The blessing in reading adoption stories is that you can really learn a lot from them. This especially holds true when you’re hearing from adoptive couples who have adopted recently.
Florida adoptive couple Brandon and Megan were blessed to adopt a baby girl through Lifetime just last year. In this family’s story, we hear from Megan about how they decided adoption was the way they’d build their family and their experience with becoming parents together through an open adoption.
You’ll learn valuable tips about how to cope with the adoption wait, as well as how to educate your family and friends about the beauty of open adoption! Now a forever family, adoptive mom Megan shares their beautiful story in this special guest blog post!
“When I think of adoption it is with mixed emotions, the most overpowering one being love. We have been blessed by the adoption journey and by our daughter. However, I can also remember a time not so long ago that adoption was bittersweet and only wishful thinking. We had known we wanted to adopt long before the infertility issues began.
Once we were told that we would not be able to have children, adoption became more real. Throughout the process, there were fears, yet there was always hope. We knew that there was a child meant for us. Now, we can’t imagine our life without adoption and the greatest gift we’ve ever known: our daughter, Ariana.
Our adoption journey was relatively short. We spoke with Lifetime in August, and by March we were blessed with our daughter. During the process, I underwent a hysterectomy, and my husband and I endured a lot of grief during that time.
For me, adoption was something to hold onto, and I kept the faith that we would be parents. The waiting period was difficult, but my husband and I kept busy. We went on vacation for his birthday the month before we were matched. We focused on enjoying every moment before it would no longer be just the two of us.
When we shared with our family and friends that we were going to adopt, they were both excited and nervous. Many people were skeptical of our decision, and we received a lot of questions about cost and age and the process.
One hesitation that people had was regarding an open adoption. Although we had researched the topic and felt comfortable, I think it made our family uneasy. We would get questions like, “How can you have a relationship with the birth family?” and “What if the birth mother wants her child back?” So we would educate them.
We were set in our decision that this was the right path and felt strongly that open adoption would be best for our child and us. We wanted that relationship, and now that we have it, we’re so thankful that we stuck to our guns. Once people realized how passionate and confident we were in the process, they were more enthusiastic and supportive.
We continue to speak with Ariana’s birth mother every month. For Christmas, she mailed Ariana a gift, and we sent something in turn. We love having an open relationship with her. She is uncomfortable with visits at this time. But she knows that if she changes her mind in the future, we are open to visits. We are so glad that our daughter will grow up knowing her birth mother and how much love we all have for her!”
Lifetime would love to help you adopt a baby, too!
Start your open adoption journey today by completing Lifetime’s free application to adopt.
Start your open adoption journey today by completing Lifetime’s free application to adopt.
