Dear Deacon's Placing Family

(I wrote this letter to Deacon's placing family when he was about 6 weeks old. We haven't posted here since before he was born, so I thought it might be a nice update)

February 1, 2018

Dear Deacon’s Placing Family,
As I write you this note, Deacon is finally asleep against my chest in the Ergo carrier. Lately, he’ll only nap if he is being held and cries (hard) if we try to set him down. And while there are definitely some tiring moments along the way in raising a newborn, it’s so easy to remind ourselves of the tremendous gift that he is! There were moments, hard moments during those uncertain years, when it felt like we’d never have the joy of loving and raising a child of our own. Saying “thank you” for choosing us feels insufficient compared to the enormous gift that it is. But words are all we have, so please know that we are forever grateful that you entrusted us with raising and parenting this little soul. THANK YOU.

Deacon was born on December 22 at 38.5 weeks via a scheduled c-section. I was showing the signs of preeclampsia and Deacon was measuring at over 9 pounds so my doctor felt that was the safest route for both of us. The procedure went very smoothly and he ended up being 9 pounds, 12 ounces and was 21 ¼ inches long! (I can’t imagine how big he’d have been if we went to full term!) He did great on all of the initial tests, and measured perfectly on all subsequent tests (hearing, vision, jaundice, etc...the nurses and his pediatrician said they had never seen such a good score on the jaundice test haha).  At both his 2 week, and 1 month doctor visit his pediatrician just kept commenting on how healthy and strong he is, and said that he’s doing perfectly!

 He’s a GREAT eater and is steadily gaining weight. He’s already grown over an inch in his first 5 weeks! As I mentioned at the beginning...we’re still working on getting him to be a more “independent” sleeper...but he just loves being held, and his doctor said that he can’t be spoiled or held “too much” so we’re listening to her and are just enjoying all of the snuggles. Since day one he’s been really good at holding his head up and is very alert...already following a rattle with his eyes and definitely responding to mommy and daddy’s voices.

 I’ve included a few photos...he has a little bit of light brown hair that looks blonde-ish in some lights, and even reddish occasionally. His eyes are still that newborn gray/blue, so we still can’t tell what his eye color will officially be. He was born with tons of rolls, but he’s stretching out a bit now and doesn’t look quite as chubby. I’m probably biased, but I’m pretty sure he’s the cutest little boy I’ve ever seen. :)  He’ll be 6-weeks tomorrow and we’re anxiously anticipating his first real smile!

Deacon has brought a joy and light to our family that we didn’t even know was possible. We love him with all of our hearts and are so thankful to you for allowing us to experience the joy of this little boy.  Over the years we adopted a total of 10 embryos and went through 3 transfers. Each time we found out that an embryo hadn’t survived, our hearts broke. But we rested in knowing that God was preparing a child for us, somehow, some way. We couldn’t know then, but each time we grieved and wondered why things weren’t working out the way we wanted, God knew that our little boy was waiting for us. Even though we are still sad over those losses, we wouldn’t have Deacon here today without them. We thank God for His perfect plan and perfect timing in bringing Deacon to our family, and we thank you for making the hard and important decision to allow us this gift.

Thank you! We are forever grateful!

-Donny and Gabby