“Most women have at least 9 months to prepare for a child. I had less than an instant.”
‘My husband delivered earth-shattering news. ‘You’ve been a mother for 4 days and didn’t even know.’: Couple adopts son from foster care
‘Are you having more kids?’ I didn’t want more of my own, but I had a desire to be pregnant again.’: Mom embarks on surrogacy journey
“We had our boy, we had our girl. We felt complete, but the desire to be pregnant again still lingered.”
‘Amber, what if we’re supposed to max out our home?’ We both froze.’: Couple adopts 7 kids from foster care, ‘We’re incredibly blessed’
“It hit us like a ton of bricks. For every biological child we had, there’d be one less child we’d be able to pull out of the system. It pushed us forward to finish the race.”
‘Holy crap, babe.’ I looked down to the word ‘pregnant,’ clear as day. How could I care for a baby AND be a foster mom?’: Foster parents surprised by pregnancy after infertility battle
“What if it’s harder than we thought? What if we’re taking on more than we’re equipped for? We couldn’t let go of the fact we had not one, but two empty bedrooms. While we slept safe and sound in our comfortable bed each night, there were hundreds of displaced children in our area in need of a loving home.”
‘Can you take a pair of siblings?’ 45 minutes later, we met our boys. Babies? Easy. Toddlers with trauma and neglect? Not so much.’: Couple adopt ‘forever sons’ from foster care
“Dakota was 2.5 years old and could barely utter just five words. Nate, 2.5 months old, was extremely sad and had rashes all over. He didn’t cry when he was hungry, wet, or had a poopy diaper because his biological mom had not met his needs. ‘Would you like to adopt them?’ Without hesitation, the answer was YES.”
‘She BETTER stay in her lane!’ It was NOT the introduction I was expecting.’: Woman learns to embrace son’s ‘bonus mom’
“All my walls came down. She was the perfect BONUS MOM. Her heart was as big as the smile which greeted me. For the first time, being a blended family didn’t seem so bad.”
‘Hey, FAMILY. We’re your people. You’re safe here.’: LGBTQ mom shares moment of ‘community’ on playground, ‘It gave me comfort I wasn’t alone’
“Her openness in this moment was a ‘Hey, Family.’ It’s about recognizing your fellow human who knows how it feels to avoid glares of judgement. I had forgotten what it had felt like to be recognized like this by a stranger.”
‘I got an alert on my DNA app. It was my birth father! He didn’t even know I existed.’: Adoptee shares search for birth family, pursues adoption, ‘My story is still being written’
“We never imagined we’d be on our own adoption journey. ‘Prepare your hearts.’ We felt lost and confused. The next day, I had an alert on my DNA app.”
‘As we pulled away, he cried, ‘MOM!’ My heart burst with so much emotion. He was saying goodbye to everything he knew.’: Couple shares adoption journey, ‘They are IMMENSELY loved’
“My eyes welled up with tears instantly. There he was. An adorable, chubby-cheeked 9-month-old boy. ‘He’s ours, isn’t he?’ No one quite understood the ache we had in our hearts to have him home.”
‘We have 3 kids who were taken away from their mother.’ We went from zero to 3, INSTANTLY. I can’t believe we said yes.’: LGBTQ couple fosters 3 siblings, ‘Loving them is easy’
“‘You’re the ONLY home in the county who can take all 3.’ No pressure, right? After a few volleys, we told each other these kids don’t have anyone else.”
