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Paper Pregnancy | Moms Miami Blogs Paper Pregnancy
I don’t have heartburn, leg cramps or an elastic waistband, but otherwise I feel about eight-months pregnant. My husband and I are adopting a daughter from Kazakhstan, and it’s amazing how similar this paper pregnancy is to the physical pregnancy I experienced with my son. There’s the same sense of waiting and waiting until the day you hold your child for the first time. There’s the same sense of uncertainty over when that day will arrive. Like labor, the news from our adoption agency could come at any moment – and we have no control over when. Instead of jumping each time I feel a twitch in my belly, I’m jumping whenever the phone rings.There’s also the same sense of anxiety over just how things will play out. When I was pregnant with my son, I practiced relaxation techniques in hopes of having a natural birth. I began my labor at a birthing center without medication. After ten hours of painful back labor, I transferred to a hospital for an epidural. Ultimately, my son arrived by C-section. The birth experience was nothing like I imagined, but we came home from the hospital with a healthy baby.
Like childbirth, our first meeting with our daughter probably won’t go as planned. So this time, I’m trying not to set any firm expectations – except one: that we’ll come home from Kazakhstan with a healthy new addition to our family
The comparison with pregnancy is such a beautiful way to think about adoption. You describe your feelings so poignantly, I can practically feel them through the monitor. Can't wait to hear more.
What a lovely description. You've just given all adoptive parents a perfect analogy to feel part of the "birthing" process. Looking forward to hearing all about the new member to your family.
Having experienced the "pregnancy" of adopting a child as well as a biological pregnancy, I am able to identify with your emotions. The wait until the judge tells you the baby is a labor in itself. EdaSuzanne
Congrats!! I can imagine how anxious you must feel. Adopting is so rewarding. For one thing the hapiness you will bring this child and No Long Pregnancy or painfull delivery!
We adopted a little girl from China, and you're right, you're not pregnant but you sure do feel like you're in labor. The adoption process is long and cumbersome. A friend with adopted children consoled me by saying there's a long line of hoops to jump through but there will be a last hoop and then you'll have your baby and she will be the one you were meant to have. She just happened to be born somewhere else, but she came from your heart.
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Congratulations! It's such an exciting time when a new child enters the family, no matter how he or she gets there. We're adopting internationally as well. We have a long wait ahead of us.
I hope you'll tell us a lot more about your daughter. It lifts my spirits and gives me hope to hear others' stories.