On December 2, 2010 the phone rang, it was DFS. Seeing any phone number that starts with 455 always makes my stomach turn just a little. Not sure why. My kids are my kids and no one can change that. I think it just brings back memories of waiting to hear the out come of meetings or hearing when the next possible life changing court date might be or that the person on the other end has a child that needs to be placed in a loving, safe home. That was the case on this day. The woman on the other line was looking for placement for a 13 day old baby girl that was born drug exposed and currently detoxing with methadone. Yowza. Were we ready for this? A baby girl from the hospital, how ideal. A drug exposed baby girl from the hospital, how scary. I asked her a few more questions then asked if I could call my husband and call her back. I briefly spoke with John, I think my excitement was a bit too much for him. We prayed and felt God was leading us to bring this sweet girl home. I called placement back and got all the details, called a sitter and drove to Summerlin Hospital to pick up a baby that would again change our lives. I walked into the NICU and was lead over to the tiniest little baby girl. Born at 5lbs 2oz and currently weighing 4lbs 13oz, she was so small. The nurses gave me the run down of her feeding and medicine schedule then I packed up all of her stuff, put her tiny little body in the car seat and walked out the door. What on earth had I just done? Was I really ready for this? The next few weeks are a blur of detoxing screams and loads of sleepless nights. I couldn't believe what a fighter this little girl was. Shaking fits, endless screaming, and random things like endless sneezing. Every time she was given her methadone, her eyes would dilate and she would instantly chill. It was crazy. She was slowly gaining weight and at the same time, her dose was going down every few weeks. It was almost 3 months before she was completely off. Isabella is now 8 1/2 months old and you'd never know of her early struggles looking at her now. She is eating, crawling, pulling up on everything, even climbing the stairs. She is just about sleeping through the night which I never thought was possible in those early days when she wasn't sleeping more than 10 minutes at a time. I'm amazed daily at how God restores. We have no idea what the future holds for Isabella and if she will be apart of our family for a little longer or forever, only Jesus knows. For now, we will love her and care for her and pray over her sweet little life.
