We have had so may messages/emails/comments about adoption that I thought I would compile them into a post. I tried filming it and let's say Lemmon wanted to be the star of the show ;-)
When we first knew we were going to adopt, I did so much research. So, all of these opinions are our own and other adoptive families may have a completely different answer or experience. But for me, all those different opinions helped a ton! So here you go!
We thought about doing it privately but we knew the wait would be much longer. Adoption is already a patient process and we didn't know how much longer we could be patient haha. Going privately (meaning you search for your birth mom on your own) or through a lawyer is A LOT cheaper also. But you do tend to wait a little longer ( I have seen families only wait a couple months though!) And for our first adoption we had no clue what we were doing according to all the legal stuff so we wanted to play it safe.
2. How did we choose the agency we went with?
Research! Lots and lots of research!! We are huge on reviews (thank you yelp!) When we found other couples who adopted we always asked their review on their agency. Riley happened to be friends with a couple who had recently adopted a little boy so we met up with them for dinner one evening to talk about their experience. They were able to tell us about a few different agencies they had tried working with till they found the one they got their little boy through. I then went online and researched that agency and fell in love! Everytime I mention our agency out here to people, I have heard nothing but positive things. The main thing that had us decide on our agency was that they were very fast in their adoptions (HELLO! We were matched with twins after 2 weeks!) We have nothing but positive things to say about our agency and have referred many couples to them!
3. How did we know/decide adoption was for us?
I always say that it takes a very special person to do IUI/IVF and it takes a very special person to adopt. I knew I could do IUI's but when it came to IVF I was on the fence. I did my "reviews" with other friends and my stomach would be in knots at the end of our conversation. We prayed and prayed and ultimately the decision was up to me if we were going to do IVF. I knew I couldn't do it. Adoption had always been in our plans and I always knew I could do it. I've heard many IVF women say that couldn't do adoption and I feel the same about IVF. Both are equally hard but in different ways. I bow down to the IVF women! So, really it was a decision on which one we knew we could do physically, mentally, and spiritually.
4. Which agency did we use?
Biggest question we get asked. We used Heart & Soul Adoptions. You can find their site here Like I said, we have nothing but positive things to say about them! We were able to work closely with the owner of the agency and she was always so great about making us feel at ease and answer all our silly questions. We will be doing another post specifically on our agency, for those asking more in depth questions.
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