Forever family: Grayden makes the Fraga family complete

David and Heather Fraga are still in awe of the tremendous gift they received in December after a long year of uncertainty.

This life-changing gift arrived four days before Christmas — measuring 19 inches and weighing nearly 7 pounds. They gave him two strong family names: Grayden David.

The Fragas announced their desire to enter into an open adoption last year in a story in the West Orange Times & Observer, and the response was immediate. The power of social media played a role, too, as the story was shared dozens of times by their family, friends and a community wanting to help them get their wish to become parents.

The first night the story was posted, the Winter Garden couple received the Facebook message that would change their lives forever. It was from a 38-year-old pregnant woman who had seen the story online and had some questions for the Fragas: What were they like? What were their hopes for an open adoption? Will their adoption plan match the one she envisioned?

“We talked about what we thought an open adoption looked like,” Heather Fraga said. “We texted till 3 in the morning. The next morning at 8 a.m., she messaged us and said she had three very important questions that she needed answered.

“One of them was what kind of parents did we think we were going to be. Were we going to be strict or helicopter parents? At this point we had been through so many failed adoptions, and we told her the truth, and if it worked out then (the baby) was meant to be ours. We told her David was a police officer and … he wouldn’t get away with much.

“The next question was how did we feel about having a baby of mixed race?” she said.

The birth mother is white, and the birth father is from the Dominican Republic.

“David is part Cuban, and me being Caucasian, we felt we were well equipped,” Heather Fraga said. “The line that got her was, ‘We would have to learn how to navigate that together, but make no mistake, I’ll be a mama bear.’

“The last question was how we planned to raise him religiously,” she said. “We shared about our church, Lakeside Church, and what we believed in and we wanted to have him grow up knowing who God was.”

A few days later, the couple took the birth mother to Azteca for a birthday dinner. The Fragas gave her a bracelet, and said she had something for them.

It was all of her unborn son’s sonograms and a plaque with the words, “Love grows here.”

“And she asked us to be his parents,” Heather Fraga said. “We cried over nachos and guacamole.”

Thus, the journey began for the mother who wanted the best for her child and the couple who wanted a child to love.

The birth mother was 14 weeks pregnant, so the Fragas were able to attend many of the doctor appointments with her throughout her pregnancy.

After months of sonograms and doctor visits and a bout with gestational diabetes, the time was nearing for the birth. The due date was Dec. 19, but Baby Fraga kept everyone waiting two more days.

On Dec. 21, the birth mother, Heather and David Fraga, nurses and doctors all were together in the delivery room for Grayden David’s debut. He was a healthy baby boy.

“He was placed on her chest,” Heather Fraga said. “She kissed his forehead and said, ‘OK, hand him to his mommy and daddy.’”

The last seven weeks have been amazing, the Fragas said. Christmas was magical, and one of the first people to hold Grayden was Santa Claus.

The transition to parenthood has been challenging, but it’s an experience the Fragas are grateful for.

“It was hard (at first) just because there was no sleep, but it was still amazing,” Heather Fraga said. “It was amazing to bring our son home. It was amazing to introduce him to all his families. … We had such a big hand in raising our nieces and nephews that we thought, ‘We’ve got this.’ And we do, but we just didn’t know what all it would entail.”

Grayden is busy, too, charming his parents and other family members.

“He’s the cutest baby ever in the morning when he wakes up,” Heather Fraga said. “The stretches and the noises and the little faces. … We’re starting to smile, holding our head up, we push up during tummy time, and he follows our voices, and when we read books, he loves to look at the books.”

David Fraga said before Grayden was born, he and Heather recorded themselves reading a book. The recording was given to the birth mother, who played their voices next to her belly every night.

Their story is such a success that both the Fragas and the birth mother have fielded questions about self-matching and open adoption.

“Communication is key,” Heather Fraga said. “And it was God’s plan.”

When Grayden is older, the new parents plan to tell him about his adoption story.

“That’s why open adoption is such a beautiful story,” Heather Fraga said. “We will get to tell him his story, and his birth mom will, too.”