Injury Report!

I wrote H's social worker "L" a note yesterday about the gifts that I have been gathering and to make sure that we were not going to violate any of the state laws about the price tag attached. Florida is very lenient about the whole gift thing and in short of giving someone a new car or an expensive diamond ring, it would be allowed. In short, everything we have sounded perfect to L and no troubles there.

Then L tells me that H hurt her back recently and has been doing time on the couch. I had been thinking about giving H a call in the next few days to check in but then when I heard she was not feeling well, I decided that I was calling her that night! Besides, L told H that "Jenn is going to call you soon... probably tonight!" So I did.

She sounded great and I told her I was concerned about how she was feeling. She said she's physically feeling pretty crappy. Not only has she hurt her back just doing normal everyday activities, but she is having some serious sciatica pain and the wiggly baby isn't helping. This happened with her previous pregnancy as well and she knows that it will go away as soon as she has the baby. She only has a few weeks to go! So she's spending time on the couch with a ton of pillows and her mom has been coming over to make her dinner and keep her company. They have been watching a lot of movies lately - my kind of girl!!

She did tell me that she had a doctor's appointment and the baby is head down and ready to go. OH! Apparently the doctor mentioned that he thought within the next 2 weeks, she could go into labor but H is afraid to get her hopes up because she knows then she is sure to go past her due date. We're obviously hoping for sooner rather than later!! Not that I don't still have plenty to do and am sitting around twiddling my thumbs...

We had a very nice chat. She admitted that she is still a little nervous talking to me on the phone, but that is very natural. Until we really meet each other in person, it probably will be that way. We talked about how this is very strange situation for someone looking from the outside in. If you haven't been through it, it's hard to understand and something that most people will never have to deal with! It's very much like dating - trying to figure out when to call, what to say, what not to say. H laughed when I told her that and she definitely agreed. I'm trying to be as human as possible... we're in the same boat and I'm not Super Woman, you know?

As time goes by, I think we will be great friends. H is happy that we want to have a relationship with her. That made her feel really good. We would never ever forget about her and skip off into the sunset. It seems that we have a lot of similar interests, did I ever mention that she played the violin in school? It is very easy to talk to her. I wanted her to talk more about her boys because I could tell in the first call that she just lit up thinking about them so I think that helped her be more at ease. She said she is going to pack up some pictures in her hospital bag to share with me. She wants to give me updated pictures through the years to keep in a special book for the baby. I am thrilled!

H told me at least 6 times that she is not going to change her mind about the adoption and that she is *really* excited for us to become parents. She said she did not want us to worry about her changing her decision. I think it is very sweet of her to want to tell us that but we'll still be cautious until it's all said and done. She has been thinking a lot about what is going to happen in the hospital and she is preparing herself the best she can. She is in counseling weekly and it is really helping her. I think she said a few things she wanted to say to me. I really wanted to keep everything light and up beat but I had to tell her that we will never be able to tell her how grateful we are to her for making our dreams come true. She said we didn't have to tell her, she already knows!! This is a case where actions really will speak louder than words.

We talked for 20 minutes or so. I didn't want to keep her too long since I knew it was close to dinner there and I am not one to stand between a pregnant woman and food! Her mom was there making her dinner and is taking really good care of her. H said she is very lucky. I think we are the lucky ones!