On Thursday 12 March 2003, Steve (Babes) and I met our daughter for the very first time and fell instantly in love with her. She was four days old and was lying asleep in a white wicker bassinet. We were left alone with her and after feeding her we undressed her and counted her fingers and toes.
We had known of her existence for a mere two days, we had been floating in a dream like state since the time I had answered the phone on Tuesday morning asking if Steve and I still wished to become parents as a baby girl had been born on Saturday 8 March 2003 and her Birth Mother had chosen us to be her parents.
The voice on the other end of the phone informed me that she was a healthy baby girl, her Birth Mother had named her Stella, her Birth Mother would like to meet us and then we would be taken to visit the baby on Thursday.
I can’t tell you what that phone call was like; we had waited 2 ½ years for it and had all but given up. It still overwhelms me when I think of it as from that moment on our lives changed irrevocably all thanks to one incredibly strong, brave young woman who made our dream come true.
We brought our baby girl home when she was 10 days old. She was utterly and completely our baby, we had already forged an incredible bond, not only with her, but also with her Birth Mother.
Bringing her home was bittersweet, I had witnessed the grief her Birth Mother experienced saying goodbye to her and my heart broke for her. I vowed to myself that I would do all that I could to keep her a big part of Stella’s life for both their sakes.
We could have changed the names our baby’s Birth Mother gave her but we decided that those names were a life long gift to her from her Birth Mother; after all she would have our surname. Also Stella so happens to be my mother and my grandmother’s middle name.
Other eerie coincidences we found are; Stella was born on my Stepfathers birthday, her Birth Mothers surname is the same as my mothers maiden name although spelt differently, Stella’s Birth Mother lived in a street with an usual name, my grandfather had lived in that street name in another city and so on.
Our daughter knows that she grew in her birth Mummy’s tummy and she grew in her Mummy and Daddy’s hearts.
She is a much loved and cherished little girl, as all children should be, by our families and also her birth family. She has more grandparents than most children! She is secure and well balanced, knows exactly who she is and how she came about.
We all have a wonderful warm and caring relationship with my daughter’s Birth Mother. She visits often, joins us for Christmas Day and Birthdays when she can. She is the first person we share all Stella’s exciting milestones, achievements and funny things with, as we know she is as proud and excited as we are.
The beautiful daughter the three of us share turned 5 this Saturday just gone. How did those first five years go so quickly? She is a sweet, caring, clever, funny little girl who is so dearly loved and cherished. I count my blessings every single day for the privilege of being her Mummy.
Happy 5th Birthday to our beautiful Princess and Happy 5th Birthing Day to her beautiful Birth Mother.
