Our Blog

  • Tied At The Heart: Our Birth Mom Retreats

    This guest post is by Gina Crotts, founder and president of Birth Mother Baskets. My voice is confident and taken without judgement. I am surrounded by a group of women who have been in my shoes before. I feel safe here in a room filled with complete strangers. I have been public speaking for some time now, but somehow this room always feels different. I stand taller, but also allow my walls to be broken down more than usual. Their tear-filled eyes meet mine

  • My Closed Adoption Dilemma

    This guest post is by Virginia Castleman, an adoptee and author. Whether you are interested in adoption or fostering, or you yourself are adopted, or you know someone who’s adopted, the question of open versus closed adoptions may come up. I fall into the “adopted” category and the state I was adopted in (Michigan) has closed adoption laws.  In closed adoptions, the birth parents “give up” all connection with the child, so there’s no calling their child, sending gifts, or

  • A Birthmom’s Story: Open Adoption Has Set Me Free

    This guest post is by Jena, a birthmother Ten years ago, when I was 18, I found myself pregnant with the first person I’d ever been intimate with. The idea of adoption was an initial thought, but nothing I took seriously until I was eight months along. I didn’t think that today, a decade later, I would be sharing my story as a birth mother.  How grateful I am to be able to hold that title and share what is

  • 4 Basic Ways To Finance A Private Domestic Adoption

    This guest blog is by Cherri Walrod, the founder and director of Resources4Adoption. Private domestic adoption poses its own unique set of challenges, and financing is definitely one of them. For several years now I’ve been helping adoptive families find and utilize the adoption financing options which best fits their needs. There are four basic ways to fund your adoption: personal funds, fundraising, grants and loans. Personal assets and funds Most people I know of do not have 20K-40K sitting around

  • I Never Thought I Would Choose Adoption For My Twins. But I’m Glad I Did

    This guest post is by Ashlee Amraen, a birthmother. I was 21 when I got pregnant with twins. It was completely unexpected. My boyfriend and I were excited but we soon realized that adoption was best for them. We had a very rocky relationship and we both came to the conclusion that we were not ready and either was our relationship. It wouldn’t have been fair to our twins to bring them into a world where mommy and daddy were fighting all the

  • Your Adoptive Parent Profile: Writing A Beginning, Middle and End

    When it comes to writing an adoptive parent profile, many hopeful adoptive couples make the classic mistake of viewing it strictly as a marketing tool. No argument there. Your adoptive parent profile is a marketing tool. Next to word of mouth, it’s probably the most important marketing tool you have in your adoption profile networking toolkit. And yet it is so much more than just a marketing tool, and the sooner you begin to understand that the sooner and easier

  • What I’m Grateful For As A Birthmother

    This guest post is by Ashley Mitchell, a birthmother and owner of Big Tough Girl.™ I am about to reach a big milestone in my adoption journey. I placed a baby boy almost 8 years ago. Eight years.  The very thought is almost unfathomable. I can hardly believe that 8 years ago I was making hospital arrangements, calling the soon-to-be parents and preparing to welcome this baby into this world. I was 26 years old.  I was scared to death.

  • I’m A Birthmother And I’m Proud Of It

    This guest post is by Alysia Foote, a birthmother. When you think of the “typical” birthmother, what do you see in your mind? People tend to be reactionary when they first hear a birthmother story. It hurts. It stings, but I have learned there is an action for every reaction. It is my opportunity to educate. All birthmothers place for the same reason when it comes down to it. For the love of our children. The ultimate, sacrificial love that

  • Preparing for Open Adoption? One Adoptive Mother’s Thoughts

    This guest post is by Barbara Freedgood, an adoptive mother and psychotherapist. As I sit watching the snowflakes falling outside my kitchen window, my mind wanders back to the time when my husband and I were adopting. So here come my thoughts. When hopeful adoptive parents talk about adoption, they often talk about it as if it were one thing. That one thing is finding a child to love and raise as family, but that is actually just one outcome of

  • Moving Forward After Choosing Open Adoption For My Daughter

    This guest post is by Laura Gladden, a birthmother and blogger. Every girl fantasizes about what her future will be like. What kind of man she will marry, what kind of house she will live in, how many children she will have, and all those other things. I am no exception to this. Growing up, not just when I was a small child, but also when I was a teenager, I had these goals. I grew up a member of The Church of