Congratulations to Christy and Adam on finalizing their adoption! With Everlasting Adoption’s help and through the strength of their birth mom, they were blessed with their baby boy, Andrew on August 8, 2017. Big brother, John was thrilled to have a little brother! They may have officially become a family after finalization, but love for their son poured from their hearts the moment they met.
Congratulations to our proud parents, Andy and Peyton who began their journey with Everlasting Adoptions in December of 2016 and welcomed their baby boy 15 short months later! They began communicating with a birth mom who was interested in getting to know them in early September 2017. After some back and forth and with guidance from Everlasting’s staff, it was clear to them that this match was not meant to be. Andy and Peyton were disappointed, but realized situations like this do arise and the right birth mom for them was out there.
Everlasting notified them a few weeks later that another birth mother was interested in getting to know them. Andy and Peyton were thrilled to be matched again so quickly, but they moved forward cautiously optimistic. As with most matches, challenges can arise along the way and Andy, Peyton and birth mom’s experience was no different. With the help of Everlasting Adoption’s staff, Andy and Peyton offered support and flexibility to birth mom when she faced uncertainty with her decision. Despite internal anxieties, they remained patient and gave her the space she needed. Their patience paid off and things were quickly back on track.
Andy, Peyton and birth mom’s relationship continued to grow and they were even video’d in on the ultrasound revealing the gender of the baby. How thrilled they were to find out it was a baby boy! The time had come for Andy and Peyton to finally meet their baby. Andy left from Texas arriving in Arkansas to prepare for the delivery on March 19th; eagerly awaiting to fill the empty car seat behind him.
Despite experiencing a high risk pregnancy situation, birth mom delivered a healthy baby boy on March 22nd, 2018 at 11:17 am. Andy and Peyton were overjoyed to finally hold their baby boy in their arms. The adoption was officially finalized in Arkansas on March 28th, only 15 short months after signing on with Everlasting Adoptions. The new family made their way home to start their lives together.
Thank you, Andy and Peyton for choosing Everlasting Adoptions to be the ones to guide you through the adoption process. We can’t adequately express our gratitude to birth mother for her courage and decision to give her baby life. Spring brings with it a promise of new beginnings and we look forward to hearing about all the new beginnings Andy, Peyton and baby will share as a family of three.
Yvonne joined Everlasting Adoptions at the end April of 2017, and just 10 short months later, she is the proud mother of her newborn baby boy, James. In August of 2017, Yvonne was selected by biological parents whose baby was already born and the birth parents were considering adoption because parenting was becoming a struggle and challenge for them. It turned out that this was not the situation meant for Yvonne. The birth parents decided to parent after all. Needless to say, it was an emotional ride for all of us involved. Life has its challenges for sure!
Little did Yvonne know that 2018 was going to come ringing in with the purpose of fulfilling her dream. Yvonne was selected by another birth mother that was giving birth in February and she was so excited!! She flew out to meet the birth mom asap and it was a “meant to be match.”
The rest is history. James was born on February 15, 2018.
Our gratitude goes out to Yvonne! As a single woman she had the confidence and trust in us to make her dream of becoming a parent a reality. Our gratitude and thanks also go out to the birth mother for giving her baby life and for letting us match her with the mother that was meant to raise her baby. Thank you to everyone who helped make this possible!
After waiting for months and months for a birth mother to show interest in you, you finally receive “the call”. A birth mom likes your profile and wants to get to know you better (in an open or semi-open adoption situation)! In the adoption world, this is called a match. You are overjoyed and begin to imagine all the life experiences you can’t wait to share with a child. It is impossible to not get emotionally invested at this point.
You’ve spoken to the birth mother several times and feel as if you have a great connection with her. The car seat is purchased, the nursery is decorated and the hospital bag is ready. All of a sudden the birth mom stops returning your calls and texts. You don’t want to think the worst, but your adoption facilitator prepares you for a grim reality; this may be a failed match. Your facilitator or attorney finally reach the potential birth mom to learn that she has, in fact, changed her mind and decided to parent. You are heart broken; experiencing grief as devastating as the years of infertility you’ve previously faced.
When adoptive parent(s) are finally matched to a birth mother, there are immense feelings of excitement and a renewed sense of hope. Embrace these feelings and share your excitement, but also be aware that this isn’t the end of the road. An adoption match is not set in stone and can fall through for a variety of reasons. Here are a few reasons an adoption match may fail and some red flags to look out for.
What Are Some Reasons Adoption Matches Fall Through
1. A positive, yet no less devastating reason that an adoption match fails is the birth mother or birth parents decide to parent. When a biological parent chooses to raise their child, it can’t be described as a loss; at least for the birth parent(s). However, it certainly feels like a loss for potential adoptive parents. In some situations, birth mothers find a support system that they may not have initially had. Perhaps the birth father, a grandparent or family member has stepped up to provide emotional and/or financial support. In other circumstances, the birth mother may have sought out counseling and found the strength and support she needed to make a different decision. Regardless, the most important factor to consider is the hope that the child will be raised in a stable home, filled with love.
