Becoming Family

Today, Brooklyn is one week old!  What an adventurous week she's had!  She's skyped with several people, and some twice!  She's been to several restuarants and fast food joints.  Applebees was her first restuarant.  She's been shopping, and she's gone to the shore.  That's right... we took the long drive to the shore yesterday because we had to take advantage of a day off from work and a 65 degree day on February 1st.  We loved it.  We had a great time strolling the boardwalk and walking on the beach.  It was a little bit windy, so our time on the beach was limited to a quick walk and a short photo shoot.  She had her first picnic a couple days ago when the weather was gorgeous and we went to a nearby park for a walk and she had a bottle there.  We're loving every second of this!  Last night, she woke up like clockwork for a bottle every three hours.  Up until last night, she's had a very alert time in the middle of the night where she wanted to party with us, so this was a nice change.
It's been super nice having this alone time to get to know her and learn to be a family.  We had really special moments in the hotel after she was discharged from the hospital on Saturday.  We got her birthmom a hotel room so she could stay close by and visit before she signed the papers to make Brooklyn officially ours.  Stefani was also there, and the 5 of us hung out quite a bit during those two days.  I will never be able to adequately put into words what that was like.  It was much more comfortable than anyone would imagine.  We sat around and laughed a lot.  We cried a lot, in happiness and in sadness.  M. was amazing with us from day one, reminding us that we're the parents.  She had us make the first important decisions about Brooklyn's care... what formula would she take, and would she get her first vaccine in the hospital or wait until we see the pediatrician?  Do we want hospital photos taken?  Just felt so sweet.  I may have mentioned this in an earlier post....if I repeat myself, forgive me.  It's been somewhat of a blur.  There were times where I felt like we were stealing moments that belonged to M., but we had the opportunity to get that out in the open and talk with M. about it at one point.  She never felt that way.  I continue to be amazed by this woman's strength, selflessness, and generosity.  She's so caring and sweet.  She brought us gifts for the baby... a cute duck terrycloth robe with a hood for bathtime, and a cute t-shirt that says "My Mommy's Cute, I'm cute, and my Daddy's lucky".  We were at a restuarnat (Brooklyn's first- Applebees) with Stefani, and a couple of women came by to admire Brooklyn and asked who the new mommy was.  Potentially very sad and awkward moment, but M. pointed to me as I pointed to all of us at the table and said "We are".  The lady said "No, I mean who's the new Mommy?", and again, I said "We are.  It's complicated", and the woman got the hint and backed off.  M. was great about it, and it just was another testiment to her courage.  She wrote and shared some poetry with us that she'd written in the hospital one night when she was feeling particularly sad.  She shared adoption poems with us.  She shared herself with us, and what a gift that will be for Brooklyn because we can always make sure that she knows this amazing woman who gave her life, and gave her a family.  Saying goodbye was so emotional and very, very sad.  I'm sure I'll carry this sadness around with me for a long time to come.  We're able to put it aside and focus on the joy that this baby is bringing to us each and every moment, but the sadness doesn't go away.  The time we were able to spent was amazing, the experience profound, and I feel so, so blessed.