Bonding with my son’s mother has come more naturally to me at certain times, and felt more difficult at other times. There were times that I felt insecure about bonding with her because I was afraid of what she might think of me. I think I realized that she was fearful of the same thing. You see, people are people, no matter what role they play in life. Whether you are a birth mother or an adoptive parent, you are still human. Human beings get fearful and insecure about what others might think of them. We may second guess actions that we take or words that we speak. Confidence doesn’t come easy for the fallible human being. Therefore, bonding with a birth parent may feel like a challenge.
30
Aug
2016
8 Healthy Lunches to Pack for Your Kids
As you and your kids gear up for the new school year, you can also take the opportunity to reinvent your lunch routine – after all, the standard …
29
Aug
2016
5 Ways to Support a Waiting Adoptive Family
If you have friends or family members who are waiting to adopt, you know how tough it can be for waiting adoptive parents. Nothing is in their control and they have no idea when they might be matched with an expectant mother. In short, it’s stressful.
Fortunately, there are ways that you can help support the parents-to-be as they wait:
26
Aug
2016
Post-Placement and Finalization
If you have decided to grow your family through adoption, you have a long and exciting journey ahead of you. This five-part series is meant to give you the basics on the main steps of the process.
You’ve already taken your new baby home – all that’s left is a few more assessments and then finalization. Over the next several months, you will need to meet your state’s post-placement requirements, and then you will be able to appear in court to make the adoption official.
Read the sections below to learn about post-placement studies and finalization.
25
Aug
2016
Meeting the Baby at the Hospital
If you have decided to grow your family through adoption, you have a long and exciting journey ahead of you. This five-part series is meant to give you the basics on the main steps of the process.
After a long journey of getting approved to adopt, waiting for an adoption opportunity, and getting to know a birth mother, the day is finally here – it’s time for the baby to arrive!
The hospital trip is the most anticipated event in an adoptive family’s journey. To help you prepare, we’ve answered some of the most common questions hopeful families have about what to expect. For more questions about the details of the big day, feel free to get in touch with one of our Adoption Specialists at 1-800-ADOPTION.
24
Aug
2016
Finding a Birth Mother with Adoptive Family Profiles
If you have decided to grow your family through adoption, you have a long and exciting journey ahead of you. This five-part series is meant to give you the basics on the main steps of the process. Today, we are going to cover the third component of your journey: finding and getting to know the birth mother.
First, you will need to create an adoptive family profile to send out to prospective birth mothers. After you have been selected by a birth mother, you can begin pre-placement contact. Read the sections below to learn about this step of the process.
23
Aug
2016
All About the Home Study
If you have decided to grow your family through adoption, you have a long and exciting journey ahead of you. This five-part series is meant to give you the basics on the main steps of the process. Today’s post will cover the adoption home study.
As many families know, the home study is one of the most significant points on any adoption journey. It takes a lot of time, work, and organization, but at the end of it, you will be officially ready to adopt a baby!
Every state’s home study process is a little different, but there are always three main elements. Read on to learn about each component of the home study and what you need to do.
22
Aug
2016
Choosing an Adoption Professional
If you have decided to grow your family through adoption, you have a long and exciting journey ahead of you. This five-part series is meant to give you the basics on the main steps of the process.
To begin this process, you will need to decide who you want to help you through the steps of your adoption. There are multiple types of adoption professionals, including:
National agencies
Local and regional agencies
Adoption facilitators
Adoption attorneys and law centers
To help you decide which of these professionals works best for your situation, ask yourself these questions:
19
Aug
2016
Ask an Adoption Veteran: Surviving the Wait Time
In Ask an Adoption Veteran, we offer you advice, tips, and insight from people who have been through the adoption process before. Today, we talked with American Adoptions executive director, Shawn Kane, who is an adoptive father himself. We got his input on a challenge that all adoptive parents can understand: making it through the wait time.
17
Aug
2016
A Birth Mother’s Guide to Manners
I think that most people believe adoption is a great thing in general. They consider it the alternative to abortion, or they believe in personal choices and empowerment. Each of these mind sets seems to be sweet on the surface, but on the root level, they come from places of complete misunderstanding about what it means to be a birth mother. Having an abortion and placing a baby for adoption come from two completely different schools of thought regarding the value of a woman’s body and the value of the life of a child. Being a birth mother, and making that decision to place a child for adoption is about genuinely loving that child. It has nothing to do with anything else except, what I consider, pure love.