Jayden, which means “God has Heard”, was born June 6, 2005 in Guatemala City. He was 5 lbs, 6 oz and 18 and ½ inches long. I even got his APGAR scores which is really rare in international adoptions.
July 18, 2005, I received “THE CALL”. The referral call is when you are given a referral for a child and about 24 hours to accept or not. It was overwhelming and somewhat surreal because at the point the call takes place, you haven’t received pictures or any information (that comes right after). I got the pictures and knew without a doubt that he was my boy.
The waiting…and the waiting….
In Guatemalan adoptions, you have the option of visiting your child. It is suggested you wait until after DNA testing. Will explain why in another posting. So in October of 2005, my mom and I flew to Guatemala City. My friend Berna, who I met in an adoption seminar found an amazing deal at the last minute and met us down there for the weekend. So we were all hanging out in the Marriot with our boys.
Of course it is an unexplainable experience meeting your son for the first time. Jayden was four months old at the time. Matthew, Berna’s son, is just 8 days younger than Jayden. He is quite an amazing boy too and I am the proudest godmother around.
It goes without mention that leaving Jayden behind was sheer torture. I had no idea what the timing would be when we left. It could be a month or it could be months.
The waiting…much harder… the waiting…much harder…
I got a call end of day on Wednesday, December 7, 2005. We got PINK SLIP!!! This is basically a pink (and yes it was pink) piece of paper with your embassy appointment. The appointment was for December 13 at 7:15 am.
Dad and I went back and forth on tickets. His airline won out because he could get mileage seats. Mom and Dad drove to Durham on Saturday. Dad and I boarded a plane Sunday morning at 6am.
Sunday while in line to get check in at the hotel. Jayden’s foster family came with him. He had grown a ton! We spent a couple hours with them and our lawyer’s family (more to follow on my excellent lawyer and her team). The afternoon and evening was spent hanging out in the hotel. Mom fighting Grandpa about who got to hold him.
Two days later we went to the embassy. The day after that we picked up the visa, passport and immigration package. Thursday afternoon we were on a plane back to the States.
You don’t really relax until you get past the interview when you land in the States. Jayden slept through the interview and the officer was wonderful. Full pace run through Houston to get to the flight home. Jayden also was sick and had managed to soil the two extra outfits I had in our carry on. So his big arrival into Raleigh was in a sweater and a diaper…with record cold here.
Grandma had received the call to bring an extra round so we were all good.
Jayden was home forever December 15, 2005.
