On June 20th, at 11:58AM, we had the extraordinary privilege to witness the arrival of our daughter Dahlia.  Neither Doug nor I were fully prepared for the speed with which we were to become fathers after our birth-mother was scheduled for an urgent induction, and now that Dahlia is here neither of us can imagine our lives without her.  She arrived in this world in the loving embrace of her soon-to-be fathers, birth mother and birth mother's grandmother (Dahlia's great-grandmother Nana), and together we welcomed her into our ever-growing family.

We were blessed to be in the room for the birth, and were invited by the birth mother to assist as her birth coaches.   Together, we supported Dahlia's birth mother, holding her hand and coaching her through the delivery. Doug and Will were even invited to cut and trim the umbilical cord, respectively.  Immediately following the birth, the hospital staff provided us with our own room in the hospital, in order to give both the birth-mother and us some private space to adjust to this tremendous moment.  Dahlia stayed in our room as we learned to care for an infant, and we were able to spend much of the 2 days post-birth together with the birth mother processing the experience.  

And now four days post-birth, after what seems a lifetime of waiting, Doug and Will have been granted legal guardianship over Dahlia.  We will continue to nest in a suite at a local hotel while we focus on bonding with our new baby and strengthening our already strong bonds with each other.  It will take roughly 7-14 business days to obtained the required legal paperwork required for us to leave Texas and bring little baby Dahlia home to Massachusetts... where we can continue to marvel in the miracle of this child in our lives.  

We both agree that while we have always felt a strong desire to parent a child, neither of us could have imagined the depth of emotional fulfillment that we would feel when holding her in our arms or against our breast.  We both feel truly blessed - and grateful for the love we share, now with a little baby Dahlia, her birth mother, and all of her extended family who have welcomed us into their fold.