Our Blog

  • 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.

  • Meeting A Prospective Birthmother For The First Time: How To Make the Most of It

    This guest post is by Michelle Erich at Michelle Erich Law. As an adoption attorney, I love making that long awaited phone call to adopting parents and saying the magical words “A birth mother has chosen you and wants to meet you.” Sometimes I hear screams or sputters or absolute silence on the other end of the line, but eventually real words form and the response is some version of: “Oh, my God! I am so scared. What if she

  • Are You Making These Classic Mistakes In Your Parent Profile?

    Nobody’s perfect. You probably discovered that long before you began writing your adoption profile. But now that you’ve finished and had a chance to look it over, you’re probably feeling a lot less perfect than when you started it. Not to worry: it’s all part of the process. Open adoption wouldn’t be open adoption unless it was difficult. And writing a parent profile is one of the most difficult parts of the entire process.

  • Our Open Adoption Relationship: It’s Not Complicated

    This guest post is by Star Prattas of Adoption Giftbox The adoption of our older daughter is closed. This was at the request of her birth parents. Although we had hoped for an open adoption relationship with them, we realized that we had to honor and respect their decision. Following our daughter’s arrival in our loving home, we were told by many of our family members and friends that it was better this way. They often suggested that it could

  • What Do Birthmothers Look For In Adoptive Parents? 25 Answers

    Over the last 20+ years that we’ve helped hopeful adoptive parents build their families through open adoption, we’ve been asked just about every question you can imagine. But there’s one question that pops up again and again: What are birthmothers or, more to the point, prospective birthmothers looking for in adoptive parents?

  • Adoption Profile Writing: Why It’s Similar To Résumé Writing

    This guest post is by Preetha, a hopeful adoptive mother. A few days ago, I met with a friend to help her build her résumé. As we were working on it, I realized how similar it is to writing an adoption profile or “Dear Birth Mother” letter. In fact, letters to prospective birth parents are sometimes referred to as “a family résumé.” Although the two are different in terms of intent and audience, we saw the following similarities.

  • How To Adopt Domestically Using The Latest Online Tools

    This guest post is by Lori Barer Ingber of Parent Match For many hopeful adoptive parents, being matched with a child is the most dreaded part of the adoption process. Many prospective parents feel all there is to do is wait… and wait… and wait. Fortunately, there are a few steps you can take to help shorten the wait and feel more confident that you are doing everything you can to be your own adoption advocate.

  • Why Pinterest Should Be Part of Your Adoption Networking Strategy

    The social web is getting more social by the day. What’s a hopeful adoptive parent to do? It used to be that if you wanted to get the message out about your quest to adopt, you needed to be on Facebook. (Actually, before Facebook, it was MySpace. And before MySpace, it was Friendster. And before Friendster, it was… But that’s another story).

  • Agency or Independent Adoption? What You Need To Know

    This guest post is by Michelle Erich at Michelle Erich Law. After you have read up on adoption and maybe visited an adoptive parent support group, you will have some ideas of the adoption you want such as open or closed, in state or out, or international. Do you want to hire an adoption attorney or list with an adoption agency? Both have pros and cons, so the choice is personal to you. An adoption attorney is a one-stop-shop in

  • Open Adoption Videos on YouTube: 3 Great Examples

    Earlier this week, the Oscars reminded us about the magic of movies on the big screen. Today, I’d like to talk about how you can spread the word about your adoption dream by leveraging your own movie on the small screen. On YouTube, to be exact. When it comes to creating an online presence and reaching out to expectant parents  who are experiencing an unplanned pregnancy, more and more waiting parents are turning to YouTube. And it’s not hard to