My husband and I are raising his late ex-wife’s baby – they divorced a long time ago, but I didn’t want him to go into foster care

A WOMAN is raising her husband’s ex-wife’s baby after she died five days after giving birth.

Christie Werts, 49, and her husband, Wesley, 46, received a call in August 2021 that his ex-wife was hospitalized with Covid and was pregnant.

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Wesley was told that his ex-wife was extremely ill, and Christie told her partner that if the worst happened, they would adopt and raise the fetus.

His ex-wife gave birth to Levi 33 weeks after being induced, but five days later she died after suffering a stroke.

Devastated, Christie, who was also an adopted child, reached out to Child Protective Services (CPS) and said she and Wesley wanted to raise Levi.

Fearful that he would be adopted while adoption was considered, the family moved 1,400 miles from Toledo, Ohio, to San Antonio, Texas.

They raised 11-day-old Levi and adopted him a year later.

Levi, now 2 years old, is “part of the family,” alongside Christine and Wesley’s four children from previous marriages.

Christie, who works in IT, explained that she had never met Wesley’s ex-wife, but understood what it was like to have no parents.

“I was a foster child myself and I didn’t want him to go into the foster system,” she said.

“We sold our house and moved to Texas. He was placed with me right away.

“Everyone agreed with the change, as it was to keep Levi out of the orphanage.

“It was difficult for the children because they had settled down and had friends, we were established in our city.

“We just wanted to make sure Levi was with us.”

“I didn’t think twice about adopting Levi,” added Wesley, a crane operator.

“I fell in love with him immediately. I had the same love for him that I felt for my other children.

I will write a personalized book and share his mother’s story with him.

Christie Werts

“He made me realize that I needed to stop prioritizing work and focus on being a father, more than a provider.

“I worked so hard when my other kids were younger; I missed it so much. He also makes me excited about the little things again.”

Wesley and his ex were married for eight years but split in 2015.

Christie met Wesley in December 2018, and the two married less than a year later in July 2019.

Both couples had children from separate relationships; she was two, now 22 and 15, and he was two, now 15 and 11.

In August 2021, Wesley received a call from his ex-wife’s sister saying that his ex-partner was 33 weeks pregnant and hospitalized with Covid.

“When my husband told me what was happening, I told him we could take the baby,” Christie said.

Levi was born on August 23, 2021, weighing 4 pounds, 9 ounces.

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“It wasn’t easy,” Christie said.

“Since Levi was born in Texas and we lived in Ohio, we could have done a state transfer to adopt him, but that would have taken at least a year.

“He was going into foster care at that time, and we didn’t want that.”

Christie moved to Texas in September 2021 and stayed with her husband’s ex-sister-in-law for a month before the family moved in October 2021.

“We all wanted to make sure Levi was with us, but the transition of the kids to another state was difficult,” Christie said.

“Eventually everyone settled down.”

After living in San Antonio, Texas, for 16 months, the family returned to Toledo, Ohio, where they lived on a farm.

Although Levi was only a few days old when his mother died, Christie said she is determined to keep her mother’s memory alive.

“We started having little conversations with him, but he doesn’t fully understand it,” she said.

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“I’m going to put photos in his room and make it visible. We won’t hide it from him.

“We will tell Levi that he is very loved, but we know that he will go through emotions. Having his brother and sister with him will be good.

“I’m going to write a personalized book and share his mother’s story with him.”

Christie said Levi is “independent” and “full of life.”

“He wants to do everything himself. I’m going to invite you to try and do things with me,” she said.

“If I’m going to cook I’ll invite him, we live on a farm, he’s very independent and very intelligent.

“He knows the alphabet and is full of life and curiosity, he is the youngest in our family and the center of our attention.”