When you look at this picture of this beautiful baby, you would never guess the rough start she had before she was born. You see, Nadia was born addicted to heroin and cocaine. Her mother has a serious drug habit and she used the last four months of her pregnancy. When Nadia was born, she weighed about 6 pds and was a very fussy baby. She had to have drugs that would counteract the bad drugs that she had in her system. Her mother would come to the hospital every day to see her, but would not acknowledge the reason why the baby screamed all the time. She would not admit that she was a drug baby because of her. The social services would not let her mother take her out of the hospital. The hospital called family members to come to the hospital just to hold the baby and comfort her.
We were told that if no family would take her, that she would be placed in foster care. I was not going to let that happen. I told Marvin that if Nadia's grandmother doesn't take her, I am going to. The relationship between Nadia's mother and Grandmother was very strained because of her drug use so she said she would not take her because she was getting to old to take care of a newborn, plus a newborn with problems. When we all went to see Nadia, that all changed.
I went in to see Nadia first. When I laid my eyes on her, I immediately fell in love with her. She was beautiful! She was so little and was just adorable. Her mother was with her, so I talked to her and told her how beautiful she was. She then passed her to me and I held her close. As I was holding her, you could feel her twitching from the addiction. It was then that I began to cry. I looked at her and I cried because I couldn't believe that mother's would do that to their babies. She was so innocent. The reality is that when people are addicted to drugs, the drugs become more important.
Nadia's grandmother went to see Nadia next. I waited in the waiting room for a bit while she visited the baby. After the visit, we went home. Two days later, I got the call that Nadia's grandmother was going to take her! I was so happy that she was not going to go to foster care but to a good home, where she would be loved and cared for.
So when Nadia was a month old she went home from the hospital. The first few months were very difficult. It took several weeks to get the bad drugs completely out of her system. I would watch Nadia twice a week while her grandmother went out to get a break. It was a hard time for all of us. We made it through the toughest times and now that beautiful baby is 8 months old! I love her so much like she was my own. When she comes over, we are all very excited! My girls just love her to death!! When I watch her, I hardly even get to hold her because the girls take over. They feed her, play with her, take her in the stroller, and just have a ball with her. It's fun to watch what little mothers they all are.
In December, Nadia's grandmother will go to court to hopefully become her legal guardian and be able to adopt Nadia. Her mother is still battling drug addiction and is not allowed to see her. At this point, Nadia really doesn't know her or her father. It's really sad to me that this baby will grow up without that bond that she should have with her mother. I pray for her every day, that the drugs will not be more important to her than her baby.
My life is blessed even more with Nadia in my life. I cannot imagine not having her in our lives. She is growing and thriving and learning how to crawl and pull herself up. We don't know what the future holds for Nadia. We don't know if any damage has been done that will affect her when she becomes school age. Right now, she looks perfectly healthy and we hope that she continues to thrive.
Please pray for Nadia, her grandparents as they raise her, and especially her mother. She's lost and alone and hurting. She needs Jesus in her life.
