My mom called today to tell me that they were getting custody of my step-dad's daughter's, (C) 2.5 week old baby girl. C has had a lot of problems. Mom and Charley (my step-dad) have been given temporary custody of the baby and are picking her up from the hospital today.
What mom wanted to know is if J and I were interested in adopting the baby if they are given guardianship of her. The baby has several medical issues, but none are life threatening and can be easily be managed. I know this will be months down the road, but I want Charley to be in her life, and if she's adopted to someone they don't know, he will only get to see her a few times a year. If we adopt her then he can see her whenever he wishes.
So, that's what's going on in our house! It's all so crazy and unexpected. I don't want to get excited yet b/c there's a long road to go down. We are thanking God that this precious baby girl made it into the world safely, and we're praying that the medical issues that she has can be overcome and she'll be a healthy little girl.
I'll update you as I know more!
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Her First Dance Recital
"For this child I have prayed"
-1 Samuel 1:27
-1 Samuel 1:27
All About Me...
- Janna
- Houston, Texas, United States
- I am a 40 yr old imperfect Christian woman who's madly in love with my husband, Jon. We've been married for 10 mostly wonderful years. I say mostly because we spent 2 heartbreaking years trying to conceive, and those years were NOT wonderful years. We have two beautiful girls who came into our lives through adoption...Little Bit and Chipmunk. Little Bit was born in Sept 2008, and Chipmunk was born in February 2009. No, that's not a typo...our girls are 5 1/2 months apart! Life is crazy hectic, but they are our greatest blessings, and we are so thankful to God for building our family through adoption! I have psoriatic arthritis, naturally curly hair, and PCOS with insulin resistance.
My Favorite Things
- scrapbooking & making cards
- spending time with friends and family
- children's laughter
- singing
- shopping
- traveling
- Diet Coke
- playing the piano
- volunteering
- watching TV
- bling!
Followers
Our Angels
Angel #1, With us for 5w4d, chemical pregnancy, natural m/c 8/7/06
(edd 4/12/07)
Angel #2, With us for 9w3d, missed m/c, D&C 1/16/07
(edd 8/18/07)
Angel #2, With us for 9w3d, missed m/c, D&C 1/16/07
(edd 8/18/07)
My Precious Niece
Her First Dance Recital
The Loves of My Life!
TTC History
- Dec. '05 - off BCP (58 day cycle, O'd on CD43), started temping in Jan. '06
- Feb. '06 - 109 day cycle, no O
- Apr. '06 - Dx with PCOS, took Prometrium for 10 days to induce AF, start Clomid on CD5
- May '06 - Clomid 50 mg, O'd but BFN
- June '06 - Clomid 50 mg, BFP (chemical pregnancy at 5w4d)
- Aug. '06 - break cycle
- Sept. '06 - Clomid 50 mg, BFN
- Oct. '06 - Clomid 50 mg, BFN
- Nov. '06 - Clomid 100 mg - BFP
- Jan. '07 - Missed M/C at 9w3d, D&C
- Feb. '07 - break Cycle, on BCP to get AF, Antibody and clotting b/w done, all normal
- Mar. '07 - break cycle, on BCP to get AF
- Apr. '07 - Clomid 100 mg, BFN
- May '07 - Clomid 100 mg, BFN
- June '07 - Clomid 100 mg, BFN
- July '07 - Clomid 100 mg with IUI, BFN
- Aug. '07 - Clomid 100 mg with IUI, BFN
- Sept. '07 - Clomid break cycle, taking FertilityBlend. HSG on 9/28: Tubes all clear!! BFN
- Oct. '07 - Lap on 10/16: nothing other than the typical PCOS ovaries found. I should be happy about that, but for some reason I'm disappointed. I wanted some answers as to why we're not getting pregnant post D&C.
- Nov. '07 - Clomid 100 mg, 2000 mg Met, IUI, BFN
- Dec. '07 - Femara, 2000 mg Met, natural BD, BFN - Didn't even O
- Jan '08 - threw in the towel, started BCP
Adoption Timeline
- Jan. '08 - researching
- Feb. '08 - started home study for domestic infant adoption
- March '08 - individual meetings with SW
- April '08 - chose 2 agencies to work with, HS COMPLETE!!!
- July '08 - applications turned in!!
- August '08 - Dear EM letter Complete!!!
- September '08 - Profiles Complete and Officially on the "Waiting Parent" list!!!
