A Cradle Day To Remember: December 21, 2007 By Alix Reid, mom to Abigail, placed 12-21-07 One baby was born in Korea. One was born in Guatemala. And four were born in Illinois and waited to be picked up by their forever parents at The Cradle Nursery. It was a mini-baby boom, a record-breaking day for The Cradle, and a microcosm of the many different ways The Cradle works with birth parents and adoptive parents. My husband Marc and I were one of the six Cradle families whose babies all came home on Friday, December 21. The path each family took could not have been more different. But, although we started in very different places and made different choices along the way, our journeys converged on a very special December day, when our dreams of becoming parents came true. Kevin and Judy - Domestic Program Kevin and Judy had been on The Cradle waiting list for almost two years in December 2007. Like many adoptive parents who face a long wait, they struggled with the uncertainty of having their current lives on hold, unable to make longterm plans because they never knew when that call would come, but unable to pick up the new life of parents. After a few disappointments, they were starting to wonder if it would ever be their turn. It was a cold December day when the call came from their worker. There was a baby, a healthy boy in The Cradle Nursery, and the birthmom had asked The Cradle to choose a family. In that circumstance, the family that has waited the longest is offered the opportunity to adopt the baby. When Judy got the call, she just remembers hearing the words, "There is a healthy baby boy in the Nursery for you." Finally, it was their turn. On December 21st, they walked into The Cradle carrying a brand new car seat they'd picked up at Babies R Us just that morning. A few hours later, they walked out with their son William, snuggled into a blue snowsuit and safely tucked into his car seat. They were, at last, a family. Kim and Mitchell - Sayers Center Kim and Mitchell had come back to The Cradle for their second adoption in 2008, after bringing baby Isaac home in 2005. They went on the waiting list on Halloween, expecting to receive a call sometime in the Spring. They were stunned to receive a call about a potential match the very next day, proving that very little about adoption is predictable! When that birthmom ultimately decided to parent, the family settled in for the wait. Kim remembers receiving the call from counselor Jane Page on Thursday, December 20. "We know that the counselors meet on Wednesday, and so that's when you normally get a call that there is a potential match, so when Jane called me on Thursday I thought she just had a question or something," Kim recalls. "Her first words to me were, 'Kim, are you sitting down? I have some news for you.' I was excited, thinking that perhaps a birthmom had seen our profile and wanted to meet, but then Jane said, 'Kim, you and Mitchell were chosen by a birthmom. The baby is 3 weeks old, and he is here in our Nursery. You can come pick him up tomorrow.' I screamed, waking up my 2-year-old son, just completely overwhelmed and in shock that it was happening so fast." Kim's husband, Mitchell, is a teacher and so she was unable to reach him for nearly two hours. "I wanted him to hear the news first, so I had to sit with this amazing news for two hours, until I could finally reach him and tell him he was a dad again," Kim recalls. Kim and Mitchell spent the evening pulling newborn clothes, toys and supplies out of storage, washing tiny sleepers and t-shirts that she thought she wouldn't need until the Spring. The next day, they went to The Cradle at 2pm. Grandmom and Isaac stayed in the Family Room on the first floor, while Mitchell and Kim went up to the Nursery to meet their new son Moses. "The nurse walked in holding him, and it was just instantaneous. We just completely fell in love from that first glance," Kim recalls. Dennis and Pedro - Sayers Center Shortly after Kim and Mitchell left with their new son, it was Dennis and Pedro's turn. The couple had been on the waiting list for just a short time when they received the call that a birthmom had chosen them to adopt her newborn daughter. The baby had some health concerns, but it didn't take Pedro and Dennis long to say, "Yes!" Consuelo had been in The Cradle Nursery for almost three weeks, and the placement date was set for Friday, December 21. Pedro and Dennis knew that Consuelo's birthfather would be signing adoption papers at The Cradle around 1:00 on the afternoon of the 21st. They decided to spend that long morning of waiting by buying presents for Consuelo's birthmother and siblings. When the call came, they found out that Consuelo's birth grandparents were at The Cradle, too. They ran out of the restaurant where they were having a bite to eat, ran over to Carson's to buy a gift for the birth grandparents, and sped to The Cradle. Pedro says, "At The Cradle, Consuelo's birthmother, birth grandparents, and half-brother were there to show us their love for Consuelo. There were lots of tears and pictures for all of us to remember that wonderful day." Sean and Therese - Sayers Center The fourth Cradle family, Sean and Therese, experienced many twists and turns on their way to becoming parents. After a number of disappointments, they were finally matched in late December with Ella, a baby who had been in The Cradle Nursery for almost one month. They visited with Ella several times before finally taking her home for good on Friday, December 21, 2007, the challenges of their wait fading away as they left The Cradle with their little girl. Norma and Chip - International (Korea) For Norma and Chip, the journey to parenthood led them to Korea. While all this excitement was happening at The Cradle, Baby Nathaniel was enjoying the first airplane ride of his life, arriving at O'Hare on Friday December 21, to join the rest of The Cradle babies who would be celebrating 12-21-07 as their homecoming. Alex and Marc - International (Guatemala) Like the rest of the families who shared this special day, my husband and I decided on adoption but our path led us to Guatemala. We sailed through the paperwork and found out about Abigail a few days after she was born on February 23, 2007. We visited her twice. But then the process slowed. Guatemala was closing its borders to adoption. Children, even those matched with families, who were not placed by the end of the year, would not be able to leave the country. I was making plans to move to Guatemala to be with my daughter. And then we got the call. On December 21st, after two long flights, we arrived with Abigail at O'Hare. We were only thirty minutes from home. Then our luggage got lost, sent to a different terminal by the mysterious inner workings of O'Hare. At first I felt like crying. I guess part of me thought that once we had Abigail, really had her, life would be perfect. And then I started laughing. So what if our luggage is missing? We have Abigail and life is perfect. Marc and I often marvel that this is one of the many amazing gifts Abigail has given us -- the ability to let go of the things that don't matter, and find joy in the moment. * * * Now, a year later, our babies have become toddlers, and we parents have become experts at changing diapers, soothing bumped heads, and singing "Eensy Weensy Spider." It's hard for any of us to remember life before December 21st of last year (although one parent confesses that she really misses being able to take a shower every day). It's been the most amazing year ever for all of our families. As one father put it, "It's the best thing I've ever done. My daughter makes me a better person." We Cradle parents know the struggle it takes to build a family. We open our hearts, our lives, and our homes to social workers, the government, and birth mothers, and hope that we will be chosen. Right now there are many Cradle families who are waiting and hoping they too will receive that phone call that will change their lives forever. Some have been waiting months, others just a few weeks. There are five babies in The Cradle Nursery waiting for their forever homes. And there are countless pregnant girls and women who are facing an incredibly difficult and emotional decision. For every happy day, like the one we six families share, there are many others that slip by without a connection. Still, as we reflect on the year that has passed, and the year that is to come, let's all take a moment and celebrate this day, just over a year ago, when six babies went home with their forever families. And let's also celebrate The Cradle, where the struggle of adoptive parents and birth parents alike is eased and their burden shared, and where hopes and dreams are turned into reality.