“We were matched 11 times, each one coming to an end without an adoption. We were on verge of walking away. Then we received a call. ‘You’ve been chosen!’”

‘Thank you for being exactly what he needs. You can give him the BEST life.’ When we heard this, we knew. It was meant to be.’: Adoptive parents craft beautiful relationship with son’s birth mom, ‘We’re in awe of her’

‘I COULDN’T let him down. The biggest brown eyes popped out at me. We took in every detail of his face.’: Couple adopts, has surprise pregnancy, ‘I love them equally, forever’
“I must have pulled that pregnancy test out of the trash 16 times to make sure I wasn’t making it up. ‘I’m pregnant,’ I blurted to my husband. We sat speechless on the phone until he said, ‘Well, looks like we are bringing home siblings after all!'”

‘They had better things to do than feed him.’ He was blue and resembled an alien. ‘OF COURSE, we’ll take him!’: Foster parents adopt shaken baby survivor
“’We have a 2-month-old baby boy, failure to thrive.’ I had never seen anything like him. My husband had tears in his eyes as the caseworker filled us in. They didn’t expect him to do much. That sweet baby boy had given up, but we were not giving up on him.”

‘You can only adopt if you have a relationship with the birth parents.’ I got months of abusive texts. Dad was loud and rude.’: Couple adopt foster son after roller coaster, ‘I’d do it all again’
“NOTHING prepared me for family visits. I didn’t know how to deal with the abuse. I felt betrayed and manipulated. But I’d do it all again.”

‘I was relaxing by the pool, scrolling through my phone, when my heart stopped. My son was considered a ‘curse.’: Mom adopts boy with Spina Bifida, ‘We are the blessed ones to have him’
“He was sent to live in an orphanage. At only 4 years old, they were preparing him for an Adult Mental Institution. We had no idea what his name was. We didn’t even know his birthday. Every time that phone rang, I ran to it. I was on pins and needles.”

‘I’m sorry, you were my second choice.’ 2 weeks later, we got an email titled URGENT. They’d changed their minds.’: Family of 5 adopt newborn from birth mother, start beautiful open adoption
“Again, our social worker was on the line. ‘Look guys, I know you’ve been on an emotional rollercoaster. I hate to bring up another question, but the birth mom called us today.’ We took Revere home from the hospital on Valentine’s Day.”

‘I got the call. ‘She has no name and no parents.’ This tiny baby was detoxing so bad she couldn’t eat.’: Mom adopts and fosters 16 kids after pregnancy loss, ‘I gave them my all’
“I got the call. The one I never in a million years thought I would receive. She had no prenatal care, she was not born in the hospital, and she was detoxing from multiple narcotics. ‘You have 2 minutes to choose a name.’ We went from one child to 4 in the span of 5 months.”

‘300 plus families passed on a baby boy.’ What would happen to my son? ‘Are you interested in special needs adoption?’: Moms discuss open adoption journeys, ‘We really are a family’
“MOM is in there nursing the baby.’ What? I WAS the mom! I just wanted to know how my son was. I was so angry at her ex-husband for leaving. My trust had been rocked. When Noah’s first birthday was coming up, we decided to meet.”

‘Do you want my boys? We don’t want them anymore.’ They were broken. We were at a crossroad.’: Mom adopts teenage twins, one with brain tumor, ‘We are still here as a family‘
“Tears would well up in Victor’s eyes. ‘Why didn’t she love me?’ Those days were over. ‘Mom? If I’m being admitted, it means I have to stay here, right?’ I said, ‘Then that means I’m staying here too.’ We were going to pick up the pieces.”

‘Try to have your own children first.’ But we wanted to adopt. Our son pushed us away. We cried with guilt.’: After infertility journey, parents adopt from Korea, ‘He brings us laughter’
“Adoption isn’t really a topic or a concept in Taiwan. We traveled back to visit our parents and announced we would be starting the adoption process. They thought we were joking.”