Fighting Infertility (* Denotes Pregnancies)
Made It To The Mommy Side After Infertility
- A Day in the Life of a Moody Person (Rian)
- A Somewhat Ordinary Life
- All You Need is Love (Sheri)
- Changing Expectations
- Fertile Hope (Trish)
- Fertility Futility
- Fertilized!! (Farah)
- Fumbling Towards Eggstacy (Heidi)
- Grateful Always (Beth)
- Jen and Carter
- Kicking You From the Inside (Kate)
- Life in the White House (Jess)
- Luck Doesn't Happen Twice (Kim)
- Mandy's Blog
- My Journey to Mommyhood (Courtney)
- My Prayers, His Promises (Elaine)
- Our Journey to Baby-Weathering the Storm of IF (Gretchen)
- Over My Head (Lizzy)
- Pancake Saturday (Kim)
- Praying for a Little One (Courtney)
- Raspberry Chip (Rachel)
- Relaxing Doesn't Make Babies (Natalie)
- Reproductive Jeans (JJ)
- Roadblocks and Rollercoasters
- Serenity Now
- Sticky But Sweet (Kristen)
- That Was the Plan
- The Sticky Bean Preconception Journal (Kristen)
Adoption Blogs (*Current Match!!, +Forever Family!!!)
- A Family of Love+ (Joanna)
- A Heart for Adoption+ (Mandy)
- A New Kind of Normal: Life with Infertility and Chronic Disease+ (Jamee)
- Born in Our Hearts+ (Kristi)
- Bunches of Burches+ (Sarah)
- Cross Family+ (Kasey)
- Excuse Me...I'd Like a Refund on These Ovaries (Kellie)
- Full House, Full Hands, Full Hearts+
- Henry Street+ (Rachel)
- Hopeful Family Waits (Laura)
- In Our Own Weird Way+
- Jenn's Journey+
- Life in the Phisch Bowl+
- Life in The Polar North Defrosts+ (Wendi)
- Losing the Baby Wait+
- Love, Hope and Faith+ (Christy)
- MM's Musings+ (Mary Michele)
- Not Like I Thought It Would Be+
- Our Star Was Born+ (Alison)
- Production, Not Reproduction
- Quest for a Lifetime+ (Malloryn)
- The Miller Adoption Journey+ (Jamee)
- The Voice of Adventure+ (Angel)
- Waiting for His Time+ (Erin)
- Wendy and Steve+
Other Sites I Frequent
- (Not) Coming to a Uterus Near You (Katie)
- Bring the Rain (Wife of Selah Member)
- Chick of Faith (Melissa)
- Danielle in the City
- Fertility Friend
- Jamie and Holly
- Lost and Found and Connections Abound
- Loungeplace
- Miscarriage, Stillbirth, and Infant Loss Blog Directory
- Mrs. Happy Home (Elizabeth)
- MySpace
- Opalene Stationary (Alese)
- Pink Armchair Designs
- Seriously, This is My Life (Angela)
- Steven Curtis Chapman's Blog
- Strength for Today (Tamra)
- The McFatter Clan (Melissa)
- Thoughts From a Dimple Queen (Angie)
Fertility and Adoption Lingo
- • 2WW/TWW = Two Week Wait, the weeks after ovulation and before menses
- • AF = Aunt Flo (menses)
- • AP = Adoptive Parent(s)
- • B/W = Bloodwork
- • BBT = Basal Body Temperature
- • BCP = Birth Control Pills
- • BD = Baby Dance
- • Beta = Blood pregnancy test to check the amount of HCG (pregnancy hormone) that is in your system
- • BFN = Big Fat Negative (pregnancy test)
- • BFP = Big Fat Positive (pregnancy test)
- • BM = Birthmom
- • CD# = Cycle Day #
- • CM = Cervical Mucus
- • CP = Cervical Position
- • EM = Expectant Mother
- • FMU = First Morning Urine
- • HCG = Hormone level that increases when pregnant, also Hormone injected to "trigger" ovulation
- • HPT = Home Pregnancy Test
- • HS = Home Study
- • IF = Infertility
- • IR = Insulin Resistant
- • IUI = Intrauterine Insemination (AKA "the Turkey Baster")
- • M/C = Miscarriage
- • M/S = Morning Sickness
- • Met = Metformin, drug to help with the processing of insulin
- • OPK = Ovulation Predictor Kit
- • PCOS = Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
- • PG/Preggers = Pregnant
- • RE = Reproductive Endocrinologist
- • S/E = Side Effects
- • SA = Semen Analysis
- • SMEP = Sperm Meets Egg Plan
- • SW = Social Worker
- • TTC = Trying to Conceive
- • U/S = Ultrasound
- • WTO = Waiting To Ovulate
- • WTT = Waiting To Test
Blog Entries
Blog Entries By Topic
- 2WW (9)
- About Me (6)
- Accu (1)
- Adoption (60)
- AF (7)
- Ah-Ha Moments (3)
- Arthritis (5)
- Award (4)
- Birth Control (3)
- Book Review (3)
- D and C (2)
- Decisions (3)
- Doctor's Appointments (16)
- Family (18)
- Fertiles (6)
- FertilityBlend (1)
- Foot Surgery (8)
- Friends (17)
- Guardians (1)
- HSG (4)
- I'm Blessed (1)
- I'm tired (26)
- IF (1)
- In the news (6)
- Infertility (47)
- Insurance (1)
- IR (4)
- IUI #1 (7)
- IUI #2 (4)
- IUI #3 (6)
- Just Lounging Around (4)
- LAP (9)
- LASIK (4)
- Last Chance (2)
- Life After Miscarriage (16)
- Life Outside of TTC (4)
- Little Bit (12)
- Mardi Gras (1)
- Metformin (7)
- Miscarriage (4)
- Miscarriage #2 (5)
- Mommyhood (1)
- Mother's Day (2)
- NIAW (1)
- no longer ttc (2)
- Nursery (2)
- Oct 15th (1)
- OPK's (2)
- Prayers (9)
- Pregnancy #2 (8)
- Random Ramblings (31)
- RE (2)
- Songs (3)
- Taking a Break (2)
- TTC Again (22)
- TTC History (1)
- Vacation (6)
- Weight Loss (2)
- Work (3)
19 comments:
Oh Janna... I am crying reading this.. I am praying for you and this little baby and that God would open the doors that he wants open and make it clear what he wants you guys to do. WOW that was a run-on sentence. I love you girl!!!!
