Adoption Can Be Simply 1+1!

Adoption, Family - adopt, adopted, adoption, adoption community, adoptive parents, blended families, blended family, child, children, choices, families, family, joy, mom, mother, parenting - July 17, 2012

Sharon was 39 years old and wanted a child, but she just hadn’t met Mr. Right.

“Well, I wasn’t sure I was meant to find Mr. Right, but I knew I was meant to be a mom,
Sharon said. “People kept telling me I should adopt, but I was concerned I couldn’t do it on my own.”

Sharon wanted to be a mom, so she followed her heart and signed with our adoption agency. She adopted Katelyn, an African American girl who was born in 2005.

Sharon has faced challenges as a single woman adopting a child, and because Sharon is Caucasian, adopting an African American infant brought on complications. But thanks to A Child’s Hope, these challenges have been met with love and humor. The result? A little girl with a very devoted mother.

“Katelyn is a part of me that will always be there,” said Sharon. “She is my daughter, and I am the only mother she has ever known. And she always comes first. Adopting Katelyn is the absolute best thing I have ever done, and I would absolutely do it again.”

The pieces of Sharon’s puzzle have come together – the love she felt for Katelyn rushed into every facet of her life, and she married Mr. Right last year. Yes, Sharon does receive comments from strangers about Katelyn, but she has learned to handle it with humor.

“My favorite comment is when I’m asked if her father was African American,” Sharon said. “I always respond, ‘Yes apparently he was.'”

Do you have a story you’d like to tell? Email us at blog.ach@foryourlife.com. Visit us at www.AChildsHope.com, or call our Birth Mother Hotline at 1-877-890-HOPE (4976) so one of our adoption counselors can answer your questions confidentially.

Please remember that this is a public site open to anyone; therefore, anything you post can be seen by anyone.

Are You Afraid?

There is no way around the fact that there is heartache when you place your child for adoption. You will grieve and over time the pain lessens, but you will not forget the loss. It takes courage and trust to place a baby.

It’s important when placing a baby for adoption that you work with a trained adoption counselor before to learn about the grief you will experience and to prepare yourself. Birthmothers often make keepsake boxes of the baby’s bracelet, by take pictures and writing a letter to the baby saying goodbye.

What helps the most with the heartache is to know that you love your child so much that you have chosen to give him/her the best life possible – something that at the time you are not able to give. Parenting is the biggest challenge all of us face!

Adopting Again!

John and Nora already know what it’s like to adopt a child. Cooper, three years old, joined John and Nora through an open adoption. John and Nora still talk to and see Cooper’s Tummy Mummy regularly, and she’s been thrilled with their parenting. John, Nora and Cooper have five family traditions – eating together every night as a family; breakfast in bed on your special birthday plate; going out for ice cream after the first and last day of school; a good luck meal on New Year’s Day, and during the summer, Friday night is pizza night at the pool! John and Nora’s families live close enough to come by and spoil Cooper on a regular basis. And everyone – especially Cooper – is looking forward to spoiling the next baby as well.

Thanks to John, Nora and Cooper for allowing us to tell the story of their adoptive family.

Please remember that this is a public site open to anyone; therefore, anything you post can be seen by anyone.

Hoping to Share Their Love!

Bill and Priscila met in graduate school during Priscila’s second week in the United States as a visiting student from Brazil. After dating for awhile, Bill tried to propose to Priscila in Portuguese. He mangled the translation, but she understood the ring, and they’ve been happily married since 2004. In 2008, Bill and Priscila adopted their son, Thomas through A Child’s Hope.

They like to play at parks and playgrounds, go to museums and swim at the nearby pool. They also enjoy reading and listening to music together. Thomas speaks both English and Portuguese and sometimes translates sentences into Portuguese if his Brazilian grandmother doesn’t understand!

Bill and Priscila can’t wait to add one more member to the family, and Thomas is ready to share his parents with a brother or sister who will join his forever family through adoption. They will also be our featured waiting adoptive family of the week this Saturday. Click here to see their complete web site.

Thanks to Bill, Priscila and Thomas for allowing us to tell the story of their adoptive family.

Please remember that this is a public site open to anyone; therefore, anything you post can be seen by anyone.

Celebrating an Angel!

