adoption
Adoption proves that sometimes, you can choose your family; all about the process before, during and after adoption.
Happy 24th Birthday, Mom
Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy birthday dear mom, Happy Birthday to you. Usually we sing this beloved song to someone celebrating a birthday and while my birthday is coming up on November 30th, I'll be singing that song to somebody else... my birthmom.
Irina LessnePublished 6 years ago in FamiliesBeing Adopted
Take a deep breath, close your eyes and think back to when you were ten months old. Do you remember anything? If you say yes, you’re lying. Few adults can remember anything that happened to them before the age of three. A new study has documented that it's about age seven when our earliest memories begin to fade, a phenomenon known as “childhood amnesia.” Sounds like a stupid question, right? Yeah, well you’d be surprised. 99 percent of the time I tell someone I adopted, I immediately regret it. I was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and was adopted when I was ten months old. So, please don’t ask me if I speak Amharic or if I remember what Ethiopian food tastes like.
Am I the Parent I Taught Others Not to Be?
My husband and I have been together for 14 years. In 2013, we got married and celebrated our love ❤️ for one another. We put in an application for adoption one year after we got married in 2014. We always knew it was the best choice for us to start our own family, as we knew we both wanted children. We finally got the call we had been waiting for on Aug 1st 2017. We had been matched with a sibling group, two boys 9 months old and 21 months. We were overjoyed and a little overwhelmed, to say the least. We had been waiting for what seemed for ever...and in just a short few weeks we would be parents, if we decided to move forward. We weren't aloud to tell anyone, as we didn't want to get anyone's hopes up. We still had to learn about the brothers and any health issues they maybe diagnosed with. We would also not be able to see a picture of the boys until we said yes, that we would like to go ahead with the adoption.
Reiner MacPhailPublished 6 years ago in FamiliesWhen I Was Five
Before I was born my mom wasn't doing too well. She had been kicked out of her parents house, separated from her sister in a divorce, was battling mental health issues, and became a single mom with no sign of the father. When I was born I meant the world to her. I was the only family she had and I was the only thing she looked forward to. We didn't have a lot of money but that didn't stop her from doing everything she could to make sure my life was better than hers at my age. We lived in a tiny one bedroom/one bathroom house in LA where the bedroom was the living room and the bathroom was my playroom. But that didn't stop her from having my birthday parties be the biggest and most expensive parties ever. It was as if she knew my life would be turned upside down so soon, but no one else had the slightest idea. My mom’s best friend was able to be by her side through all of this. He was in the delivery room during my birth and cut my umbilical cord, and even let us use his house for doing our laundry or just to hang out. His partner was always there for us too, they got together the year I was born so I don’t know any life without either of them.
Upside Down Pacifiers
We all start out the same. Biologically, we all come into being the same way. Of course, there are different methods of this happening, but when all is said and done, a baby is born. From the exact moment we let out that first cry, we all embark on different journeys: a one-of-a-kind story that no one else can repeat to exact replication.
Brooke O'NeillPublished 7 years ago in FamiliesThoughts from an Adoptee
Adoption. Most people don't really know what it's like to be raised by parents who aren't truly blood related. But with myself, I grew up only knowing this life. I can't really remember a time when I didn't know that I had a second mother and father. My adoptive parents always raised me to know and understand that I was adopted. Growing up with this sense of mind, young me thought that everyone knew what adoption was. Since I was a 90's baby ('98 to be exact), most adoptions at this time were closed adoptions. This means that once I was put with my adoptive parents, I would have no contact with my birth mother. So my whole life I grew up knowing very little about my birth mom, so my mind would always wander and ask questions that turned into crazy dreams and ideas.
Ellen MeissnerPublished 7 years ago in FamiliesAdopted Struggle: What It's Like
How an adoptee handles being adopted differs from person to person depending on experience. I cannot speak for my older brother, but for me it has been an interesting journey with a lot of ups and some downs. Physically I resemble my mother, at least in my face. My body more resembles my adopted parents; which explains why it is easier for me to lose and maintain weight. My adopted mother is an organist and has never been athletic. My step-father is very intelligent and charismatic, again not much athleticism there either. However; I grew up playing all sports and was super active; baseball, basketball, soccer, and one season of football; I bruised my right Radius (forearm) during practice and could not play the rest of the season. Which at this point, I’m not too sure if my either birth parent played sports or were athletic; I do know however, that my birth father was in the military, so hopefully I received his genes.
Nathan StottsPublished 7 years ago in FamiliesI Am NOT the Adoptive Daughter Of...
My uncle and I stood awkwardly across from one another in the nursing home room. In between us, my mother lay dead in her bed; her mouth agape and the left side of her face blackened from a violent fall a few days prior. Her final expression was one of fear and discomfort and not one of the peaceful relief my father had conveyed when he passed away from cancer 26 years earlier.
Christine O'ReillyPublished 7 years ago in FamiliesWhat to Know About Adopting as a Single Parent
It's extremely admirable and beautiful to adopt a child regardless if you are married or not. However, adopting as a single parent is viewed as amazing since you are by yourself and still find a place in your heart to care for a child in need. The process of adopting may seem daunting at first, but it's fully manageable and doable with a solid support system and necessary research. If you have a tight-knit group of friends or family members who have offered to help you and you know what type of adoption you desire and have done the work researching agencies then you are prepared to adopt as a single parent.
Jessica HerringPublished 7 years ago in FamiliesAdopted Struggle: Clarity
In my last story, I talked a little bit about myself, and I want to be clear about something: I am glad I grew up where I did and was afforded the opportunities that I had. I grew up in a great school, although I never took advantage of it, a great middle-class town. Being Adopted has never really affected me until I received that letter. And that was twenty-eight years. So, what has changed? The answer, clarity.
Nathan StottsPublished 7 years ago in Families- Top Story - August 2017
Adopted Struggle
At twenty-nine years-old, I don't know how I feel about adoption. You would think that I would be all for it being adopted myself, but I cannot say whether I support it or am against it. Sure, if I was never adopted, I would have never met my beautiful wife nor had my beautiful son.
Nathan StottsPublished 7 years ago in Families - Top Story - August 2017
Planning for Pregnancy, Fertility Facts and Alternative Methods
When it comes to reproduction, fertility is the number one focus for many. Some people aren't able to conceive naturally. Studies have shown that one in seven women will have problems with infertility. This can be caused by numerous factors such as an underlying health condition, a poor diet, an unhealthy lifestyle, stress, depression, anxiety or even the smallest encounter with a toxin like fluoride {which is found in most toothpaste as well as drinking water}, or BPA{ a toxin found in plastic bottles and the inner liners of cans used in the packaging of canned goods}.
Kelsey ParkPublished 7 years ago in Families