Forced to adopt my newborn niece
My sister-in-law (Jane) told us she was pregnant 2.5 months before the due date. We were surprised because Jane is mid-40s, diabetic, alcoholic, smoker, overweight, not in the best situation to be having a newborn, and she just met the dad-to-be (John) months before. She was very optimistic when telling us. We gave her the benefit of the doubt.
Jane went to the hospital the other week and ended up have the baby 4 weeks early. Come to find out, she had been drinking and smoking the entire time she was pregnant. This prompted an immediate investigation by CPS which revealed that the baby more than likely has fetal alcohol syndrome. John is also under fire for allowing my sister-in-law to drink and he has a long criminal/CPS history which has prevented him from having custody.
My wife and I are the only people who can or will take this baby now. Jane and John have essentially deemed their baby as not a priority. They claim they want to get sober and be parents. But given the conversations we have had with them and CPS, it looks like we will likely be the permanent parents of my niece.
My wife and I have multiple children already-some already grown, and some in elementary school. I did not want another baby. My wife did, but not like this. We were just getting comfortable with having big kids, we were growing in our careers, and starting to socialize a bit more. Regardless, we both agreed that there was no doubt we would adopt our niece.
My niece is so beautiful. She has been with us for a few days now and it is so bittersweet. This whole situation has made us feel all of the feelings at once. We love her. My kids are all so in love with her. I may not have wanted another baby but I’m glad it’s her.
2 WEEKS LATER: We met Jane and John for lunch today so they could see the baby. They treated us like we were the enemy cause we are abiding by CPS laws. Rude, entitled, and likely under the influence. They show no signs of turning around so we plan on pressing forward with full custody.