December 20, 2015

Adoption News Roundup

Happy holidays! For those who celebrate, we’re so close to Christmas, a time of year that is both stressful and absolutely wonderful. We’ve been taking quiet time this week reading wonderful articles posted by our community…here’s a selection of the ones that have stayed with us.

Do you have biological children and are considering adoption? That can be tricky to navigate, depending on age and how on board everyone is. At the very least, you want to consider how you’re going to involve your biological children in the process, making them feel like a part of the family and process instead of isolating them. Thanks to adoption.com for these very helpful tips. “Our boys were 13, 10, and 6 at the time, and having them on board to adopt a baby girl was very important to us. So important, that if one of them would have been against the adoption process, we would not have proceeded. Adoption, to us, is a family affair.”

Celebrating the holidays while you wait for your adoption to go through can be painful. Your family is in limbo, uncertainties abound, and it’s exactly the time of year you’d like to be showing off your new little one, showering them with gifts, and celebrating as a family. Then, of course, there are all the family members inquiring into your status, all the people who want to know “how it’s going.” This beautiful essay speaks eloquently about this time, and what you can do to help move yourself through it.

How can you help minimize holiday stress for both you and your family? Thanks to Adoptive Families for this insightful piece. “Other aspects of “family” can also cause stress. If extended family members make insensitive remarks about adoption or a child’s ethnic or racial group, if they favor the cousins who were born into the family over the ones who were adopted, or if they have little patience for the behaviors of children with special needs — all of these things can cause hurt feelings.”

9 things this adoptive mama would like everyone to know.

This video of children choosing presents for their parents over themselves has quickly gone viral…get ready for a tearjerker.

“The day I gave my heart away.” One birth mother’s emotional story.