Cole and Heather knew they wanted to start a family, and the couple was ecstatic when Heather became pregnant in 2012. With no previous health issues, the couple was blindsided when Heather suffered heart failure during her pregnancy and was forced to undergo life-saving treatment. The treatment saved her life, but tragically, they lost their baby. Since her condition may prevent her from safely becoming pregnant again, she and her husband, Cole, decided to turn to adoption.
As Heather recovered, they began talking to family about their plans to adopt. Cole’s mother mentioned her cousin ran a successful agency called A Baby Step Adoption with an office in Reading, not far from their hometown of Pittsburgh. The couple signed on with A Baby Step officially in February 2013, expecting the process of being matched with a birth mother to take about a year, which is the norm among most adoption agencies. Heather and Cole couldn’t have been more wrong.
Within a month, the couple was matched with a birth mother who was almost four months pregnant and due in August 2013. Their dreams for a baby of their own were coming to fruition faster than they could have ever hoped.
Heather and Cole had the opportunity to experience the special moments of the pregnancy, receiving sonogram photos and getting regular updates on prenatal appointments from the birth mother. They got the call she was in labor in August 2013 and rushed to the hospital where their beautiful daughter was born.
Named Maida for Heather’s grandmother, they chose the birth mother’s last name to use as her middle name to make sure she always has a connection to the woman who birthed her. Maida will be three months old November 21, and Heather and Cole and all of their friends and family are so in love with their new little bundle of joy.
The couple, who co-own a natural pet supply store called Petagogy, live in Pittsburgh, Pa. with little Maida and their two dogs.
Their adoption finalization hearing, the official final step in the adoption, occured Dec. 11, 2013, at the Berks County Courthouse in Reading, Pa.
