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If you’re facing an unplanned pregnancy, it may be difficult to share the news with your family and friends. It may also be difficult to tell them you’re considering placing your baby for adoption. Your loved ones will undoubtedly have their concerns and opinions. They may want to persuade you to make a different choice. On the other hand, you may be pleasantly surprised by their love and support.

Talking to your loved ones about your decision is important. They can be your support system – but only if you talk to them about your situation, options and decision. Here are some things to keep in mind to make the conversation just a little bit easier.

Timing

There is no “best” time to tell your loved ones you are pregnant. It all depends on what you feel is right, your unique situation and how you feel the most comfortable. For some, bringing it up spontaneously is the best option. For others, planning a set time can be helpful. Whatever you decide – make sure to allow ample time for a hearty discussion. It is best to tell your family as soon as you are 100% sure of your pregnancy. That way you can receive the assistance you need for making medical appointments and receiving emotional support.

Be Honest

You’ve heard the saying “honesty is the best policy.” The same applies to speaking with your family about adoption. Not only do you need to be honest with them, but they need to be honest with you. Honesty will help them understand your reasoning for considering adoption and allow you to understand their reaction (good or bad). Keeping the line of communication open between both sides is important. Your family can only become your support system after you’ve opened up about your feelings towards the situation.

Have Trust

Once you have opened up to your family and friends about your pregnancy and option of adoption, you have placed a level of trust in them. More important than trusting your loved ones, it is time to trust yourself. Trust that you will make the decision that is best for you. Trust that you will become educated on your options. Trust that you will seek help, support and guidance whenever it is needed. You can do this – but you are not alone.

Listen & Have an Open Mind

A conversation is a two-way street. Say your part but also listen. You may be set in your decision (whatever it may be) but that doesn’t mean your loved ones should not be heard. Pregnancy and adoption are serious circumstances. You have questions. Your family has questions. Together, you can weigh the pros and cons of each scenario and come to a decision that is truly best for you and your baby.

Not everyone has the support of family and friends when facing an unplanned pregnancy or placing a baby for adoption. Should you be one of the lucky ones who does – take advantage of it. Embrace your loved ones. Their love and support is more valuable than ever.

At the end of the day the choosing adoption is your choice and yours alone. If additional guidance is needed, Everlasting Adoptions is always here to offer a helping hand. Call us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

We are proud to announce another birth! Merrick & Katie welcomed their beautiful baby boy, Felix Alexander, on April 4, 2014, in California. He weighed in at 7 lbs. 4 ounces and 20 inches long. Merrick & Katie are so very happy and adopted in just 17 months! We would also like to thank Felix’s birthmother for choosing the very beautiful gift of life. Congratulations to Merrick & Katie!

I am so grateful that I found Everlasting Adoptions when I did. I am a single mother of three beautiful girls. When I found out I was pregnant, I thought I was happy about it. I was having some minor complications in the beginning of my pregnancy, and needed to be on light duty for a couple of weeks. They would not accommodate me, and then, when my doctor released me with no restrictions, they still would not let me back. So for 9 weeks, I had gone through what little savings I had just to make ends meet. My ex took me to my appointment, and was telling me that I had some serious thinking to do. I had no job, no money, almost lost my apartment, I was getting disconnect notices in the mail, my life had changed so quickly. When I came home I started looking for adoption agencies online. I called Ceal, and I was crying. I knew what I had to do was only for the best. I got contact right away with the adoptive parents. They came up for my first U/S, and I knew right away that they were going to be the perfect couple for my little boy.

After the months had gone by, I always kept Ceal and the adoptive parents updated with everything that was going on with my pregnancy. I had him on March 3rd, and it was a scheduled c-section 3 weeks early due to complications towards the end of my pregnancy. He was healthy and no problems. I did spend everyday with Austin, and I wanted the adoptive parents to as well.

