As expected, the 48 hour wait until the birth mom could sign over her parental rights to us was tough. We woke up on day 2 and knew that we likely wouldn't get to spend the whole day with him but weren't prepared for the birth mom to tell us that she wanted this day with him since it was her last and we wouldn't get to see him. We were crushed but at the same time totally understood her wanting that time with her baby. So then were left with a whole day in St Louis and needing to find something to occupy our minds...
A good friend of ours had been in STL just a few weeks prior and had recommended a taco restaurant that was near to the hospital. We decided that we would head there for lunch as that would put us near the hospital in case the birth mom changed her mind and decided we could visit. We headed out for Mission Taco in the Central West End and along the way though we passed the Cathedral Basilica of St Louis. As we passed, we both agreed that would be our next stop. There were so many constant prayers going through our heads that day that it just made sense to spend some time there in prayer.
Lunch was amazing (thanks Vicki!) and it was a quick drive back to the Cathedral. Walking towards the front doors of the cathedral took us both back to our honeymoon in Italy. The size of this place was similar to the Duomos in Italy but without all of the amazing green and pink colors. We quickly stepped inside and I was immediately drawn to the cruicifix on the altar. It was perfectly lit so that the main focus was Jesus and I instantly started to cry. This was where I needed to be right now. We spent the next 2 hours in the cathedral, praying and spending time in front of each of the four tabernacles that they had. Sometime during that time we had a text conversation with the birth mother where she confirmed that still wanted us to care for her baby but that she was having a tough time. To say we needed to hear that is a understatement. I will never forget the time we spent in that Cathedral, praying for our baby and his birth mom and getting some much needed peace during a very tough day. On our way out of the Cathedral we stopped a the gift shop and picked up a few books for baby and a new crucifix for our house.
What to do next in St Louis when you have time to spare? Yep...tour the Budweiser plant. I had been there before but remember it being a nice short tour and knew Trent would love it, so off we went. And who wouldn't love a free brewery tour with free beer at the end? Not us! After the tour we headed back to the hotel and ordered the St Louis staple of IMO's pizza and toasted raviolis (another first for Trent).
We were still texting a little back and forth with the birth mom during this time and offered to bring her dinner up to the hospital. She agreed and by the time we picked up the food and made it to the hospital it was almost 10pm. We were just going to drop the food at the nurses station and leave, but she invited us to come into her room and see her and the baby. It was a short visit but it was amazing. She is the sweetest, most amazing person I have ever met and it was so good to see her again (we met her over Memorial Day weekend). We both got to hold the baby again briefly, and before we said goodbye, the birth mom invited us to come up early the next morning before the signing was scheduled to spend some time with them both.
It was another long, sleepless night and a tough morning until we got the text from the birth mom that she was up and we could come see her. I won't go into the details on the signing, but at about 12:30 on August 3rd, we walked out of the hospital with our baby boy, Isaiah Michael.
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