The Mama that made me a Mama

It is not lost on me that there is a woman, somewhere in the United States, that thinks about Camden daily. She has no idea his name is Camden or that he is living in NC. She probably often wonders what he looks like, did he find a good home, is he loved, is he healthy, etc.

This woman, wherever she is, is my HERO.

This woman is Camden's birth mama.

We never got to meet her. Our adoption is a closed one so I'm not sure that we ever will. I like to think that maybe one day I can meet her because there is so much I would love to tell her. For starters, I want her to know how much we love her. She chose to carry a healthy baby boy full term when we all know she could have easily chosen another path. I don't know what her circumstances were that made her feel adoption was the best option for her son but all I know is I literally owe everything to her. Her sacrifice made me a mama.

There is not a day that goes by that I don't think of her and what she is doing. It was my prayer from the very beginning that God would give her peace that her son found a loving home. We will always honor her in our home and when Camden is old enough to understand, we will talk about her and tell him what we do know about her. Craw and I knew from the very beginning we wanted to be as transparent as possible with Camden when he gets older and it excites me to one day tell him about his birth mama.

I'm very passionate about honoring all birth moms. I know that not all babies are born in to ideal circumstances and some babies are exposed to harsh drugs. It's so important that these mamas not be judged but be loved instead. Adoption is the gateway to showing the love of Jesus to women (and men) that may be living in some tough circumstances that haven't always made the best choices. 

After all, isn't that what Jesus wants us to do?

Camden's Baby Dedication

 

Camden was dedicated to the Lord on April 15, 2018. Craw and I stood before our family, friends, and church family and promised to raise him in a loving, Christ-centered home and to do our best to set the foundation of his faith. Our number one goal is for him to see two parents that love the Lord and do their best to serve Him daily. Our hope is that one day, Camden will make the choice to follow Christ and accept Him as his Savior. It doesn't matter how good Camden is at sports or academics (although they are great) as long as He loves the Lord and pursues God's plans for his life, we will always be proud of him. That is why it is so important to us that we set the foundation at an early age.

It was the very best day and Camden looked so cute in his dedication outfit. He decided that he wanted the whole church to hear him scream during the prayer and talking but I decided to just embrace it. After all, he is a baby! We celebrated with a delicious Parker's lunch after the dedication and it was so nice to have all of my family together.



 He was all smiles to begin with...

This picture makes me LAUGH! This is when he decided that he was over it...my eyes show exactly what I was thinking.

Camden Ivey | Three Months

Our sweet guy turned 3 months old yesterday. I've always heard the phrase "time flies" but never truly understood it until we got Camden. He has grown so much over the last month and every day is so exciting with him.


Weight

We are thinking at least 15 pounds. We didn't go to the doctor this month but the last time we went, he was 13 pound 8 ounces so I'm pretty sure he has hit 15 by now.

Eat

He is eating 6 ounces every 3-4 hours during the day. Around week 11, he decided he didn't want to finish his bottles and I think it was due to a developmental leap. However, he seems to be back on track now. He is getting 6 bottles a day right now.

Sleep

Camden has always been a really great sleeper. He goes down around 9 pm each night and is generally making it until 5-5:30 before he is ready for a bottle. We did have one morning where I had to wake him up at 6:45 but that has only happened once. While it would be nice to drop that 5-5:30 feeding, it's kind of nice because he always goes back to sleep and on weekends, he will easily sleep until 8-8:30. He will occasionally wake up in the middle of the night and cry out but he usually goes back to sleep once we give him his paci or pat his back and let him know we are there. He is still swaddled for now but I know we will need to stop soon. I'm dreading it because we tried two nights ago to get him to sleep the whole night in a sleep sack and he woke up every 30 minutes since his arms weren't swaddled. I don't think he's quite ready so hopefully in another week or two, he will be better when we transition him.

Milestones

This month was so fun with Camden. He is really starting to get his personality and his smiles melt my heart. This month he spent the night away with his Mimi and Pappy for the first time and he did great. He also celebrated his daddy and Mimi's birthdays. He has really developed some leg strength and loves to stand up while you hold him. He is talking up a storm and his pitch is getting higher. He experienced his first Easter and was dedicated this month...a post on that coming soon. He also made the Louisburg paper as the Franklin Face.

Likes

He loves being outside and going for walks in the stroller. We transitioned him to the actual stroller seat instead of the infant carrier and he LOVES it. He also loves to smile and talk. He hasn't laughed yet but I can tell it's coming. He is also obsessed with ceiling fans and lights but I think that is every baby in general. He is starting to notice his toys and will grab them and try to put them in his mouth.

Dislikes

Oh my word, he hates being hot and he hates being held too much. He doesn't mind to be held for a few minutes but he will start to squirm and then scream if he is held for too long. The minute we put him down, he is instantly happy. I think he gets hot when people hold him and that boy is the most hot natured baby I have ever met.

Clothes

He is in 3 month clothes. I can tell his sleepers are starting to get a little small so we will be moving up to 3-6 month any day now.

