May 31, 2015

Adoption News Roundup

Lots of great information circulating the web this week…plus a few heartwarming stories for some serious inspiration.

It’s heartbreaking to think of how many children spend birthdays and holidays without family. This young woman is so wanting to spend her birthday with a family that she’s put out an ad on Craigslist.

You did all the research, and tried to prepare yourself to be the most “conspicuous” family possible — but what if raising a biracial child turns out to be completely different than you thought it would be?

Okay, so not adoption-related, but if you saw this little boy have the world’s most adorable reaction to meeting his garbage men, then you know that the bond between starstruck two year-olds and their garbage men is pretty much the sweetest thing in the entire world. Another little boy, Deacon Ross, recently threw a goodbye party for his family’s garbage man — also his BFF — now that the family is moving to another house off his route. Heartwarming beyond words.

This wonderful birth mother shares the things she wished adoptive parents knew, from a birth mother’s point of view. Lots of honest, beautiful, eye-opening thoughts here. Including number six: “No matter how much we love you (which, trust me, is a lot!), it is still extremely hard to trust someone else with your child. Think of how nervous you were the first time you let someone babysit your children…this is how we felt at placement, only it was magnified seven-fold. This is not to say we don’t trust you – we more than trust you, and are secure in that trust – but keep this fear in mind when we send quick texts or emails just to see how everyone’s doing. We don’t mean to bug you.”

As an adoptive family…how do you answer questions about resemblance?

Thanks to Parents.com for sharing these helpful solutions for common sleep problems! Committing to bedtime, not dragging it out…how many of these techniques have you tried?

And again for helpful guidance on this not-discussed-enough topic…which parenting debates should you be hashing out before the baby arrives? Hint: decisions about things like circumcision and religion probably shouldn’t be left for after the baby’s arrival…