'Motherhood takes many shapes and forms'

Mother’s Day had come and gone, and Whitney Wonderlich's hopes of motherhood were dwindling.  

“My husband and I had started to try and have kids, and we weren’t able to,” she said. 

So, the couple turned to the foster system as a way to get have children in their lives. 

“For a full year, we only ever got three respite calls which is pretty unusual since Idaho was having a crisis, but we just weren’t having the placements,” Wonderlich said. 

After each fostered child, Whitney and Tom were asked how things were and whether they were still committed to fostering. The Wonderliches were hoping for younger children they might be able to adopt, but that wasn’t in the cards for them during the first year they were part of the program. 

Then one day, Whitney received a phone call. 

“They called us the same day she was brought to the hospital and said we have a baby who needs a home. ‘For how long?’ They said, ‘For forever.’” Whitney said. 

She ran to find her husband who was working nearby, and she asked if her was ready to bring home a child. 

Tom’s response was simply, “Of course.” 

Baby Annabelle stayed in the hospital for observation for 24 hours and was given a perfect bill of health. 

“We got her home and it was so wild. Normally, parents have up to nine months to prepare for that day, and we felt so dumb going in there saying, ‘I guess we’re bringing a baby home,’” Whitney said. “It was insane; it was perfect.” 

The Idaho Safe Haven Act was passed in 2001. It allows new parents to safely relinquish a baby to a hospital, fire station or police station if they are unable to care for the child. 

Annabelle was brought to the Lewistown Hospital within 30 days of being born, and Whitney said she is eternally grateful to her biological mother for making sure her daughter would find a home that could provide for her. 

“Sometimes, moms just have really hard situations. They just don’t have the resources, but it’s still so beautiful that she chose this for her baby,” Whitney said.  

Child welfare agencies try to secure a foster family with intent to adopt because almost every time with a safe haven scenario, the baby is adopted right away, Whitney said. Safe Haven biological parents don’t usually wind up resurfacing.  

The addition of Annabelle to the family was only part of their family’s story, however. 

“Miraculously, I did get pregnant with my son the following year,” Whitney said.   

After having gone through the rollercoaster of trying to create a family on their own, the Wonderliches now had two wonderful children to celebrate. 

Reflecting on her journey to motherhood, Whitney said things may not have come in a straight line, but the joys of being a parent have been uplifting. 

“Motherhood comes in many shapes and forms,” Whitney said.