed adoption, we do not know what is appropriate. When we search the all-knowing internet(s), all we come up with are examples of birth-mother letters... not the "thank you for our family" letters we want to view.

Please let us know how to handle this situation, or at least give us some direction.... we'd really appreciate it!

Juno Update:

THIRTY-FOUR WEEKS! EEEEEP! Ukulele is weighing in at a hefty 5 1/2 pounds.... projected weight at delivery: da da daaaaaaaaa.... 9 POUNDS! Juno is doing great, right where she should be as far as gaining weight. I am told she has some back pain, but is doing very well. She is still very much on board with the adoption, and in fact is talking to Ukulele about how lucky and spoiled she is going to be with her new family! (pitter pat pitter pat our happy little hearts!) We have decided that Ukulele's outfit for her first baby picture will be the tie-dye onesie that Juno wants to make for her. I hope we get it before she arrives. It would mean so much to us - and hopefully Juno - that her first picture is taken in an outfit her birthmother made for her.

WE ARE GETTING SO CLOSE! The doctor thinks that she'll deliver early.... AAAHHHHH! Words cannot explain how excited we are! She has an appointment on Thursday for another ultrasound to take more intense measurements and hopefully get a better idea on a projected due date.

Guess we need to get that pack-n-play set up! Also better figure out how to install the car seat....

:)

p.s. Thanks for all the kind words on my attempt at mar.tha-stew.art-ism....