The day of our second blind date finally arrived. We woke up very early, got ready, and dropped our daughter off at school before hitting the road. We had a four-hour drive ahead of us before reaching the restaurant for lunch. I remember the anxiety I felt, it truly was like a blind date.
My mind kept imagining different scenarios: what I was going to say, how I should act, even questioning whether I had chosen the right outfit. I wanted to appear natural, yet deep down I had this nervous thought that any word or gesture could influence the birth parents’ opinion of us.
We had arranged to meet the birth mother’s social worker in the parking lot. We didn’t know her either. We arrived a little early and stayed in the car, watching every vehicle that pulled in, trying to guess if it was them. As soon as she called, we got out to meet her. She told us that the birth parents were already inside waiting. That instantly made me even more nervous. My first thought was, “Oh no, they’ll think we’re late,” even though we had been sitting outside for a while.
I still have such a vivid memory of that first meeting. The hostess led us to the table where they were sitting side by side, facing the entrance. The social worker introduced us, and we greeted each other before sitting down. To break the ice, she made a lighthearted comment that made us all laugh. It was clear that the four of us were nervous.
When the waitress came to take our order, I could barely focus; I had a knot in my stomach. Across from me was this woman with her baby bump, carrying the child who might become my son. It is a feeling so hard to put into words, exciting yet full of caution. I kept reminding myself not to open my heart too much, afraid that things might not work out.
They had several questions for us and also shared how they had chosen us. What surprised us the most was discovering that the main reason was our daughter. In our family profile, there was a photo of her dressed as a Disney princess, taken in our kitchen, with my phone, no filters, no poses. Just an ordinary everyday moment that, without us realizing it, revealed the essence of our family.
They asked about our daughter’s school and why we had chosen it. That gave me the chance to talk about the Montessori method, its benefits, why we believed in it, and how it worked for us day by day. The conversation then flowed naturally into other topics, and we also asked them questions about the pregnancy.
Suddenly, they surprised us with a gift: an ultrasound image of the baby. It was such a deeply moving detail. And right then, she looked at me and asked if I would like to be with her in the delivery room. Such an unexpected and overwhelmingly emotional question. My heart was pounding, and without hesitation I said yes.
What had started as a distant, nerve-filled lunch slowly turned into a warm and meaningful encounter. Before leaving, we asked if we could take a picture together, so that one day we could show it to the baby and tell the story of our first meeting. We hugged and said goodbye with gratitude in our hearts.
Back on the road, we felt much calmer, filled with the excitement of having taken such an important step. We felt that things were going well.
The nerves were behind us, and now our focus was on speeding up the move to the new house, because the baby’s arrival felt closer and closer. Something inside me told me we had to hurry, maybe because of what had happened with the birth of our daughter, who arrived eight weeks earlier than expected.
Unas semanas después, le conté a mi hermana que tenía una sensación extraña, estaba muy estresada porque no lograbamos terminar los trabajos de reparación de la casa, yo sentía que el bebe iba a llegar en cualquier momento y no tenía nada listo, todo lo teníamos en cajas.
Her recommendation was that, to ease my mind, I should take out the baby’s things and pack them in a suitcase along with clothes for my husband and myself. That way, I would feel calmer.
So that’s what I did… A few days after packing the suitcase, we received the call: the birth mother’s water had broken.
