Happy Valentine’s Day! We always knew our readers loved open adoption. We just didn’t know what they loved about it. So, over the past two weeks, we asked them to tell us why they love it using the hashtag #ILoveOpenAdoption on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Here’s what they said.
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“Why Did My Mom And Dad Give Me Up?” The Adoption Questions Of A Seventh-Grader
Ever wonder what teenage adoptees think about adoption — and more specifically, about their own adoption? This award-winning essay by seventh-grader Hallee Randall offers some fascinating insights. In many respects, Hallee is a typical teenager. Like other girls her age, the Provo, Utah girl enjoys playing soccer, cheerleading, gymnastics, and dance. But as her essay entitled “Living Life With Questions About Adoption” shows, she’s also dealing with some pretty big issues stemming from her closed adoption that most teenagers never have to think about.
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After Our Failed Adoption Match I Never Thought I Would Become A Mother
This guest post is by Rebekah Tate, an adoptive mother. It has taken me almost a year to gather the courage to write about our failed adoption match last March. That week was absolutely the best and worst in my life. I knew that open adoption wouldn’t be easy. There are some things in life that you can’t prepare for and open adoption is certainly at the top of that list. It’s funny how going into this journey my top
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Watch What Happens When This Birthmother Gets A Surprise Visit From Her Daughter
Life is full of surprises. And for this birthmother, no surprise was likely more memorable or emotional than her first face-to-face meeting with Dina, the daughter she placed for adoption 34 years earlier. The surprise encounter was planned by Dina and the birthmother’s youngest daughter, who always had a deep interest in meeting Dina. Despite many setbacks, Dina and her birthmother eventually connected through Facebook. And it turns out that Dina had been searching for her too. When she was five, her adoptive father
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When People Made Rude Comments About Her Son’s Birthmother This Mom Went On A Mission
Joi Wasill is a mom on a mission: A mission to correct people’s outdated perceptions about birthmothers and adoption. It all started when her son, Jacob, then nine, presented his adoption story to his class. One response in particular stung. ”Hmmm, so your real mom didn’t want you?” a classmate asked him. Joi got a similar reaction when she shared Jacob’s adoption story with friends: they thought Jacob was lucky and that his adoptive parents were great, but they had
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This Is Why I Love My Blended Adoptive Family
This guest post is by Courtney Johnson, an adoptive mother. Open adoption is a wonderful thing. We adopted our first son in 2011 and our second son in 2014. Although both adoptions are open, at the beginning of the process we were very scared about the whole idea. We thought that if we had an open adoption, the birthmother might change her mind and want her baby back. We also thought it would cause confusion in our children’s minds as they
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Adoption Love: You Won’t Believe What This Birthmother Did After She Placed Her Baby
When 19-year-old Kaleena Pysher found herself unexpectedly pregnant last year, she knew what she had to do: place her baby for adoption. The Anchorage, Alaska teenager had seen firsthand the challenges of being a teen mother. Her sister had given birth at age 14. Kaleena decided that open adoption was the best choice for her baby and eventually chose a couple to adopt her. But it was what Kaleena did next that makes her story so remarkable: Ever since November she has pumped breast milk for her
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How to Increase Your Adoption Profile’s Visibility On Facebook Without Advertising
Looking to increase your adoption profile’s visibility on Facebook? Welcome to the club. As the world’s leading social media network, Facebook is a great place to spread the word about your parent profile and tell prospective birthmothers about your hopes to build a family through open adoption. But ever since Facebook’s algorithm change, organic reach — the number of people you can reach for free by posting on your page — has dropped significantly. Gone are the days when all of
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6 Things Prospective Birthmothers Need To Hear From Adopting Parents
Prospective birthmothers are people, too. Besides their role as expectant parents considering adoption, they wear other hats such as “daughter”, “sister”, “friend”, “aunt”, “mother”, “co-worker” etc. Sometimes when you’re reaching out to them as a prospective adoptive parent you may forget that. You may be so consumed by your own longing to build your family that you could overlook the fact that a prospective birthmother has a life of her own, outside of adoption, independent from you and your plans for
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How Our Son’s Birthmother Gave Us The Greatest Gift
This guest post is by Angela Boucher, an adoptive mother. Some things are just meant to be. I believe my son and I were always meant to be together. Adopting him was fate. I am sure you are wondering why I would say that so matter-of-factly. My journey to adoption came after years of struggle with infertility. During that struggle I felt empty and hopeless. Never once did I feel it was going to be okay, yet I continued time and time again.