Dakota, Eleanor and Aubrey's Story

Through the gift of adoption our family is now complete! Our daughter Aubrey is now six weeks old and we can't even remember, nor do we really want to, what life was like before she joined our family.

Dakota and I have been married for eight years and like many couples we assumed that when we were ready to start a family it would just happen. Five years, several infertility tests and many restless, tearful nights we decided that we were going to stop and take control over the infertility battle that had ruled our lives for so long. We decided that being parents was the important part for us, not biological parents, but parents. We knew that going down the path of adoption would almost guarantee us a baby (assuming our home study went well, of course, it did), a guarantee that none of the infertility doctors could give us. After much research, we finally decided to work with American Adoptions, one of the best decisions we ever made! From the very beginning they were so professional and helpful and made the entire process as easy and quick as possible. We will forever be grateful to Laurie and Cara B. for all their hard work, endless phone calls and kind words of encouragement and support.

In September 2006, we sent away for our application to begin the process and for the first time we felt a sudden weight lifted off our shoulders and a renewed hope in a family began to sprout. We took our time with all the paperwork, we didn't want to be overwhelmed with it all and on February 7, 2007 we got the "active" email from the agency! We settled into life as normal, with the mounds of paperwork and interviews behind us. Everyday I kept wondering if today would be the day we would get "the call" and how long we would have to wait. Well, we only waited seven days when we got "the call" from Cara Berkley at the agency on February 14, Valentine's Day! I was in the middle of a work meeting and I felt completely numb as she told me all the important information that I needed to share with my husband. I don't know how I functioned through the call, it was all so surreal, but I knew this call was going to change our lives forever. Not only did the call come quickly but our birthmother was due later that month, everything was happening so fast!

Two weeks later, Dakota and I were on a plane to Ohio to meet our daughter! We got a call from Cara saying that our birthmother had gone into labor and it was time for us to travel. We flew through the night and arrived early the next morning. I remember walking into the hospital and going up to the maternity ward and feeling so excited, nervous, anxious and scared but then I saw my daughter and my life changed forever in that moment. She was, and still is, the most beautiful creature I have ever laid my eyes on. Immediately, I knew I was meant to be her mother and that she was the angel we had so long been waiting for. All the years of infertility and heart ache seemed to disappear in a moment and all felt right in the world, our baby was finally here!

Quickly, our birthmother gained a special place in our hearts, it's a relationship so special and dear and no one else can understand unless they've been in the same situation. Our adoption became an open adoption, something we never thought we would be comfortable with but that was long before we meet our daughter's birthmother. We were very lucky in our adoption situation. Our daughter's birthmother allowed us to interact openly with her entire family. We were in Ohio for 10 days and we saw her and her family almost everyday. In a way, they became part of an extended family. We will always be grateful to our daughter's birthmother for allowing us to spend time with her and her family. We hope to share stories of our experiences with them with our daughter and she grows and be able to provide her with the answers about them that we know someday she will ask.

After almost two weeks in Ohio, we finally were able to fly home. It was bittersweet, we were excited to get home but we also felt badly leaving our daughter's birthmother and her family. Once we were home, it was great to be back in our own space again and start to get into the routines of everyday life at home. Our daughter is thriving and is growing so fast! Her doctor says she a very happy and healthy girl. It's true what veteran parents say, they do grow so quickly and we are enjoying every minute! We fall deeper in love with her everyday and are just so happy and fulfilled to have her with us. We truly feel we were meant to follow the path of adoption, what a wonderful, amazing journey it has been! Best wishes to you and your families as you travel down your own adoption road!

Dakota, Eleanor and Aubrey