Time Flies

Both of our adoptions are still going as well as planned.

Isryelle and Boaz are growing over in the Congo and little baby P is getting bigger everyday is his/her birth moms womb.

Its hard to believe that the baby will most likely be born in about two months!

Honestly time is flying by and its hard to believe we will soon be joined by three little lives.

 

Its been seven weeks since we were matched with "K".

"K" does not want to go to the doctor.

We have made peace with the fact that this whole domestic adoption process will be a surprise.

The due date will be a surprise...

The gender will be a surprise...

We completely understand that "K" is going through a very difficult time and whatever she needs to do to cope is alright with us.

 

We are nearing three months since we started our USCIS investigations for Isryelle and Boaz.

They said that it would take 3-6 months for the investigations to be completed.

It should not be too long before all of our paperwork to get them is in order.

Then all we have to do is wait for the Congo to open up.

It seems like the Congolese government is moving in a positive direction with the U.S.

 

All we know for sure is that the Lords timing is perfect!

He has a future and a hope for our family that is better than we can even imagine!

 

Here is a little bit of Boaz cuteness to last until the next update.

We did not get any pictures of Isryelle recently.



Breast Feeding an Adopted Baby

The moment we started thinking about domestic adoption,

I started thinking about what we would feed our baby.

I am very pro-breastfeeding and I believe that breast is always best.
Obviously this belief system runs into a little snag when you adopt.
 

So I went to work researching.

After two years of adoption, I can learn almost anything I want on the Internet.

I ended up joining a Facebook group just for adoptive moms who want to nurse.

 

I found out that it is VERY possible to make a significant amount of breast milk for an adopted child.  Many mothers can make about half of their child's daily needs.  It took my about two seconds to realize this is exactly what I want to do!

 

The first thing I did is order a number of herbs to start taking.

Now there are a million herbs that mothers can take to help make more breast milk.

I picked a few to try and am now taking the following herbs three times a day.

 

I drink Mothers Milk Tea.

Goats Rue Tincture

Fennel Seed 

Blessed Thistle

Nettle Herb

Fenugreek
Moringa

Go big or go home!

All of these herbs are said to help lactating mothers produce more breast milk.

 

I am also eating loads of oatmeal everyday which is supposed to help a mothers milk supply grow.

As of right now I am pumping during the day every two hours.
Yes it is a ton of work!
I am just praying it will be worth it!

I am also taking Domperidone which medication with the side effect of producing breast milk.
I will also be adding in night time pumping sessions.
Right now I am getting 1/2 a ml of milk each pumping sessions.
This may not seem like much but it is a pretty standard for the beginning stages of re-lactation.

I am hoping to start producing enough milk to start storing in my freezer for baby in about a month.
I am beyond excited to be able to provide this basic need for our child.
I can't wait to nurse a baby again!
Its been too long!

I will keep giving you guys updates as well as more information on the subject of adoptive breastfeeding.

Drum Roll Please......

We got the Gift of Adoption grant!

Praise the Lord who provides!

Gift of Adoption awarded us $3500 which is just about the exact amount of money we still need for this domestic adoption process.

Pretty amazing!

 

The domestic adoption is still progressing as expected. 

"K" has still not seen a doctor and is in her third trimester.

We are praying that she decides to see a doctor so that we can at least have a somewhat accurate due date.

 

In the meantime, life goes on as usual.

We are already halfway through February which mean that by our calculations, we will have a baby in our arms in just 2-3 months!

 

Thank you all for praying for this grant.

God answers prayers!

Boy or Girl?

I think I can honestly say, I do not care if we have a boy or a girl.

We would LOVE for Boaz to have a brother, but we are having a hard time picking a boy name.

On the other hand, we found a girl name we adore and would love to use it.

There are pros and cons to both having a boy and having a girl.

Good thing we don't have to choose!

 

People have been asking me if I think its a boy or a girl.

From the time I was eight weeks pregnant with Irelyn, I knew she was a girl.

I could just feel it in my gut(literally).

When we got an ultrasound and she turned out to be a girl, I really was not surprised.

 

Now with this one, its totally different.

I am not carrying this child and don't really have the same "feeling" as I had with Irelyn.

I can say that I have had multiple friends and family members say they think its a boy.

I have even had a few friends have dreams about it being a boy!

I myself  have had a few dreams about it being a boy.

I don't think one person has said that they think its a girl!

 

So all these opinions have me thinking its a boy...I guess we better get this name business figured out!

So what do you all think? 

Boy or girl?

 

P.S.  Our case manager is going to talk to "K" tomorrow about going in to a doctors appointment.  So far she has not wanted to go to one.  If she goes, we will most likely get an ultrasound so we will have a due date as well as possibly find out the gender.  We are really praying that she will at least make it to one appointment before the baby is born.  Otherwise, we will just have to guess the due date!

Gift of Adoption Grant Update

Gift of Adoption sifts through its applicants in steps.

We have passed the first step and have been selected to be shown to the board.

They asked us to share our story and why we need a grant so badly.

I am not sure exactly when they will make their decision but it will be sometime during the month of February.

Keep praying!  This grant could make a HUGE difference!

Prayer for Grant

Gift of Adoption is processing our application tomorrow!

Their board is going to look over our application and decide if they want to help us financially.

We are really in need of more grants and this is the only organization left who has not given us an answer.

 

We are about $2,000 short of what we need for our domestic adoption.

We will need all of this money by the time the little one is born(we still don't know a due date).

We also still need to come up with the money to get Isryelle and Boaz.

We are estimating about $10,000.

Our best guess on the timeline to traveling to get them is fall/winter of this year.

 

Please be praying tomorrow about the boards decision!

We are praying for favor!

Thank you for your prayerful support!

It really does mean a lot to us.