Today we give thanks to our own angel who for 8 years helped us care for our babies! Last year Anne Heath, MSW, retired as a respite care provider after 8 years of working with our agency, providing in home care for newborns for the seven (7) day period when the baby left the hospital and then was placed a week later with adoptive parents. Anne, who worked her day job at Catholic Charities while caring for babies, loved the job, despite the sleepless nights, feedings, and diaper changes.

Anne’s presence was always welcomed. We always received photos where she had spent time with the baby with stuffed animal and she lovingly gave a photo scrapbook to the family on placement day, as well as a detailed log of feedings and events during the waiting period. Anne would come to placement and talk to the adopting parents about the baby’s schedule, likes and dislikes. She would come to placements, hand over the baby and then safely adjust car seats, give a hands on lesson in diapering, feeding and swaddling.

Anne has and continues to touch the lives of so many, as a Nun with the Catholic church, as a social worker and all of the families that she helped create with her volunteer work as a respite care provider.

She cared for over 79 babies during her time as a respite care provider over 16 years, and each child is remembered with love by her. And when a baby stayed with Ann, there was always a quiet visit to church while Anne attends Mass!

A big thank you to Anne for letting us share her story!

Please remember that this is a public site open to anyone; therefore, anything you post can be seen by anyone.

Sometimes Even Older Children Need a Forever Home!

A Child’s Hope received a call from a 24-year old birth mother in North Carolina who was not able to parent her three-year-old twins – a boy and a girl. Chris and Devon were bouncing back from a match earlier in the year in which the birth mother decided to parent. But they were beyond excited about this possible placement and worked with us to take the twins into their home within a very short period of time! Since they did not have any children, the three-year-old twins were a great match!

Amir and Alanna are getting ready to celebrate their 4^th birthday, and they are still each other’s best friend!

When A Child’s Hope places an older child, the birth parents are usually in crisis. The placements happen quickly. In a short amount of time the Agency arranges a match meeting, obtains medical records, and helps transition the child to the adoptive parents. And in the case of this family, the transition was a spectacular success!

Thanks to Chris, Devon, Amir and Alana for allowing us to tell the story of their adoptive family.

Please remember that this is a public site open to anyone; therefore, anything you post can be seen by anyone.

Jack and Nora Want Another Sibling!

Nick and Kate met in college at a dance marathon to raise money for children with cancer. Their bond formed immediately, and they ultimately married in 2003 in the church where Kate’s parents and grandparents were married. Kate is an attorney; Nick works for a computer company; and they both love playing and spending time with their biological son, Jack, who is two, and their adopted daughter Nora, who is 12 months old. The family loves to hike with their two dogs, carve pumpkins at their annual Halloween party, swim, play, and ride their bikes together.

What’s missing? Another child to share in the fun! Nick and Kate always wanted to expand their family through adoption. They adopted Nora in Florida and loved doing it so much they can’t wait to do it again! Nick and Kate look forward to sharing their love with a new son or daughter. And Jack is looking forward to teaching Nora and a new brother or sister everything there is to know about how to play on the awesome swing set and tree-house fort in the back yard. Click here to learn more about Nick, Kate, Jack and Nora and their quest to grow their family through adoption.

Thanks to Nick, Kate and their kids for allowing us to tell the story of their adoptive family.

Please remember that this is a public site open to anyone; therefore, anything you post can be seen by anyone.

Birth Mothers Can Receive Free Prenatal Care!

Prenatal care is important but expensive. We know this. But you need to take care of yourself and your unborn child. Did you know that many of our birth mothers automatically qualify for Pregnancy Medicaid?! We will help you apply and walk you through the process.

Women making adoption plans for their baby can also receive payment of insurance co-payments, as well as any medical expenses that result when Medicaid doesn’t apply and you don’t have insurance. Once prenatal care is set up, your adoption counselor can help you schedule and attend your appointments.

If you have any questions about how to get medical care while you are pregnant, call us. 1-877-890-4673 (HOPE).

Please remember that this is a public site open to anyone; therefore, anything you post can be seen by anyone.

The Birth Plan

Many women making an adoption plan are worried about how hospital staff and physicians will treat them, and whether or not their time in the hospital will be stressful. Our adoption counselors help a birth mother think through her options about her hospital stay and encourage her to put her thoughts into a formal written birth plan that she takes to the hospital. If there is enough time, our adoption counselors actually place a copy of the birth plan in the hospital chart.