When the day came to sign everything, I knew it was going to be hard, but I had to do what is best for everyone that was involved in the situation. I know I will always be his mother, but he is going to be much better off with his new family. To see their faces was just priceless. I gave them a gift of life. I am happy that I was able to do that. Christi and Sean are the most wonderful, happy married couple I have ever met in my entire life. Christi told me “You know I love you like a sister, a sister from another mother, and we will always love you and be connected, You can’t shake us =)” that made me cry, but they were happy tears =)

To this day, I do keep in contact with them, and they tell me what is going on with Austin. I get pictures and videos almost everyday. He is getting so big. I am happy with the decision I have made.

Thanks to all that were involved. Christi and Sean are going to be great parents for little Austin, I am thankful and will always have the most respect and love for them.

Love you all, Jo

P.S. I made them a little video for them and they loved it =)

Adopting a baby is a joyous and life changing miracle. Not only are you opening your heart and home to a beautiful child, you are allowing a young woman a second chance to fulfill her life goals. With that said, adopting a baby comes with a financial commitment. As adoptive parents, it’s important to know what you need to budget for and how it fits into your current and future lifestyle.

Advertising:

There are a variety of marketing and advertising avenues available in the adoption world should you choose to further your birthmother outreach. Google ads, newspaper ads or independent adoptive parent profile websites all charge varying amounts. If you’re planning to use different marketing techniques, make sure to set aside some extra funds in your adoption budget.

Homestudy:

Every adoptive family needs to complete an adoption homestudy. Costs vary between social workers, but typically run anywhere from $700 and $3,000. Everlasting Adoptions will connect you with social workers in our network to complete this process.

Attorney:

Like adoption social workers, Everlasting Adoptions will put you in touch with adoption attorneys in your area. Ask for an estimate of fees and factor this in to your adoption budget. Some lawyers charge by the hour while others will offer a flat fee. While a flat fee may seem appealing, you may actually end up paying more than you would at an hourly rate – depending on how quickly your adoption is complete.

Birthmother Expenses:

Many of our adoptive families assist the birthmother with a variety of expenses. These include but are not limited to living expenses, medical expenses, maternity clothes, food, transportation and rent. It is difficult to budget for birthmother expenses because no situation is alike. Find out what your birthmother needs financial assistance with and create a payment schedule to include in your birthmother expenses budget.

Travel:

Travel and hotel costs often accompany domestic infant adoptions. Your birthmother may be in a different state that requires traveling for the birth of your baby. Likewise, you could also be traveling during her pregnancy to accompany her to doctor’s visits or just to get to know her better. Factor in extended stays. Once the baby is born there is a waiting period while the birthparents sign consent forms.

Meeting Your Child:

Priceless.

It’s no secret that adoption requires a financial investment. But there are ways to budget properly to make this life changing experience possible. Everlasting Adoptions looks forward to helping you reach your goal of growing your family through infant adoption.

I am so thankful to Everlasting Adoptions and, Ceal, my adoption counselor. I would definitely recommend Everlasting to other birthmothers! I felt supported the entire time.

Most importantly, I am so grateful to the adoptive parents for making the toughest decision I ever had to make, so much easier and comforting. I truly feel blessed to have found such a wonderful family to raise such a handsome little boy. I am honored to say that the morals and values that I would want instilled in him will be carried out and fulfilled by this beautiful family. I am so proud to have given you the greatest gift of all, and I am so proud that when I saw both of you, and hugged both of you, it was then that I felt like Josiah would get nothing but love and the best possible life.

Thank you so much Abbott and Amelia. I know both of you will be really great parents. I truly feel like he will have all the love that he will ever need and deserve. I feel like these wonderful adoptive parents were my angels in disguise, and I will forever have nothing but love and respect for them.

