Oh the question who is JJ? JJ is our Josie Joy. She is the light of our life and the greatest gift to our family. When doing an open adoption, you never know what that entails. But for us it meant that we got to be in love with this tiny person before she was even born. There is the quote, “You grew in my heart, not in my tummy” and it is so very true. So much struggle with infertility and so much hurt, brought us to this person who we would get to be parents to. JJ’s birth mom allowed us into her lives, into her pregnancy. I got to know her, got to see how much love she had and how much she cared about this baby that was going to come into the world. I would take her to her doctor appts. to make sure everything was ok, I would take her to lunch, we created a relationship and for her I think this was important to know who she would be placing her baby with. Getting to see ultrasounds and learning if JJ was girl or a boy were some of the most special days. We were honored to be at the hospital when JJ was born and for me to be in the room was one of the most amazing things I could have ever gone through.
JJ came out perfectly pink and screaming her head off. Right then and there, I knew she was going to change the world, I knew there was something so very special about her. We took her home and life was like a whirlwind. She did all the things babies do; cry, poop, eat… She woke every 2 hours for many many months and loved to be held. We had a bassinet for her next to our bed but she enjoyed our bed so much more. So, for the first 6 months, we had this rolie polie baby in our bed, while mommy slept very little. At 6 months, after not sleeping more than a couple hours at a time, in her crib she went. That was the first time she had ever slept in her crib and the first time she slept 8 hours straight! The girl needed her space and so did mommy! JJ cried a lot as a baby, had reflux, and was often hard to soothe. She was strong willed at the start of her life and to this day is a firecracker in itself.
JJ loves, she’s hilarious, she’s emotional, and so incredibly smart. We as parents often tend to be biased on our own children, and at times I am, but her intelligence is beyond most that I have ever met in a 5 year old. She is witty and “gets” way more than she probably should. I don’t mean she can read chapter books, do division math problems, or has incredible book smarts, but her intellectual abilities are those of a 9 or 10 year old and sometimes I feel like I’m talking with a 12 year old. The things that come out of her mouth are often surprising, because you aren’t sure if she knows what shes talking about but then you realize she does. JJ has a heart of gold but is a very tough girl. She will put up a fight until she wins most of the time. She will watch a movie (Marley and Me) with me and she and I will be bawling together, like another adult.
Our JJ is loved by so many people in this world, and anyone that every meets her is so very lucky.
I could have never imagined such a perfect child for our family. She’s everything we could have imagined and more. SHE WILL MOVE MOUNTAINS AND SHE ALREADY HAS CHANGED THE WORLD!
That’s all for now!
We knew that whoever was adopted into our family would have plenty of others to relate to including their own daddy. (Picture right- adopted brother, middle left- ME, middle right- adopted sister, right- our JJ)
Maybe not all of her personality came from her genetic side but I lift her birth mom up high. The tough and witty side of JJ that I see, I saw in her birth mom and for that I am grateful. Although we are JJ’s parents, she will always have a piece of her birth mom, and that is love.
Jessica Joys Fertility or not... 