Our Day Monday...

I think I pretty much wrote about what we were going to do Monday: the big items were to move to Denver and to meet with the Adoption Agency's attorney.

Before we left Colorado Springs, however, we stopped by the hotel next door and met the other couple from Atlanta who's baby was born in the Springs 4 days after Mercer. They (Paige and Larry) are also working with the same consultant, same agency here in CO, and same social worker in CO. It's amazing that we were all there at the same time. They knew about their birth ahead of time & drove to CO with a car full of gear -- including a bassinet. Their room had a bar which was enclosed on three sides so they turned it into a changing table. They made friends with the kitchen staff in order to get their bottles sterilized. So - it was kind of funny to see how they were "making do" with their home away from home.

Their baby was 7 lbs 4 oz when born. He did look pretty big compared to Mercer. He's got those big chubby cheeks that are really cute -- oh yeah -- and maybe this is normal for babies (we thought Mercer had this unique trait) -- they said that their baby, Nicholas, "belches like a trucker." It's just so funny to see something so small make such a big noise!

The hotel we're staying in now is a Residence Inn. I groaned when making the decision to stay there b/c of all of the hassles I went through in designing the Res Inn in Atlanta! But - we decided to go for it b/c it is also an extended stay with kitchenette. This one doesn't have a separate room - but it does have swanky modern furniture -- which helps me with the transition to live here this week!

Unfortunately, Mercer had a rough night (I think this is the 3rd time out of the past 8 nights) where at some point in the middle of the night he would cry even if you held him. Even if you fed him. Checked the diaper - nope - the culprit wasn't there. In fact, I changed 2 wet diapers in the middle of the night. (I suppose Todd got the worse end of the deal on his shifts?)

Todd & I are still working shifts, but since "the nursery" (the blue blanket & co-sleeper on the floor) is in the same room, we were both affected by Mercer's cries throughout the night. I still feel sleepy - although I got more sleep (around 6 - 6 1/2 hours of broken sleep) b/c I went to bed at 7:30 and started my night early. I don't think there will be an opportunity to catch a nap this afternoon b/c we're going to explore downtown, so I'll try to go to bed early again.

When we went to the Attorney's office yesterday, we filled out more paperwork - but have a document that is a court-ordered "temporary custody" of Mercer. The Adoption Agency still has legal custody until our post-placement visits & reports are finished in Georgia. The attorney thought that the whole process would take 4 - 5 months 'til we were finished and could go to court to finalize the adoption. (betcha' didn't know it would take this long - did you?! We're learning as we go along too.)

We were the first couple that this agency has dealt with from the state of Georgia since the laws changed Jan 1st (lucky us) - and they were having trouble with the folks in GA wanting "all" of the med records from the hospital including labs from the bloodwork that was taken. The social worker here in CO was really upset b/c she called the hospital and they said that they should have that info within 30 days. 30 days?!!!! We called our social worker in GA and she talked to them / called back / said they only needed the discharge papers, footprints, etc. Hopefully we're back on track -- and the state of CO can get the documentation to Georgia today. And - I think things will be easier for Paige & Larry in this regard b/c we're working out these new kinks.

I think that's it. I didn't think I'd have a lot to blog about (b/c we spent a lot of time on the road). I hope to have some cool things to blog about tomorrow from our adventures of the day. (Notice I didn't blog overnight?) I decided that - instead of doing stuff like this at night - I should force myself to sleep and only do computer work during the day. Maybe I'm onto something here?!

Thanks for all of the emails, comments, and phone calls. We're really having a lot of fun with Mercer even though we're a little sleep deprived -- it's GREAT!