2. Another reason some adoption matches fail, is less benign. In some cases, a birth parent never had the intention of creating an adoption plan, instead they use their pregnancy or fabricate a pregnancy as a means to obtain money from vulnerable prospective adoptive parents.
Assistance and guidance in avoiding adoption scams are one reason working with an adoption professional can save you time, money and heartache in the long run. An adoption facilitator, like Everlasting Adoptions has years of experience working with birth mothers. They know the red flags to look out for that could indicate a possible fraudulent situation. They also perform some extent of birth mother vetting before matching them with adoptive parents. Nonetheless, adoption scams still happen. Here are a few red flags to look out for when you are matched with a birth mom:
It is important to be aware that adoption scams do exist, but not to have extreme paranoia regarding every birth parent. Most birth mothers simply want what is best for their babies.
3. As the relationship progresses, either the birth mother or potential adoptive parents decide the match isn’t right for a variety of personal reasons. There are so many factors that are involved in this life changing decision, that it would be impossible to list all of the reasons why a match can fail for personal reasons. It can be difficult to accept when a match fails this way, especially when the other party is not privy to the exact reasons why. Just know that a relationship of this magnitude, that can potentially last a lifetime, needs to be thoroughly considered and both sides should feel 100% confident in their decision.
There are no concrete statistics on what percent of adoption matches fail because it is such a difficult number to obtain. It is important to be aware that these situations do occur, but in no way reflect a failing on the adoptive parents’ part. It is devastating and the loss should be mourned, but it is even more important to not lose hope in the process and that the right birth mother and baby ARE out there.
May love find you and fill your heart this Valentine’s Day.
Thank you, Nichelle for sending us this adorable family update. Victor is 3 months old and full of smiles. She couldn’t thank us enough for helping them become a family and we couldn’t thank her enough for choosing us to help her!
Whether you have decided to pursue adoption independently or work with an adoption professional, you will need to take great care in creating a distinct and compelling adoption profile. If you are just learning about the adoption process, you may ask, “What is an adoption profile, anyway?” In short, an adoption profile is your most important piece of marketing material. It is a booklet that will be shown to expectant mothers considering adoption, which consists of photos and narrative that describe who you are, what you do, what you value and what kind of parent you will be. Your goal is to tell your story and connect with an expectant mother on an emotional level. It is not unusual for expectant mothers to view several dozen profiles from hopeful adoptive parents at a given time. So how can YOU make YOUR profile stand out from the rest? Here are 5 tips from Everlasting Adoption’s Professional Profile Creator, on how to create a stand out adoption profile.
1. Invest in Professional Photos
One of the most important pieces of advice I can offer, is to include high quality photos in your adoption profile. Of course the words of your story are important too, but your pictures will tell an even more immediate and captivating story. A birth mother will more likely be drawn into reading a profile through quality photos that catch her eye and makeher feel a connection. Try to not solely rely on selfies and photos from your phone for your profile. If it is feasible to fit in your budget, consider hiring a professional photographer to take photos. You can create an account with Red Thread Sessions to view a directory of photographers who specialize in adoption photography. If hiring a professional photographer is absolutely not an option, consider renting a camera and recruiting a friend or family member to take your photos with professional equipment.
2. Be Yourself
We aren’t all great writers and that’s ok! Don’t unnecessarily stress yourself out about your writing ability. The most important thing to remember when writing the narrative for your profile is to be you. Don’t try to write or speak in a way that isn’t natural for you and don’t be cliché. Your writing will be more meaningful if you say what you want to say and not what you think someone else wants to hear.
3. Be Specific and Descriptive
Expectant mothers read profile after profile that sound very much the same, so how do you make yours sound different? The goal here is to be very specific and descriptive to make prospective birth moms feel something while they are reading your words. This does not require an innate writing ability, it just takes some creativity. You could say, “It is our family tradition to have Christmas dinner at my grandmother’s house”, but that sentence doesn’t really make the reader feel anything. Instead, draw on all the senses and emotions involved in Christmas and the holidays and describe them. “Christmas dinner at my grandmother’s house is surrounded by the laughter and excitement of all the nieces and nephews as the smell of her homemade sugar cookies fill the kitchen.” Now this sentence makes the reader feel as if they are celebrating Christmas dinner there with you. Just remember, specific examples will always have more affect than generalities.
4. Show More Than Tell
An adoption profile that has page after page of paragraphs and few pictures will be reviewed far less than one with a focus on good quality pictures telling a story. I know you have so much you want to tell an expectant mother and it is ALL important. It comes down to the time involved in reading each profile she is presented with. She may set aside a profile with a lot of reading in favor of a profile where the pictures do the story telling and compelling captions help fill in the blanks. It is normal for most of us to be drawn to something that is visually appealing. Spend some time reading and rereading your narrative and condensing it down.
