This guest post is by Ashley Mitchell, a birthmother and owner of Big Tough Girl.™ As Birthmother’s Day and Mother’s Day approaches, I am always lost in thought. Lost in past, present and future events as they relate to my kids and the differences in my experiences of becoming a mother to each of them. I want to share some thoughts that I had in January, when I gave birth to our son. A boy of my own!
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How I Became A Mom At Last
This guest blog is by Sharon Simons, an adoptive mother. DNA is overrated. As an adoptive mom I have come to realize that DNA is absolutely not what makes you a mother. I am the proud mother through international adoption and my boys and I are bonded to the core. Not a day goes by where someone doesn’t tell me how much my boys and I look alike and even share personalities. The adoption option is a wonderful choice to
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Why Honesty, Not Political Correctness, Should Guide Your Open Adoption Decisions
This guest post is by Michelle Erich at Michelle Erich Law. Do you bring your political correctness into your adoption efforts? It might not be a good idea. Adoption is likely not the place to practice this insidious philosophy that sometimes means sacrificing honesty in favor of censorship under the guise of “political correctness”. Rasmussen Reports (November 2, 2011) conducted a survey that concluded that 79% of Americans see political correctness as a serious problem.
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How To Get Your Loved Ones To Join Your Open Adoption Journey
So, are you and your loved ones “in on it” yet? Last week, I told you about a guidebook that helps adoptive parents explain adoption to their family and friends. In On It: What Adoptive Parents Would Like You To Know About Adoption draws on author Elisabeth’s O’Toole’s own experiences to show those who are adopting or have adopted how to get others to become adoption insiders and join them on their journey. You can find out more about how
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Explaining Adoption To Your Family, Friends — And Yourself
The other day I told you about In On It: What Adoptive Parents Would Like You To Know About Adoption, which has been described as the “adoption book for everyone else.” That’s a lovely way to sum up this warm and thoughtful guide, written especially for adoptive parents’ families and friends. But don’t let the subtitle fool you. Whether you’re taking the first steps on your adoption journey (welcome!) or been around the block, there’s lots of great stuff in
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The Adoption Book For Everyone Else
Do you ever wish adoption came with an operating manual? I sure do. When I first started the process, there were times when I didn’t know if I was coming or going. One moment adoption was this thing that happened to other people. The next thing I knew it was happening to me.
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A Birthfather’s Story
Every adoption involves a birthfather, but not every birthfather is involved in an adoption. In placement stories, birthfathers are rarely referred to. And rarely heard. How rare a voice are they? Well, the birthfather and blogger known as I Am has done the math. As the only known active English-language birthfather blogger in North America, he estimates he represents one in about 512 million people — 0.00000000319% of the population.
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A Birthmother’s Advice To Expectant and Adoptive Parents
Haley always wanted to do something related to adoption. Since February, she’s gotten her wish thanks to Adoption: Share the Love, her popular blog and Facebook page that promotes the joy of adoption through interviews with birth and adoptive mothers. Haley’s introduction to adoption came early. When she was 10, her mother placed her half-brother with an adoptive family. She says the experience helped her see how wonderful adoption could be. But it also opened her eyes to the other side of
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8 Reasons I’ll Never Get Off My Open Adoption Soapbox
This guest post is by Marisa Howard-Karp, an adoptive parent. Parenting children who had other parents was never part of my plan. I went into our first home study feeling hesitant and scared about open adoption. But six years after entering our first open adoption, I am a wholehearted believer. So when people try to tell me that openness confuses children or ask if my wife and I are afraid that our children’s first parents will want them back or
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We Are Expecting: A Letter To Other Adoptive Mothers-To-Be
This guest post is by Marcie, a hopeful adoptive mother. A year ago this month, my husband, Jason, and I decided to adopt. A few months earlier, we received the devastating news that our fifth and final IVF was not successful. It was such a painful time. And yet looking back on it now I wouldn’t change a thing.