Bringing Him Home

Thursday was much of the same, visiting with Zain and K, giving them all the time they needed together.  We discussed being discharged Friday morning and decided that K would call us into her room when she was ready to say goodbye.  While our excitement grew knowing that we would be bringing our little guy home, our hearts broke for K and her family.

Friday morning we woke up around 5 out of excitement, packed our things up, brought in the car seat and diaper bag, and waited for the phone call from K. The hours passed and we became nervous, wanting to give her time with him, but so ready to be heading home.  Several hours later she invited us to her room and as we walked in she was holding him in her arms. Derek and I just sat and watched as she kissed, hugged on him, and told him how much she loved him.  She handed him to me and I put him in the newborn cart so that we could say goodbye.  To say it was an emotional time would be an understatement.  I hated seeing her in pain as she had become someone I now loved.  As we left the room, we reminded each other that this was just the beginning of a beautiful and bigger family with a sweet little boy at the center.  

When we made it back to our hospital room with our new son, Derek and I collapsed and sobbed. It was the first time we had been alone with him and every emotion came crashing down.  It was so overwhelming knowing that we were praising God in our room and she was mourning her loss just across the hall. 

I put him in his “going home” outfit and put his white hospital onesie in a gift bag along with his id bracelet and some other gifts. I asked our discharge nurse to give it to her later in the day.

We were discharged several hours later and started the 4 hour drive home as new parents. We couldn’t wait to get home and introduce him to all of our sweet friends who had been praying for him!

The journey to building our family was finally over, but the adventure of Team Smith had just begun!