5. Highlight Something Unique
If there is something that sets you apart from other prospective adoptive parents, highlight this in your adoption profile. Do you have a sense of humor, do you like to bake, do you participate in volunteer work, etc.? Even special family traditions should be mentioned in your profile. This is yet another way to help your adoption profile stand out from the rest.
A lot of what draws birth mothers to adoptive parents isn’t something that can be put in words and checked off on a list. They just have a feeling about a parent or couple and this aspect of the adoption process, like so many is out of the adoptive parents’ control. Using some of these tips when creating your adoption profile will help you maximize what you can control and put together the best piece of marketing material possible.
Many adoptive parents struggle with feelings of grief, sadness and uncertainty before and during their adoption journey, but once a baby is placed in their arms, they embark on a new journey; one of joy and happiness. It is at this moment that birth mothers begin a very different journey of their own. Each birth mother’s experience and feelings are different, but each and every one should have access to a support system to help them navigate the road ahead. At Everlasting Adoptions, we offer a comprehensive list of local support groups to all of our birth mothers. Our birth mother consultant is also available throughout the process to provide guidance and support. Below we have compiled a list of nationwide birth mother retreats and support group.
Birth Mother Retreats
Birth mother retreats are outings of varying lengths that provide support for women who have made an adoption plan for their child. Birth mothers are provided opportunities to bond with other women in the same situation and given tools to help them cope with whatever emotions they may be feeling. Retreats can last from a couple of hours to an entire weekend. Gina Crotts, founder and president of Birth Mother Baskets, a leader at Tied at the Heart birth mother retreats and birth mother herself explains the importance of retreats and post placement support to America Adopts. “The grieving process was like nothing I had been prepared for and having someone who had been in my shoes before, could have eliminated a lot of questions and heartache that I experienced.”
Here are a few of the wonderful organizations that host birth mother retreats nationwide:
Local Groups and Post Placement Support
A retreat may be too pricey, not practical or too much of a commitment for some birth mothers. A local or online support group is a great place to look for post placement support. BraveLove.org has put together this comprehensive list of recommended post-adoption support groups and retreats around the country.
For birth mothers looking for an online support group where they can connect with others from the comfort of their own homes, America Adopts has put together an online support group directory.
We need to educate birth parents on the resources available to them; whether it be retreats, support groups or online communities. It is crucial that those of us in the adoption community recognize the need for post placement support for birth mothers. Their adoption journey doesn’t end the day their babies are placed, in fact the most difficult part of their journey has just begun. If you are a birth mother at any point in her adoption journey and are interested in learning more about the adoption process or support options, please contact Everlasting Adoptions at 866.406.2702.
Birth mother, Jazmyn chose to have an adoption plan because she knew she wouldn’t be able to provide for a child. She knew there was family out there that would provide the love and support a child needed and deserved. Jazmyn already had the support of birth father, CJ. She reached out to Everlasting Adoptions to help her find a potential adoptive parent. She was overwhelmed by the support that Everlasting provided every step of the way. She was so appreciative of the staff, especially birth mother coordinator, Lisa who constantly reached out to her to provide guidance and offer help. When she matched with Nichelle, they shared an instant connection. Jazmyn knew she had made the right decision because Nichelle was very open and amazing. Nichelle made her feel great about her decision and was there for her during every step of the process. Nichelle and Jazmyn were even able to meet in person, which confirmed their decision. Jazmyn’s advice to other birth parents is if your heart is telling you that you are making the right decision, you should follow your heart. She wouldn’t change any decision she made because she knows in her heart it was for the best.
Sometimes adoptive parents have a failed adoption before they meet the baby meant to be theirs and Nichelle was no exception. This time in 2016, Nichelle had never dreamed that she would be holding her precious baby boy as the holiday season approached. After dealing with the absolutely crushing news that a birth mom she was previously matched to had decided to parent, Nichelle bravely stepped her toes back in the waters of waiting for a birth mom. After some short connections that didn’t work out, Nichelle was matched with birth parents Jazmyn and CJ. After meeting in person Nichelle felt confident that this was her match.
She continued to get to know Jaz & CJ and built their relationship. Jazmyn was induced on Halloween and that afternoon, along with one very excited grandma, Victor was welcomed to the world with a blanket of love and joy from his mom, grandma and birth parents. The perseverance and determination to be a mom pushed Nichelle through the ups and downs of her adoption journey. We admire the courage it took to continue to open up and put herself out there. We are forever grateful for the selfless act of love that was made by CJ and Jaz as they considered the future of their son. Congratulations, Nichelle! You certainly have the cutest pumpkin in the patch!