Meeting Amos

December 28th our Amanda text messaged me to say she was going to the hospital because she thought she might be in labor. I spent 90 minutes getting ready to fly out, just in case it really was labor. It turned out to be just a false alarm, but it really helped me prepare!

December 29th Britt got a rental car and left in the afternoon for Florida. The idea was that he would get to Florida on the 30th, go stay with our friends Chris and Tracy, and wait for Amanda to go into labor.

December 30th:
5:09am I received this message:

I immediately jumped out of bed and started getting packed, called my parents (to come watch the kids) and called Britt. No one answered my calls, so I continued to prepare to leave. I went to buy a ticket, and the website froze up, but eventually it worked (or so I thought). 
7:15am: I had put my phone down while running around preparing but when I finally checked my phone, I got this text: "He's here! Born at 6:57". I couldn't believe he was ALREADY BORN! So fast! I called Britt (who was back on the road driving to Florida) to tell him Amos had been born. :D

8am: I was finally able to contact my parents as well, and they arrived by 8am. I said goodbye to the kids, and jumped in the car with my dad.
8:30am: I arrived at the airport and tried to check in, but the kiosk wouldn't let me. I stood in line with my dad for a while, and it turned out that when the website froze, it changed my ticket! So the ticket I paid for was for TWO WEEKS from the day I needed to fly. Fortunately, they were able to change my ticket (for a price, ouch), and put me on an 11am flight instead of the original 9:30am flight.
3pm: I FINALLY landed in Florida! By this time, Britt was in the Tampa area and arrived at the airport shortly after I landed. He picked me (and all my stuff!) up and we made our way to the hospital in the next town over.
4:30pm: We finally got to the hospital. :D We went in and met Amanda and her sister, and spent some time chatting while waiting for them to bring Amos in. He was getting his first bath, and then had to spend time under the warmer before he could come back. 
5pm? They brought Amos in! :D Britt and I got to spend the next couple of hours holding him while we talked to Amanda and her sister. We took a lot of photos but didn't share them until paperwork was signed two days later. Here is one photo from right after we met him: 

He was so sweet and tiny! :D They gave me a bottle to feed him with and they told me I got him to drink more than he had all day, but he wasn't happy to be eating. :p Little guy just wanted to sleep.

As I sat next to Britt while he held Amos I said to him, "This feels like a dream. Doesn't it feel like a dream? This whole thing just doesn't feel real!" :) That night we went back to the hotel nearby and had to figure out how to sleep despite so much excitement. I could not WAIT to get up in the morning and head back to see him again. :)

The next couple of days we spent divided between the hotel, the hospital, and running errands/eating out. On new years eve, our last night without Amos, we went to see The Hobbit at the theater by our hotel. :) They told us they might release Amos that night but then the doctor decided against discharging him, so we saw the movie after all. I drove Britt crazy by text messaging photos of him to my family and generally text messaging through all the battle scenes ("Britt! I can watch it later, Amos is more exciting!!"). 

January 1, 10:00am: We got to the hospital and waited in the lobby for the lady from the attorneys office to arrive with witnesses so birth mom and us could sign paperwork. They got lost, so we waited another hourish.
1pm: All of the paperwork was finished and we were released to go with Amos! Leaving the hospital was so strange. We walked out with Amos' birth mom Amanda in a wheelchair, a nurse carrying Amos, and Amanda's sister as well. We stood outside while Britt and Amanda's sister pulled up the cars, and then said goodbye, hugged, and drove away.