dance please

Can everyone do a bring the baby dance and chant!!!!

Down to the end...

We're going down to the wire here...no more appointments are scheduled for the birthmother. Hopefully, any day now. Stay tuned...

Still waiting

Hello,
I know everyone is anxious to hear some news and believe me SO ARE WE!
But, at this time, we have nothing to report. Yes, tomorrow is April 29th. I think the way we have to think of things is that the 29th was more than likely the "actual" due date- that being said, there could be many more days of waiting.

The Latest...

Hi everyone,

Birthmom is doing very well, but is still very pregnant. She has an ultrasound scheduled tomorrow. Hopefully they will just decide to induce, for everyone's sake!!!

Love,
TAO

Deep breaths

Hello,
Our social worker shared that the birthmom had a doctor visit yesterday, all is well and she is scheduled to have an ultrasound tomorrow. Birthmom plans to call if she should go into labor before then. It's been a really difficult week for us and we've reflected on all the ups and downs there are along this process. We also know we have a ways to go yet. We have strength, we have the love and support of our family and friends,we have each other, we think about this and know we can get through whatever may come our way.In all honesty, we are scared, but we are hopeful. This is our road to travel, we would choose no other path for ourselves and we will grow from whatever experience is presented to us.

Thanks for being a part of this.

March for Babies

This year, we are once again planning to raise money and participate in Milwaukee's 2009 March for Babies (to be held Saturday, April 25). We are trying to raise awareness and funds to help prevent premature birth. Following is our story, and information on donating to what is a most worthy cause.

On October 26th, 2004 our sweet baby girl Siddha Elana Carman-Dobbs graced us with her wonderous presence. To our great sorrow she came to us too soon. I was hospitalized on October 22 and diagnosed with severe HELLP Syndrome, the only cure and hope for me to live was to deliver. Siddha was born by emergency caesarean section and was extremely premature, weighing just under one pound. She came into this world kicking and was fighting her best to stay with us. She lived for 11 days, although it felt like 100 days for each of those days that she was with us. She passed away on November 6, 2004. Siddha's birth has changed our lives in a multitude of ways, unimaginable ways and we miss her desperately. We think of her each and every day that goes by. We are better people for having known her. We know in our hearts that we are better parents, now, to her brother Olin, because of her.


On this day we will walk, with everlasting love in our hearts, for Siddha.

To donate please use the following link:
http://www.marchforbabies.org/personal_page.asp?w=201028003&u=tcarman

Checking in...

Olin & Grandpa wave to the crowds at the Milwaukee County Zoo on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Or were they waving goodbye to the nice weather?

No adoption news to speak of over the weekend. This past Tuesday the birthparent counselor visited the birthmom at her home and reported back that she is "really big" and "has dropped" but the main event has yet to occur. It's hard to repeatedly hear how close she is, but get ready to enter yet another workweek.

SPRING BREAK!!!

Most spring breakers take to the warm beaches of Mexico to engage in bacchanalian behavior. The more hardy souls take it upon themselves to conquer new, unexplored ground rather than engage in such frivolous behavior. Here, Admiral Sam & Commander Olin explore the North Pole in clothes not remotely appropriate for the hostile conditions, to say nothing of the fact that they appear delicious in the eyes of a lurking arctic creature...

No baby for Easter...

but the Easter bunny did bring Olin a monster truck, which had him very excited.

Tera spoke with the birthmom yesterday, and had a good conversation. She's very tired and ready to have this baby, which is to be expected at this point in the pregancy. It sounds like she'll have another doctor's appointment this week, either Thursday or Friday.

Closer, maybe??

Hello,
I just spoke with sw, Kathy, who shared that birthmom went to the hospital last night because she was experiencing contractions but was sent home last night or this am (sounds like false labor, maybe?). It was said that things will happen, more than likely, before April 29th! It sounds like birthmom is going back to see the doctor tomorrow. I'm hoping to be able to chat with birthmom directly today or tomorrow, over the phone. I'm feeling a little sick to my stomach.. nervous and excited (along with at least 12 other emotions!), I wonder if a birthday margarita will help this :-)
Stay tuned!
Much Love
Tera (Aaron and Olin too:-)

A bump in the road...

Hello everyone:

Today brought some unexpected news. The good news is that both birthmom and baby are healthy and doing well. Baby currently weighs about 7 pounds, though he may not be coming out as soon as we anticipated. As it turns out we're looking at more of a due date range than a specific due date. The birthmother had a doctor appointment and the dates given by the doctor are anywhere between April 9-29. So we most likely have a longer road ahead of us than what we were anticipating, but all other plans remain the same. It's hard to not be a little disappointed at this news, but we're trying not to get down about it. Maybe it can inspire us to live our lives with a little less anxiety, a little less worry, and have a lot more fun. We were getting pretty tense about the wait, and perhaps this bit of information can serve as a reminder that there is only so much control you have over life's events. We have a lot to look forward to in the coming days as it is. Tera's birthday is Thursday, which will be awesome to celebrate. Easter is on Sunday, and I can't wait to see the look on Olin's face upon finding what the Easter bunny left for him. As always, we'll keep you all posted on any news we have.

Still nothing...

An Easter egg hunt at the Bay View Library this morning provided some much needed distraction from the agonizing wait that has been dominating our lives lately. Oli found a golden egg amongst the library books and won a prize -- egg-shaped sidewalk chalk. Being Wisconsin residents, it comes as no surprise to learn from the weatherman that any work we do today, will probably be covered in snow tomorrow. Such is life in April, in Wisconsin. It was really fun to watch Oli run through the aisles looking for eggs. This is the first year that he will truly be able to experience the full excitement of the Easter bunny, and we plan on having a blast with him (hopefully in Chicago!!!)





We spoke with Kathy (our Social Worker) this morning and things are going really well, but there really isn't anything to report. Birthmom is good, she has a doctor appointment next week and we'll hopefully have an update on that later in the week (though we'd prefer a baby to an update). I suppose no news is good news, but we are very anxious to receive "the call" sometime soon. It is difficult to express in words just how hard this wait is and how much it occupies the mind. You walk out of work on a Friday and hope you won't return until the sun is high in the summer sky. You go out to eat and think "this could be our last meal out with just one kid." You have friends over and say "next time you see us, hopefully there will be one more." It's all very difficult, and feels utterly out of our control. We're as prepared as we can be, we just have to hope and believe that everything turns out for the best.

Waiting..

Hello All,
Nothing really to report, this has become the story of our life. Minutes feel like hours, ugghh!!
We got an update from our SW last week (Thursday) who said the due date was still April 9th and the birthmom had a dr. appt./ultrasound last week and all is well. I hope to hear some sort of update today so stay tuned...