The long awaited arrival of Xander James Larson has finally come!!! I am so proud to present our sweet little son and the newest member of the Larson Family.
He was born at 3:01pm on Feb 2, 2012. He was 7 pounds 4 ounces and 19 1/4 inches long. Just the most perfectly sweet little bundle of joy! Enjoy the slide show and continue below if you would like to read the story of his birth from our perspective.
Our adoption story began long before this beautiful day, and most of it is recorded in previous posts. But as a quick refresher, Our beautiful birth mother with the help of our birth father picked us to receive the most precious gift very early on in the pregnancy. Throughout the months we became very close. Each conversation strengthened our hope that we might one day be blessed to be parents. About half way through the pregnancy, Carolyn decided to come to Arizona to have the baby. We were so thrilled that Xander would be born in Arizona and that we might welcome him into the world surrounded by our family, friends and support group. About 1 week before his expected arrival, the plan changed. This change came as a result of legal aspects that were not resolved appropriately, and in order to ensure a legally sound placement, it was decided that it was better for us to go to Florida. So plans and arrangements were made for us to travel to Florida. About 2 days before our planned arrival, Carolyn notified us that she was going to be induced a day earlier than we originally expected. So again, we changed our plans and quickly prepared to go to Florida.
We arrived in Florida at about 12:30am on Feb 2. After a few quick hours of sleep (kind of), we headed off to the hospital to meet Carolyn and Chris again and to await the arrival of our son. For a few hours we enjoyed each others company as we waited. Carolyn was amazing. She felt some pressure and contractions but never complained. Once the epidural kicked in, she really didn't feel much of anything. Finally the doctor came in to check her and said it was time!!!! We kind of had that freak out moment for a sec like you see on tv with first time dads... it was like oh its time, now what do we do. lol. The doctor brought in all the equipment and soon the room was full of nurses and assistants and machinery to check the baby. I was blessed to be allowed to be in the room during the delivery. After just about 3 quick pushes (but strong and amazing ;) ) pushes, Xander entered the world. He was quickly placed on Carolyn's lap to be cleaned off. Carolyn was so sweet and had wanted me to be the first to hold him, so she tried to get them to place him with me, but everything happened so fast. Chris (the birth dad) was given the chance to cut the umbilical cord and then he was moved to the warmer to be cleaned up, measured, weighed and checked. After what seemed like eternity, (probably only to me), Xander was wrapped up and handed to me. He was so sweet and so precious and it was all I could do to not just bawl like a baby.
He was and is simply perfect. He was 100% healthy! We spent the next approximately 40 hours or so together. 5 people in one delivery room sharing the love that we had for this sweet little boy. I am so grateful that Carolyn allowed us the chance to stay at the hospital and not to leave our son. She was so caring and considerate of our feelings and wanted to ensure that we had the chance to bond with him. Eldon and I traded off shifts of holding him all night and all day. It was beautiful! Chris and Carolyn were able to hold him as well. We also had visitors from his birth family including Carolyn's brother and niece, sister and niece and Chris's mother. Everyone was so very supportive of the adoption, and especially of this sweet little boy. He truly came from an amazing group of people who wanted him to have a wonderful life and to know of their love for him.
Once he and Carolyn were ready for discharge, papers were signed to give us custody of this sweet little boy and allow us to begin the journey toward legal adoption. We asked Carolyn to pick out his going home outfit. We dressed him and then took him with us to the hotel and begin life as a new little family.We truly couldn't have asked for a better experience with Chris and with Carolyn. They were so loving, so caring and so thoughtful. It was just an amazing opportunity to get to bond with our son, but also to bond with his birth parents and truly bring them and him into our family. It was beyond beautiful and we are forever grateful for such a wonderful experience and such an sweet blessing for our family. Our hearts are so full of love for his birth family and for the most precious gift we could receive.
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