Our decision to visit...

After we found out that we had a daughter, we were on cloud 9! Max took the pictures to school, we took the pictures to work, we shared the news with friends and family. As a joke, I told Moses that if he needed an inexpensive idea for a Christmas gift for me, he could buy me a plane ticket to Guatemala. He took me seriously... he called and talked with Kristi, our coordinator at FTIA, about visiting.

Almost everyone who chooses to make a visit trip (it's a choice, not a requirement), decides to wait until the DNA test has been completed and results are in. The reason for this is that, if a birth mother is going to change her mind about the adoption, it is most likely that she will do so before DNA testing. Additionally, there is always a slight chance that someone other than the birth mother was working with the attorney to place the baby for adoption, in which case the DNA would not match and the baby would not be available for adoption (unless the real birth mother could be found). DNA testing, on average, is completed three months after the referral information is received. Moses knew how badly I wanted to see Lili as a tiny baby, and he also felt a strong urge to not miss this early stage in her life. He did lots of research about flight options and hotels and was preparing to book a trip as a surprise gift for me for Christmas. He decided instead to tell me before booking the trip... considering my controlling nature and my anxiety issues, as well as work and home committments, he figured it was a good idea to talk to me about the trip before actually booking it. So, he came home from work one night and told me that we were going to Guatemala. He explained all that he'd done to prepare for a trip, and said that he figured it was worth the price (and the potential risk) to be able to see Lili as a tiny baby! Wow! What a husband!

We decided to visit for 5 nights, 6 days. We planned the visit for January 14 - 19 for the three of us. For the flight, we discovered that there is one airline that flies nonstop into Guatemala City out of Chicago. This is really preferable for us when travelling with Max. The only catch... the flights are red-eye flights. We decided it was worth it to avoid a connection, so we booked the red-eye. The flight to Guatemala leaves Chicago at 2:30 am and arrives at 6:30 am. The return to Chicago leaves at 8:30 pm and arrives at 12:30 am. Although this does make for some disrupted sleep and a little bit of exhaustion, we were not only able to avoid a connection, but we were also able to spend lots of extra time with Lili! This is definitely the way to go!

Our decision to visit so early in Lili's life was the best decision EVER.... I can't even begin to explain how amazing it was to get to meet our beautiful daughter and to experience her personality and habits at such an early time in her life. We will forever remember the experience, and I promise to share the details of our visit when I post next!