Infant CPR Class Complete!

With the help of some faithful friends, we completed our infant CPR class last week. The class also certified us for adult CPR (which is really different from infant CPR). If you're ever choking at a restaurant, and we happen to be there, consider yourself fortunate.

All in all it was a good time with friends, and an educational time to prevent any future injury to our first baby. For those unfamiliar with the home study process, this was another rung to climb in the ladder to our baby, but we consider it a blessing to have so many supportive friends along the way.

Stayed tuned in the next few days as we are going to update you guys on how far along we are in the adoption process!

Child Care Beginners Class

Last evening we were at Medina Hospital for a few hours to take part in a Child Care Beginners class. Mary, our instructor, informed a group of 30 future first time parents about the following things:

* Swaddling

* Feeding

* Burping

* Diaper Changing

* Bathing

* Car Seats

* Medicine Cabinet Items

* How the First 6 Months Will Look

We had a baby doll to "practice" on (see pictures). Whit swaddles like an All American Mom and Zach really liked changing diapers with no mess in them. The funniest part of the night was when our instructor was showing us the proper positions to feed a baby and the head popped off right in front of us! 

We learned new concepts about an infant, words like "vernix", "jaundice", and "fontanel". We learned that an infant will need to be fed 8-12 times a day, 1/2-1 ounce per feeding time. If you are using a car seat that is more than 5 years old, get a new one (the date is on the bottom). We learned you should use a pea size amount of shampoo during a sponge bath. We learned anything that can fit in the role of a toilet paper dispenser should NOT be put in the crib with the baby. In bottle feeding, there are two formulas to use and rotate (Similac and Enfamil). Needless to say, it sped up our excitement and anxiousness about being first-time parents.

                                                              

We highly recommend this class at Medina Hospital to any first time expecting moms and dads.

If a parent already, feel free to comment below to share some things you wished you knew before having your first child (we can all learn from each other). Love you guys,

     

Suffering Message

Below our posts are some fun stuff - a donate button to help us out financially, there's a poll you can take each month about us, and now there's a link to a sermon Zach preached in October (entitled, "Suffering Message").

For anyone who is struggling, for anyone who is going through some dark valleys, for anyone who feels like God is far away - let this message be God's gift for you on how to biblically and practically deal with the pain (this is also the sermon Zach informed our awesome church about our decision with God to adopt). Feel free to comment on how God uses His words to comfort you and also pass this message along to anyone who desperately needs to hear it.

Letter to the Birth Parents

(Below is a letter to the birth parents that we have been praying already for. It is a generic letter that God will expose to the exact birth parents who choose to give their baby up for adoption, and choose to generously give their baby to us. If you could also make the commitment to pray for the birthparents that will choose us, we are grateful for that.This letter also will fill you in on how we got to this point. Enjoy!).

 Dear Future Friends and Expectant Parents,

We are so elated and overwhelmed beyond words to be writing this letter to you. We have been praying for you for months. Our parents on both sides have been praying for you. And our close friends have been praying for you. We are extremely honored that you are taking the time to get to know us a little bit and to possibly generate the greatest act of love possible, the gift of life for us. Certainly you are an incredibly special person to consider adoption for your baby, and to consider us as the adoptive family.

Our names are Zach and Whitney, and we’ve been married over four years now. We met in New York City while Whitney was visiting, and a year later we were married. Zach is a preacher and Whitney is an interior designer as we’ve lived in Northeast Ohio for over three years. Working together in the church, at home, and through many trips and events has always been second nature, as we like to call ourselves “Team Stewart”.

Team Stewart is ready to add a third member to the family. When a baby enters our life, Zach will continue to work in the church, but it’s a very flexible atmosphere, where he’ll never miss out on things due to work. Whitney currently works part-time, and plans on continuing to work part time and staying home to provide constant love when a baby arrives. Staying at home and raising our children has always been important to us as we both were raised at home by our mom’s and by dad’s who made the time for us every day.

In early January 2010, we both had the tremendous desire to begin a family. After months of grieving that involved anticipation, letdown, and news of close friends getting pregnant, we were informed by our doctor that Zach was infertile, unable to provide the third member of Team Stewart on our own. Having always wanted to adopt because of the love in our hearts for those in need, we ventured down the road of domestic-infant adoption with God and are eagerly awaiting what He has in store for us.

We just want to give a baby love and a great life, and this is why adoption has been a natural choice for us to grow our family! We have no kids of our own, so how exciting it will be to bring your baby into our lives (the baby will also be the first grandchild on both sides)! We know God will bless us with a healthy, extremely happy little angel. We hope to impart the level of kindness and generosity you have into our child. As a future family, we’ve dreamed of running outside together, playing dinosaurs or dolls, reading books, and if any child will be ensured of having tons of friends, its our family, as we have so many close friends who have began their own families around us.

Having friends and their little ones in the house constantly, our two black labs (Brooklyn and Queens) are so great with little children. We moved into our first new home in December of 2009 that we built with the purpose of starting a family. Northeast Ohio, where we live, is such a beautiful area, with an award winning school district. We are also apart of a large church home that will play a key role in the nurturing and maturing of our baby. And now that the cold months are coming, we look forward to being at home, enjoying one another as a family, watching a movie with homemade soup and hot cocoa. How amazing it will be to enjoy each season with a new addition to our family!

Whatever the occasion may be, we do it with love and sincerity. We thank God for giving us one another, a couple who takes pride in having fun, sacrificing for the other, and providing an environment that includes encouraging feedback and giving. We promise to give our new baby a strong foundation of safety, trust, security, love, and laughter no matter what the world throws at us.

We feel so blessed to have the opportunity to begin our family through adoption. We welcome you with open arms and will support a genuine, loving relationship with you throughout the years. We know this profile is just a glimpse into our lives, so we look forward to the possibility of meeting you and to get to know each other more. We wish you all the best and pray for peace in your heart,

With much love already,

Zach and Whit