S to the Power Of Six!!!

One More Day To Go!!!

We have one more day to go before we leave for Kunming and begin our amazing life long journey. We are so excited to see Sawyer for the first time . No matter what he does - babble, laugh, cry or scream - it will not matter. All Shelby and I want is to just HEAR his voice!! At this point in time, we would both welcome a full-blown tantrum, just so we can hold him and love him and show him we are there for him. I can not imagine going through this experience without Shelby, nor can she imagine the same. This is such a momentous experience that to go through it without the other is ...Unimaginable...the equivalent of missing your biological child's birth!

So to prepare for OUR impending "birth", we are nesting - finishing up small things around the house to make sure we are prepared for him. His room is totally stocked and ready for our Bao Bao to tear apart. We are also going to clean out our cars and put the car seats in for the first time (Shelby has been asking me to put her car seat in since APRIL!!!!) . It is going to be so weird to look in the back seat and see this small little seat there for Sawyer, but what a relief it will be to finally see the end of the tunnel.

Shelby (and I, although to a lesser extent) has been preparing for Sawyer's cleft needs also. She has already scheduled his appointments with the craniofacial team and had extensive conversations with all his doctors about his course of treatment, issues to address as he gets older etc. She can be an absolute PIA, but when it comes to getting answers and "taking care of business" she gets things done - fast and her way and never takes "no" for an answer....guess that's a typical attorney for ya....LOVE YA HONEY!!! Sawyer's craniofacial pediatrician will be the sister of one of the Ph.D.s Shelby works with at her biotech company. AND we have an incredible speech pathologist contact thanks to another one of her co-workers. There is no issue relating to Sawyer's known physical needs that we have not addressed - to be unprepared for dealing with his cleft issues would be unconscionable. At this point, I don't think there is any obviously foreseeable issue we do not have a plan for - it is amazing how if you just research things, you can be prepared for almost anything.

And its funny...the other day, I had an acquaintance tell me that parenthood changes you - no matter how many books you read or doctors you talk to, you can never prepare for it until you become one. And to a certain extent, he is right - you can not prepare yourself for every curve ball life throws your way. But....you can say that about any experience in your life! You can certainly level the playing field by being prepared for as many different types of "pitches" as possible. Parenting is all about common-sense, patience, caring, learning and understanding. If you have these characteristics, you are off to a good start. If you don't...well, what can anyone say?

We are so ready.....SAWYER HERE WE COME!!!!!!!!!!!!