oh wow! This baby girl needs a mommy whether she has HIV or not. I know this is a lot for you to process, but I can't think of anything that could be anymore meant to be. I guess the next thing is to find out everything you can about HIV, (I know that things are constantly changing). I would also want to find out if you would be responsible for all her medical costs if she needs medical attention or is that something that the state pays for.
Lots to think about for sure! I am rooting for you and this baby girl either way. I know that HIV is not always passed on to the baby, and they can do things during the birth to minimize the chances. If she was getting prenatal care, I would think they would be doing everything to protect her during the birth as well. Good luck! Good luck! Hugs.
Wow Janna, I can't even begin to imagine what you and DH must be going through. I suggest calling your doctor or a pediatrician for advice. Best of luck to you, whatever you decide. :)
WOW! Well, that's a lot to swallow in a day's time. But ya know.. if there were ever a sign...
I think this little girl needs exactly what you guys have to offer.. a stable, loving home.. devoted parents, and a bright future. She would be blessed to have you both, and I know that you would handle whatever issues she does/does not have with grace.
But it's a BIG decision, I know. And I'm sure that it's hard to not feel like everything you've wanted is being dangled in front of your face in a not-so-ideal situation. I guess that all you can really do is pray about it.
I don't have any insight on the medical side of things.. but I hope that you get some. I wonder if there is an adoption support group in the area or online where you could get some more information about situations like this.
Well of course you can't think of an appropriate title! How exciting, scary, complicated, easy and prayer-worthy of a situation is this, huh? I'm sure through prayer and research that you'll do what is best for everyone. GL to you - and I look forward to updates!
I remember in pharmacy school studying this... the rates were lower than I expected back then (90s)... found some stats that look positive to me:
The risk for HIV transmission during pregnancy is estimated at 5 to 10%, during labor and delivery at 10 to 20%, and during breastfeeding at 10 to 20%.
When no preventive measures are taken, the overall risk for transmission among women with HIV is estimated at approximately 15 to 35%.
Looks like to me the odds are in your favor. I'll be praying for you guys!!
Janna - I know nothing but am praying for you and all involved
Wow, That is very exciting,complicated,and I am sure overwhelming to take in all at once so quickly. It sounds like God might have a hand in this one. I will keep you in my prayers on this decision.
What an incredible development! I'm afraid I don't know too much about the medical side of things -- talking to a doctor or pediatrician might be a good idea. Best of luck and I'll be excited to see what happens.
I just wanted to tell you that I'm thinking and praying for you guys!
Lots of prayers coming your way for discernment, wisdom and a healthy baby!
This lady has a ton of information about HIV+ adoption.
Wow, that is a whole lot to think about. I'm not sure that knowing probabilities will really help you come to a decision, since you really can't know for sure - kind of like fertility treatments. I wish you well as you continue to contemplate this! It does seem like an amazing opportunity!
Hi, over from LFCA.
Rates are quite low for HIV transmission from mother to child when they take precautions (taking the drugs, no vaginal birth.) So your chances that the child is perfectly healthy are quite good - in fact, if she was in prison where they watch over things like this, probably better because her medication taking would have been supervised.
Even if the child is HIV+, most children born with it are making it to adulthood without a problem. Of course, since it hasn't been around long, nobody knows about long, long term effects in 30s, 40s, etc. But I think overall things are looking hopeful.
WOW! It's a huge decision, but maybe all of this has happened for a reason? Maybe this baby is meant for you and J? That's all I keep thinking when I read this. I'll be thinking of you and hoping everything works out for you, J, and the baby. ((HUGS))
Wow...in so many ways! I know this will be a big decision either way--know that I am praying for you all!
Oh my gosh such great news! I know nothing about HIV transmission rates but I will cross my fingers for you!!!
WOW....u need to email me more about this! I will be praying for you and your family and this precious baby girl! Keep me posted! I will let you know if I come across anything, but I am sure you have spent hours already researching!
When would you and J get her?
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