Some birth mothers choose to check into the hospital under an assumed name and to be on a floor separate from the floor where the baby is in the nursery. Other birth mothers choose to stay on the floor where the nursery is located and have the baby kept in the nursery. Still other birth mothers choose to have the baby stay in the room for part or all of the time. It’s totally the birth mother’s choice, based on her preferences.

Our adoption counselors work with the hospital social worker ahead of time to introduce the birth mother to the hospital staff in order to reduce inadvertent pressure from “well-meaning” staff. Another way that a birthmother’s wishes can be respected is by placing a letter into her chart asking the hospital staff to respect and not question her choice.

Birth mothers are counseled on how to respond if a hospital staffer says something inappropriate, and our adoption counselors are always available to the birth mother if she needs them.

Pleasant experiences at the hospital are the norm, not the exception. Photos are taken and often the adoptive parents send flowers and gifts. After all, the birth mother has just given the adoptive parents the greatest gift in the world!
Do you have a story you’d like to tell? Email us at blog.ach@foryourlife.com. Visit us at www.AChildsHope.com, or call our Birth Mother Hotline at 1-877-890-HOPE (4976) so one of our adoption counselors can answer your questions confidentially.

Please remember that this is a public site open to anyone; therefore, anything you post can be seen by anyone.

My Adoption Finance Coach Radio Show – Saturday, June 16th

Families waiting to adopt face challenges. Among the biggest challenges are financing the adoption and finding a baby to adopt. Learn about how to meet these challenges in a one hour radio show on Saturday, June 16th – just in time for Father’s Day!

Your Adoption Coach Radio Show
Networking and Advertising Your Adoption
June 16, 2012

Voice America Radio
12:00 pm PST
2:00 pm CST
3:00 pm EST

Your Adoption Coach, is a weekly, one-hour radio show designed to inspire and educate families on adoption. Each week the show features adoptive professionals, celebrities, authors, and feature an adoptive family’s story of adoption. The show dispels the myths of adoption, and provides resources for where to go to get the support and services needed to adopt or support adoption.

Tune in this week for Networking and Advertising Your Adoption with Hal Kaufman of My Adoption Advisor.

The landscape of domestic has changed dramatically with the availability of the internet and social media at our fingertips. My Adoption Advisor is a leading provider of on-demand adoption training courses and consulting services that help families seeking a domestic adoption to target their efforts on the strategies that really make a difference. We explore how you can make a difference in an effective adoption profile and website and how to best network and advertise your profile to birth families. Hal Kaufman is the CEO of My Adoption Advisor who started this company out of his own experience with adoption. Hal has worked with over 200 families to help them find the right match in the birth family and bring their family together forever. We hope you’ll tune into this great show!

Kelly Ellison is a fund raising professional with over twenty-five years of experience raising money for many causes from the arts to the environment. After returning home from China in 2007 with their daughter, she realized how few resources there were for helping adoptive families raise the money they needed to bring their family together.

In 2009, after personally coaching several families, Ms Ellison created a simple five-step system to help families reach their goals. Now making this system available through on-demand webinars, she has created the first comprehensive, interactive web site that assists families with grant writing, special events, and creating an adoption budget.

“Most of my families raise between $5,000 – 10,000 for their adoptions. But more than that they are connected to a community of other families who are experiencing the same things, said Ellison. Through group coaching, forums, and newsletters my families learn from each other, gain knowledge and support. You don’t have to go through this alone.”
Meet the coach, follow this link to watch the video: Meet the Coach

Pregnancy Hotline: call or text (919) 971-4396

Want to Adopt a Child? Call (919) 839-8800

Family

Adoption Can Be Simply 1+1!

Are You Afraid?

Adopting Again!

Hoping to Share Their Love!

Celebrating an Angel!

Sometimes Even Older Children Need a Forever Home!

Jack and Nora Want Another Sibling!

Birth Mothers Can Receive Free Prenatal Care!

The Birth Plan

My Adoption Finance Coach Radio Show – Saturday, June 16th

Birthmother Hotline: (877) 890-4673

Envia Un Texto: (919) 218-6270

Text: Pregnant to (919) 971-4396