Sunday, July 24, 2011

A Visit to See His First Mom

Jackson took the long road trip (with us of course) to see his first mom yesterday. He was such a good boy on the way there, sleeping most of the 3 hour drive so we didn't have to stop! We breezed through security, which was nice. But then we waited 40 minutes for T to come out because the guards didn't tell her we were there. Gotta love it. Anyway, Jackson showed almost no anxiety with her. We immediately gave her the stuff to feed him and he reacted just like everything was normal! He smiled at her and talked to her. He let her hold him and play with him. Which is a big deal because Jackson can rock some serious stranger anxiety...and he hasn't seen T since December! T really loved seeing him and thanked us over and over again for bringing him. She knows it's a rough trip - we usually drive about 7 hours total for a 2-3 hour visit with her. But we know it's worth it, for Jackson's sake.

The sweetest moments came when we were saying goodbye. T was holding him and he snuggled into her body. He kept giving her kisses on her cheeks and then hugging her. This is AMAZING because he very rarely does this, with ANYone. I fully believe that babies store sensory memories of their moms - I know that her smell, voice and the rhythm of her body were all familiar to our sweet boy. And I'm so happy he was able to show her how much he loves her, how important she is. Babies are amazing in their capacity for love, and in their ability to show it to us just when we need them to.

We continue to be blessed with an open relationship with Jackson's birthparents. It is always a dance of boundaries and requires grace and openness on both sides. But, to see Jackson snuggle with his first mom...well, there are no words. I'm just so happy.

10 comments:

  1. How onderful that it all went well!!! What a great memory!!!

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  2. What a sweet story! Just imaging Jackson with with his first Mom and him loving on her and kissing her makes me come close to crying. Thanks for sharing these sweet moments with us.

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  3. Oh my goodness :) I'm smiling in my heart, if thats even possible :)

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  4. Sounds like it was a wonderful visit. You are a strong person because I don't know that I could do that. Which might be why John and I haven't crossed the road into adoption yet. I do love hearing about your wonderful relationship and also to see your beautiful family.

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  5. Wonderful. I have no idea how to even say anything that would come close to explaining how amazing this post is. And how amazing I think you all are.

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  6. I think it is amazing!!! You open my eyes to how wonderful open adoption can be. I just do not know if I would have the strength for it - jealousy would be my main problem. What a great story.

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  7. So special! I totally believe the same thing about the sensory memories!

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  8. Thank you so much for bringing me to this post. I am one huge chill. I am going to link to it write now over at Mama C. You are all incredible. Gratitude Mama!

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