{"id":42373,"date":"2021-08-27T13:15:05","date_gmt":"2021-08-27T07:45:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/districtchronicles.com\/i-adopted-a-baby-girl-but-was-heartbroken-when-i-was-forced-to-give-her-back\/"},"modified":"2021-08-27T13:15:15","modified_gmt":"2021-08-27T07:45:15","slug":"i-adopted-a-baby-girl-but-was-heartbroken-when-i-was-forced-to-give-her-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/districtchronicles.com\/i-adopted-a-baby-girl-but-was-heartbroken-when-i-was-forced-to-give-her-back\/","title":{"rendered":"I adopted a baby girl but was heartbroken when I was forced to give her back"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A MUM has told of her heartache after adopting a baby girl and taking her home – before being forced to give her back when her birth parents changed their minds.<\/p>\n

Sarah Howell, 31, was given less than a one per cent chance of conceiving naturally, so approached an adoption agency with husband Chris, 32.<\/p>\n

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Sarah Howell and her husband were given less than a one per cent chance of conceiving<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The couple were forced to return their baby girl to her birth parents within days<\/span>Credit: SWNS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

They were delighted to be matched with a newborn – just an hour after finding out she had miraculously fallen pregnant naturally.<\/p>\n

But just five days after picking the baby girl up from the hospital and taking her into their home, the little one’s birth parents changed their mind.<\/p>\n

Registered nurse Sarah was forced to hand her back – and said the heartache was so deep she feared it would induce a miscarriage.<\/p>\n

Months later they gave birth to son Noah Howell, and have since adopted Levi, one, and fostered another boy, who is two months old.<\/p>\n

Incredibly Sarah said she has no ill-feelings towards the parents who took back their daughter – and thanks them for making her a mum for a few short days.<\/p>\n

Mum-of-three Sarah, from Richmond, Virginia, said: “Saying goodbye to her hurt more than words can adequately describe.<\/p>\n

“It felt like an actual death to us because we knew we would likely never see her again.<\/p>\n

“She made us parents. She helped heal a part of our hearts that infertility broke.<\/p>\n

“She made me a mum even if it was only for a few days.”<\/p>\n

After only 11 months of marriage, Sarah was shocked to be told that the horrendous period pains she’d suffered her whole life were due to endometriosis.<\/p>\n

If she wanted to have children she should start trying “sooner rather than later”.<\/p>\n

Sarah said: “It was devastating and sent me into a situational depression. We knew we wanted a family.<\/p>\n

“My husband was more positive and was able to often view things from the bright side, but for me it was a major grief process.<\/p>\n

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The couple say the pain of giving up their daughter was worse than three years of infertility<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The couple fell pregnant in 2018<\/span>Credit: SWNS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“Marriage counselling during this time was crucial and I don’t think our marriage would have withstood that low place in our lives without help.”<\/p>\n

The young couple tried to get pregnant for three years, undergoing multiple surgeries and hundreds of injections, pills, and negative pregnancy tests.<\/p>\n

In April 2017, they travelled to a reproductive immunologist in Chicago for a whole day of tests, but were again told that the likelihood of them conceiving naturally was less than 1%, and that door was finally closed.<\/p>\n

Sarah said: “Hearing our chances of conceiving were so slim allowed us to move on and begin the grieving process of possibly never experiencing pregnancy.”<\/p>\n

She and construction project manager Chris decided then and there that they were ready to adopt a child.<\/p>\n

They had both always wanted to do it and spoken about regularly since they started dating.<\/p>\n

They completed their home assessment and were added to the up to three-year-long waiting list.<\/p>\n

But to their surprise, on January 31 2018, Sarah felt a bit “off” and took a pregnancy test.<\/p>\n

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What is endometriosis?<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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Endometriosis is a chronic condition\u00a0which occurs when tissue from the lining of the womb is found outside of the womb – in areas of the body including the ovaries, Fallopian tubes, the abdomen and the bladder.<\/p>\n

So what causes the condition that so many women suffers from?<\/p>\n

The exact cause of the condition isn’t known, but it’s thought it could be hereditary or due to environmental factors – namely the presence of dioxins in the environment.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, other experts believe it could be caused by a process called retrograde menstruation, which is when the womb lining flows backwards through the Fallopian tubes into the abdomen, instead of leaving the body as a period.<\/p>\n