Love, – T –

Everlasting would like to announce another birth! Sean & Christi welcomed their beautiful son, Austin Eric on March 3, 2014 in Iowa. He weighed 8 pounds and 3 ounces, and 20 inches long. Sean & Christi are in heaven and are so happy and thrilled! Congratulations! We would also like to thank Austin’s birthmother who made the very beautiful decision to choose adoption. Blessings to all!

Everlasting Adoptions would like to announce another beautiful miracle. Abbott & Amelia welcomed their son, Jaxon Jon-David, who was born in Louisiana on February 26, 2014. Jaxon was 7 pounds and 19 1/2 inches long. Abbott & Amelia are so happy and so in love with their precious bundle of joy! We would also like to thank Jaxon’s birthmother for choosing the precious gift of life. We are grateful to all of them for allowing us the opportunity to assist them in giving everyone a better life!

We are proud to announce another Everlasting birth! Zenobia & Conrad welcomed little Zoe Noel on January 27th. She weighed in at 6 lbs 12 ounces and 21 inches long. Zenobia said Zoe is their dream come true! We would like to thank Zoe’s birthmother for choosing the beautiful gift of life. Congratulations, Zenobia & Conrad!

Deciding to adopt a child is a major life decision. Any family considering adoption undoubtedly has many questions about where to start and how the whole process works. As a domestic infant adoption facilitator, Everlasting Adoptions receives many questions regarding the differences between domestic adoption and international adoption.

When comparing these two adoption paths, families have multiple factors to consider; costs, wait times, medical history, social history, legal matters, etc. For families just beginning the adoption process or for those just wishing to learn more, we’d like to help you discover the biggest differences between domestic and international adoption.

Cost

Many families considering adoption share the misconception that international adoption costs far less than domestic adoption. However, this is not true. The cost of any infant adoption is dependent on a variety of factors – but both domestic and international adoption have similar total costs.

The differences lie in what families will have to budget for. For example, a family adopting internationally will have to factor in visa costs. Additionally, international adoption will involve a great degree of traveling to and from the country they are adopting from. On the other hand, a family adopting domestically may be contributing to birthmother expenses such as her rent and medical bills. Families adopting domestically may also need to prepare for traveling to the birthmother’s home state for the birth of the child.

Adoptable Children

It’s a common belief among adoptive families that more children are available for adoption internationally than domestically. This assumption is untrue. In fact, rules and regulations regarding international adoption have gotten more restrictive over the years, making it harder to adopt children from different countries.

There are children who need homes both within the United States and outside of the country. If your passion for adopting is unbreakable, you can find the child that was meant for your using either path.

Wait Times

The time it takes for a family to adopt a baby internationally or domestically relies on many factors. While we cannot speak for other adoption facilitators, over 95% of our adoptive families adopt within 24 months. There are several variables that play into this, including race of the child, whether the family chose open or closed adoption and budget. The more specific the family’s requests are (for example only being open to one race or gender), the longer that family may wait.

Adopting internationally also poses waiting factors based on the family’s adoption plan. The time it takes to adopt internationally will also differ from country to country. For example, adopting a child from China typically takes much longer than adopting from other countries such as Russia.

Weighing the Options

We have just scratched the surface of this big decision. Because a family who adopts a child from Russia will have a much different experience than a family who adopts a child from South Africa, it’s difficult to explain what to expect when adopting internationally.

We recommend carefully researching all avenues of adoption before committing to a plan. This goes beyond just domestic adoption or international adoption, but also weighing the options of closed adoption vs open adoption plus much more.

The staff at Everlasting Adoptions is committed to guiding our adoptive families through every step of the adoption process. Contact us any time for questions about domestic adoption vs international adoption or any other topics you’d like to discuss.

We are thrilled to announce another Christmas time miracle for Everlasting Adoptions and John & Jodel. They welcomed their son, Grayson, on December 18, 2013, in Colorado. His weight was 4 pounds and 9 ounces, and he is doing great! John & Jodel are so very happy and grateful to Grayson’s birthmother for choosing the gift of life. We wish them all the best that life can bring!