Sandra Bullock to raise adopted tot as single parent

As one family is sundered, another forms: Sandra Bullock revealed to People magazine that she and estranged husband Jesse James, from whom she has filed for divorce, adopted a baby boy in January. Bullock said she will raise the child, Louis Bardo Bullock, as a single parent.

Bullock, who's pictured with the 3-month-old on People's cover, told the magazine: "He's just perfect; I can't even describe him any other way."

The child was born in New Orleans, where Bullock, 45, and James, 41, had spent time in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

While the couple began the adoption process four years ago, People said, Bullock was notified only late last year or early this year, during "the media craziness of the awards season," that a child might be available. Determined to shield the newborn from commotion, she kept his arrival secret from all but family and close associates.

"Just the doctors' visits were filled with decoys and dark cars," she said. "People that I had worked with for years couldn't understand why I wouldn't let them into my house for [Oscar ceremony gown] fittings."

In mid-March, however, Bullock learned that James had been unfaithful for much of their marriage. At that point, she told the magazine, "I did the only thing I could do, and that was to pack enough clothes to live on, get all of Louis' things and get out of town. My main concern was Louis."

She said of James, "I really don't know how our paths will intersect in the future, but the father I have known Jesse to be with all the kids is one that I hope Louis can experience one day, no matter how Jesse and I go on with our lives."

James, for his part, told People, "The love I have for Louis cannot be put into words. Not having him around to love and to hold has left a huge hole in my heart."

The baby, Bullock said, was named after jazz giant Louis Armstrong.

Perhaps coincidentally, "Bardo" is a Tibetan word meaning "an intermediate or transitional state."