Exciting Things Are Happening!!!

We submitted our completed paperwork at the end of October and we've spent the past three weeks anxiously waiting to hear from our case worker about our first meeting. We finally received an email from her today. Our first of four meetings will take place at the agency's office this Wednesday! Yes, two days from now! We have no idea what to expect from this first meeting, but we do know that the next two meetings are individual interviews that Jeff and I will schedule individually. The fourth and final meeting will take place in our home. We also learned that she's been in contact with a few of our references and they have been completing questionnaires on our behalf. We're so excited that things are starting to move forward!

We've also made a few big purchases for our nursery. We bought a crib and gender neutral crib bedding (well, I actually purchased that a few months ago because the design I had my eye on was being discontinued). People often ask how all of that works for adoption--do you buy baby things and work on a nursery ahead of time, or wait until the baby comes? It's just personal preference, really. It's emotionally too hard for some people to walk past an empty nursery every day. Seeing baby things in their home with no baby makes them sad. I can totally understand that, but for me, it's comforting to prepare ahead of time. I'm definitely a planner and I've waited a really long time to research strollers, choose a crib and find the perfect nursery rocker. I don't want to rush through that if we get matched at the last minute.

That said, it does feel a little strange to shop for baby things for without being pregnant. Surfing the internet and checking out baby stores online in the privacy of my home is one thing, but actually walking into a store feels a little weird. We went to Babies R' Us on Saturday to buy a crib mattress and browse the stroller aisle and I couldn't help but feel self conscious walking into the store. I wondered if everyone was going to look at us and wonder why we were there. It did make me a little sad to have all this inward excitement about growing our family, without any physical evidence of it. By the time we left I felt more comfortable and I know it's something that I'll become even more comfortable with as time goes on. I've decided I'm not going to let it keep me from making the most of our wait for a baby. I'll be back at Babies R' Us soon. We'll go register there after our home study is complete and we've been approved. Hell, maybe then I'll even park in the "reserved for expectant mothers" space!