Guest Post: Worth it All
I met Michelle last year via the internet. I entered Bloggy Giveaway and won a beautiful white baby blanket with mint green stars. At the time we were in adoption limbo…between Guatemala and domestic so when she heard that baby Gus had the blanket with him as his transition blanket I think she cried.
If you put 5 families,formed by adoption in a room, you would hear 5 very unique adoption stories. If you were to ask those 5 families what the relationship with their child’s birthmother is, you would hear 5 unique relationships.
In my family’s case, in 2005 our lives were changed forever when a pregnant woman went to our adoption agency and chose our profile from a pile of others. She and her partner, like my husband and me, were open to the idea of open adoption. She and her partner, like my husband and me, wanted to meet the other party involved before committing any further. In July, just two weeks before our daughter’s birth, we met for the first time.
After that first meeting, we agreed to moving forward with an open adoption, meaning that we would exchange identifying information, and that the adoption records would be, in essence, open. It meant that we could, when we were ready, exchange emails and phone numbers, and proceed with communication without the aid of our adoption agency. Read more
Guest Post: Good Intentions
Today’s Guest Post comes from Dawn Friedman of This Woman’s Work. Dawn is the mother of two; Madison and Noah. She is also an accomplished writer for several national publications including Yoga Journal, Disney’s Family.com, Utne, Wondertime, Brain Child and Salon. She is currently working on a book about her daughter’s adoption (you’ll see why after you read this).
I could subtitle this: I Have Screwed Up and Now I Must Fix It
Today Madison had ballet class. She was so excited. The night before she danced around and clapped her hands saying, “Tomorrow is ballet!” She picked out her ballet shirt and her tutu and asked me to fix her hair just like her ballet teacher’s. (Pulled into a simply ponytail.) She said, “I’m sure I’m going to do it all by myself this time! Again and again!” She skipped across the parking lot, calling “hi!” to one of the other ballet girls on the way. She skipped into the center, stopping to say hello to the woman who staffs the front desk. She greeted her teacher with an excited, “My hair is like yours!” And then skipped into the room to say hello to the other girls. She introduced herself to one (another Maddie) and to another whose name begins with E. She much admires E. Read more
Gotcha Baby Introduces…
My dear friend Michelle is proud to announce her second little one. And, you have to read the story behind it and about the hospital wristbands.
Is this Adoptive Couple Out of Bounds?
Thanks to one of my weekly reads, I found this story. It sent me into a whirl because I thought it was a hoax. Come to find out…it’s totally true!
Is this adoptive couple out of bounds or are they within their right to approach women in this manner?
May 10th is Birth-Mother’s Day, Do You Have A Gift Yet?
Did you know that this coming weekend is not only Mother’s Day but also Birth Mother’s Day? YEP! May 10th is Birth Mother’s Day!
So, get out your address books and put that card in the mail and make sure to mark your calendar to call her on SATURDAY, NOT SUNDAY because every (and I mean every) Birth Mother needs to be recognized just as every other mom is (and it’s not just about flowers, either)! Read more
Best Domestic Adoption Agencies
A co-worker of my husband inquired Friday about the best domestic adoption agencies in the Michigan area.
We were only able to (comfortably) recommend Adoption Associates in Michigan because it is the only agency that we have really good experience with that facilitates domestic adoption.
I know that many of you are currently in the process of completely domestic adoption (right?) and would love to know what agencies you are using so that I can compile a list.
If you wish to remain anonymous please do so or email my privately.
Adoption Tax Credit
April 15th is fast approaching and even we have not started our tax return. Those of you who finalized an adoption in 2007 are in for a nice treat; your adoption tax credit. But, what is the best way to file this (and should you be taking or lobbying for help from employers?)? It certainly helps that we can count on getting this back, right?
Here are the fundamentals of the adoption tax credit . Read more
The Best of the Best: Top 50 Adoption Blogs
From domestic to international adoptions, from first moms to adoptees, from same sex parents to transracial families…the best of the best adoption blogs out there on the internet.
General
Adoptive Parents
Domestic
Plain Jane Mom Letters to a Birthmother
International
Alison and Jim’s Adoption Journey
First Parents
Adoptees
Infertility
Sleep is Overrated: Sleep Problems in Adopted Children
Yeah Right.
A few months ago we had an adoption medical specialist (or so she said) tell a group of pre-adoptive and adoptive parents that sleep issues work themselves out within a matter of a few weeks.
Bull Shit.
Oops, am I allowed to say that? Read more