Endometriosis can sometimes cause damage to the Fallopian tubes or ovaries, leading to fertility problems.<\/p>\n

Other complications can include painful ovarian cysts and adhesions – areas of tissue which can fuse organs together.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

She said: “When I opened my hall closet that morning the pregnancy tests were staring at my front and centre when they are normally tucked away and out of sight.<\/p>\n

“I had been going back and forth on whether to test before this so once I saw them I decided to go for it.”<\/p>\n

It was positive for the very first time.<\/p>\n

Sarah said: “I sobbed. I cried so hard I could barely breathe. It really was the shock of my life.<\/p>\n

“I remember I asked myself a million times that day ‘how is this possible?'”<\/p>\n

And just one hour later, a social worker from the adoption agency to say they had been matched, and could meet their baby girl in just three weeks time.<\/p>\n

Sarah and Chris picked up their adopted daughter while Sarah was eight weeks pregnant on March 7, 2018, and they fell in love instantly.<\/p>\n

“When I walked into the hospital room her birth mum was holding her and lovingly placed her into my arms, she said ‘meet your mum, baby girl’,” she said.<\/p>\n

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I always say the pain we felt that day was worse than our three years of infertility combined. We do not hold anything against her birth parents.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

“We loved each other well and really cared for one another.”<\/p>\n

But, after five days of family bliss, they received a devastating phone call.<\/p>\n

The birth parents of their new daughter had changed their minds and wanted her back, which they can legally do up to ten days from the birth.<\/p>\n

Sarah was distraught and was even worried that her deep pain would trigger a miscarriage.<\/p>\n

She said: “I was feeding her when the call came through.<\/p>\n

“I fell to the floor in despair. I kept saying over and over to my husband ‘you’re joking, this is a joke right?’<\/p>\n

“I always say the pain we felt that day was worse than our three years of infertility combined.<\/p>\n

“We do not hold anything against her birth parents.<\/p>\n

“If we could, we would tell them how much we love them, and how lucky baby girl is to have them as parents.”<\/p>\n

In October 17 that year, she went into labour and gave birth to Noah Howell, who weighed 9lbs 6oz.<\/p>\n

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The couple hope to foster more children in the future<\/span>Credit: SWNS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sarah said: “It was surreal and felt like an out of body experience.<\/p>\n

“When I pulled him to my chest I found myself talking to God thanking him for giving us this miracle and making it to the other side of infertility.”<\/p>\n

When Noah was one the family received another call from a social worker, saying that again they’d been matched to a baby boy.<\/p>\n

They went up to meet the one-day-old in the NICU at Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center, and named him Levi.<\/p>\n

But this happy union did not come without the fear that he could be taken away just as their daughter had been before.<\/p>\n

“I knew I wouldn’t be able to prevent this so it felt vulnerable and scary to love a child again knowing they might not stay,” said Sarah.<\/p>\n

The Howell family decided to become foster parents to help more children, and took in a baby boy on June 29 this year.<\/p>\n

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I fell to the floor in despair. I kept saying over and over to my husband ‘you’re joking, this is a joke right?’<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Sarah said: “As a mum of three boys under three I feel like I am forever cleaning up messes, playing referee, and changing diapers.<\/p>\n

“I will miss this one day so I remind myself to enjoy the now.<\/p>\n

“It is what we prayed for for so long after all.<\/p>\n

“Three under three is certainly an adventure and at times utter chaos.<\/p>\n

“But the giggles, laughter, and joy far outweigh anything else.”<\/p>\n

For more real life stories, this mum is dating her son\u2019s friend \u2013 he\u2019s 17 years younger & the same age as her boy.<\/p>\n

And this mum who told she was infertile got pregnant without IVF \u2013 then discovered she was having QUINTS.<\/p>\n

Plus this woman was called a \u2018disgusting fat pig\u2019 who was good for \u2018one f**k\u2019 when she turned a bloke down on Tinder \u2013 so got him fired.<\/p>\n

Step mum told stranger she could have my baby when she wasn’t up for adoption<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n