Camden Ivey, you are so very special to us. I didn't know life could be this special and it's all because of you. When I'm having a rough day, your smile will instantly brighten it. Mommy had some bumps in the road this month but you sure did take them like a champ and never seemed to mind. You are a 'go with the flow' baby unless you're hot or hungry. We love you so incredibly much and I'm excited to see what the next month holds.

Adoption Story Part Six: Welcome Home Camden Ivey



In case you missed them:

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five

It's my final recap of our adoption journey to Florida. I'm so thankful that I can look back on these blog posts and relive the entire experience. Adoption has truly been our greatest blessing. While it hasn't been easy, it was WORTH IT! We are still waiting for our adoption to be finalized. There are two court hearings that have to happen in order for it to be finalized. I will share more about those as they happen but todays post is all about Camden's homecoming.

As I mentioned in the last post, we decided to stop halfway and spend the night. Travelling 10 hours with a newborn does not sound fun so we knew it would be best to break it up. Camden was a champ and did so good in the car. He only had one small episode where we had to take an exit and let him calm down. He pretty much slept the entire time.

We arrived back home around 4:00 pm on Friday, February 2nd. When we left for Florida, our house was a wreck and there was no nursery. It was a room filled with Christmas boxes. We arrived home to a clean house, a beautiful nursery, tons of gifts, family waiting for us, and our sweet precious Hank waiting to greet us at the door. We missed Hank so much so it was the absolute best to see his happy self running full force at us. We had a bow on our mailbox and a banner welcoming Camden home. It was the absolute perfect homecoming surprise.

I will let the pictures do the talking but I did want to take a minute and thank every single person that played a part in our adoption story. There is no way we could have done this alone. We literally had nothing when we left for Florida and 3 months later I am still getting gifts/clothes from random strangers. We have the best friends and family and are so thankful to live in such a supportive community. Camden Ivey is one blessed little boy and I will always make sure he knows that. Here are a few pictures from the day/weekend we came home.

Adoption Story Part Five: Last Week in Florida



In case you missed them:

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four


Our last week in Florida started off with a bang. My parents helped me move in to a new rental for a week and mom even kept Camden in her room so that I could get a full night of sleep. It was glorious and Craw was flying back the next day so I was one happy girl.


On Friday, Craw flew in to an airport that was about 90 minutes from where we were staying so my parents watched Camden while I set off to get him. It was nice because it allowed me to have some down time, grab Starbucks, and see Craw by myself for a few. It was so good to have him back after 5 days of him being back in NC. When I booked his return flight for Friday, I booked a round trip flight for him to return back to NC on Monday but he worked it out where he could stay for another week in Florida so I didn't have to stay by myself. It was nice knowing that he didn't have to leave but we were taking a gamble that we would get travel approval sometime the next week. That was the worst part of the whole trip...knowing we had no idea when we would get the call. We had the new rental booked until the following Friday so we started praying right away we would get approval by then.


Saturday we spent the day with my parents. We showed them the hospital where Camden was born and got to take some pictures. I'm omitting them from the blog for privacy reasons. We did a little shopping and just enjoyed the day together. Mom and dad watched Camden while Craw and I went out on a date that night. We never pass up a chance to go on a date.


Sunday was tough as we said goodbye to my parents. It was hard watching them leave not knowing when we would see them again but it was also nice because this was the very first time it was just us with our baby. It was our first real bonding experience and I will forever cherish those days of being just us in Florida.


We spent the rest of the week just waiting. Camden had a follow up doctors appointment on Wednesday and we found out that NC had our paperwork. The agency thought we would be getting the call that day but the call never came and we were BUMMED. When I say bummed, I mean I started freaking out. We had one day left before we had to move out of the current rental house and I knew Craw could not stay past the weekend for work reasons. That meant buying another flight and it was just a mess.


Thursday morning we woke up and I started praying...HARD. I really felt like the call was going to come but we watched hour after hour go by with no call. I sometimes struggle with anxiety and it was majorly kicking in that day. Finally at 1:30, I told Craw I needed to go take a shower. What I really did was got in the shower, cried my eyes out, prayed, and BEGGED God to let the call come. It was the most surreal experience I have ever had with God. I vividly remember a chill coming over me and hearing him say "I am good, and I am good at being God. Now let me do my thing and you be still. I've never let you down before and I'm not going to let you down today."


When I got out of the shower, I scrolled through Instagram and I saw where Natalie Grant had shared the following verse:


"The Lord will fight for you; You need only to be still."
Exodus 14:14


In that moment, I knew the call was coming. I grabbed my phone and immediately selected "King of My Heart" by Kutless to play. That was my favorite song and we played it in the hospital the day we met Camden. Just like I heard God telling me those words in the shower, the song got to the chorus and I heard "you are good. you're never gonna let me down."
And then my phone rang.
We had approval and could leave to head home that day!


I've never had anything like that happen to me before where I felt like I could physically hear God speaking directly to me. Little did I know that while I was in the shower, Craw was also listening to that song. It was a good day and within an hour, we had the car packed up and were headed home.


We drove halfway on Thursday and stayed in a hotel that night. We woke up the next day and finished the drive. I will do a separate post of homecoming pictures but for now, enjoy our pictures from our last week in Florida.