Military Special Needs Network
Proudly Supporting all Military Families with a Special Needs Dependent
A Tale of Two Babies
It’s Wednesday and that means I’m over at Tidewater Parent today. Here’s an excerpt of today’s post:
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us…
Our baby girl, Gracie, is 8 months old today. She is the embodiment of perfection, Grace personified.
Our youngest son, AJ, came into our lives at 7 months, 3 weeks. He stole our heart from the very moment we held him. Our love for him was instant.
And that’s where the similarities between our youngest two children end.
Grace was born in a home that celebrated her conception from the moment we knew she existed. After our oldest turned 10, we decided to really try to have another child. After a fruitless year of fertility treatment, I threw in the towel. The emotional toll was too high, and I was unwilling to go further. My hopes for conceiving another child were dead.
After another year, we began the adoption process.
AJ was born in less than idea circumstances. He came into this world with meth addiction wracking his tiny body. Eleven days in NICU, detoxing from the chemicals that invaded his every cell. His birth mother never held him before he was remanded into foster care.
Grace was driven home to find three siblings anxiously awaiting her arrival. They had spent the past 9 months planning, learning and talking about what having a new baby would mean for our household. She had a mother and a father, and a visiting grandmother weeping with joy over her very presence. She had been prayed for, and, I truly believe she is my miracle.
AJ moved into a dirty, chaotic, drug-filled foster home. He was not viewed upon as anything other than a combined burden and state check.
To read more, head over to my post on Tidewater Parent.
One comment on “A Tale of Two Babies”
Comments, discussion and insight always welcome!
Military Special Needs Network 
What wonderful things you do for people! There should be more people in the world like you!