Why Reading Arizona Adoption Stories Is Important for Hopeful Parents
Considering adoption but not sure what it could mean for your family? Though there’s a wealth of adoption info available online, learning about adoption is sometimes best achieved by reading AZ adoption stories from people who’ve been through it.
What should you look for in a great adoption story? For many, the best stories of adoption in Arizona are those that offer a happy ending. One way to connect with stories of other birth parents, adoptive parents, and adoptees is by speaking with an adoption professional.
We at American Adoptions would love to share positive AZ adoption stories with you, some of which include members of our staff. You can discuss adoption with one of our adoption professionals whenever you’re ready by calling 1-800-ADOPTION or completing our free online form. But now, let’s cover a few adoption stories in Arizona and what you can learn from them.
Why Should I read Arizona Adoption Stories?
It’s helpful for everyone involved in the adoption process to draw strength and hope from successful adoption stories online. You can find statistics about adoption, but first-person accounts of the steps in the adoption process are often more illuminating. They can also teach you how to handle key tasks like finding an adoption opportunity. These adoption stories in Arizona give you an intimate, personal insider’s view into the process.
Experiencing a little uncertainty and even fear isn’t unusual when you’re considering adoption. Reading about positive AZ adoption stories from those who’ve experienced them gives you another way to work through your emotions and gain perspective on the adoption journey.
What Types of Adoption Stories Will I Find?
Each AZ adoption story is different, but you’re likely to find stories of adoption in AZ from people who were in your shoes and went on to experience happy endings to their adoption stories. It’s even possible to find stories featuring adoptive parents who endured extended wait times and still successfully adopted.
Some of the special circumstances covered in online AZ adoption stories include:
- Multiple or sibling adoption stories in AZ
- Open adoption stories in AZ
- Last-minute adoption stories in AZ
- Transracial adoption stories in AZ
- Special circumstance adoption stories in AZ
- And many others
You can gain a greater understanding of the adoption experience by reading what others encountered on the way to successful adoption stories in AZ. That an boost your morale and allow you to defeat your own fears and concerns. Just seeing that despite the obstacles, things usually work out, in the end, can offer inner peace to you on your own journey.
AZ Adoption Stories from Birth Mothers [Amanda’s Adoption Story]
Birth mother Amanda wasn’t sure at first whether the family she selected was the perfect match for her child.
“I didn’t like the idea of being cut off right afterward,” Amanda said. “Some people are OK with it, but for me, I wouldn’t have been able to go through with it if you hand your baby over and that’s it.”
When reviewing the profile of Jenny and Keith, however, the connection was instant.
She invited them to visit with her in her hometown, even though it was across the country from their own home state. Fortunately, Jenny and her husband accepted. Their meeting on Amanda’s home turf was the beginning of a beautiful relationship.
“They cared enough about me as a person to come all the way out here; they showed that they were really serious, were caring people, that they wanted to get to know me, and they made sure I knew all I needed to about them.”
One of the things that furthered the bond between Amanda and the hopeful adoptive parents was that during the open adoption process, Amanda referred to her baby as “your son” when speaking with Keith and Jenny. She did that intentionally to affirm her commitment to proceeding with the placement.
“I didn’t want them to worry that I’d back out of it, but that I really was ready to do this,” Amanda said. “That was one of their fears. Would I really go through with it? So, I wanted to put them at ease and get used to saying it.”
That reassurance has flowed both ways in the time since placement. Jenny and Keith continue to reassure Amanda about what she means to their family and their child.
“You will always be a part of our family,” Jenny told Amanda at the hospital.
That’s been a constant through their adoption journey, as the parties stay in touch often. Jenny and Keith frequently provide Amanda with photos and letters, and they use Facebook as an additional avenue for regular contact on a monthly basis.
Amanda said she enjoys the online interaction because it allows her to watch her child grow and develop. She also says she remains appreciative of Jenny and Keith’s ongoing recognition of her role as part of their extended family.
“She doesn’t make me feel like she has to hide our relationship or who I am from family, friends or co-workers; Facebook is just another way to be in contact and feel like I’m a part of his life,” Amanda said.
AZ Adoption Stories from Adoptive Parents [Lindsey and Michael’s Adoption Story]
Again, every adoption scenario is different. Some AZ adoption stories are positive in nature, and others aren’t. For Michael and Lindsey, their will to adopt was born out of a negative circumstance after the couple experienced a miscarriage.
Though they decided to pursue IVF, that, too, had a disappointing result. After three egg retrievals and two failed transfers, they still weren’t pregnant, and their optimism about creating a family of their own was diminishing. That’s what brought them to consider adoption.
Adoption offered a more certain way to start their family, and the couple decided to give it a try. Though Lindsey and Michael weren’t certain they wanted an open adoption. But after reading about the benefits, they decided it would be best for their future child. In fact, open adoption is good for everyone: birth parents, adoptive parents and adoptees.
“I just had no idea what it would look like,” Lindsey remembers. “But, once we were matched and met Dominic’s birth mom, I was just like, ‘Oh, I could 100 percent see seeing her on an annual basis — or even more than that.”
Michael and Lindsey were only on the active adoptive parents list for a week when they were selected by an expectant mother. The birth mother lived in the same state, only a few hours away. She suggested getting together, and Lindsey and Michael agreed despite being nervous.
“At the end, the prospective birth mom definitely said, ‘I was so nervous to meet you and what you would think of me and all that.’ And I was like, ‘Oh my god, I thought all of those same things,’” Lindsey recalls. “It was really just kind of funny how our emotions, while being on very different sides of the adoption journey, were very similar for that situation.”
Their contact with Dominic’s birth mother was frequent immediately after placement. They texted often to update one another about their children and lives. Unfortunately, that contact began to diminish over time. Even still, the couple remains committed to open adoption.
“The birth parent is a person just like you; they’re going through a lot,” Lindsey says. “Open adoption looks differently than I thought it would in my head, but that doesn’t mean it won’t look different in the future. He’s only two years old, so it might ebb and flow quite a bit for the rest of our lives.”
Though contact with Dominic’s birth mother remains minimal, Lindsey and Michael still send picture updates while hoping for increased communication in the future.
“My general advice is to be open and flexible to whatever the birth parent is comfortable with,” she says. “Try to go with the flow as best as you can.”
AZ Adoption Stories from Adoptees [Diana’s Adoption Story]
Reading AZ adoption stories from adoptees can really help you gain perspective on what adoption truly means to those at the heart of the process. It would be hard to argue that any member of the adoption party benefits more than the adoptees. This is Diana’s story.
“I was placed into an open adoption in 1991, and they had physical books back then with photos of the family, letters they had written to prospective birth parents. I was reading through that letter, and it promised the kind of life that these kids would have an all the things that we would do. They’d take their kids to national parks. They’d go to sporting events, we’d travel the world, we’d participate in the arts, take piano lessons and all sorts of stuff. We’d read books every day. They did every single thing that they promised in that letter.”
Diana’s parents made a promise to her birth mother, and they fulfilled it fully. She benefitted by enjoying the great future her birth mother wished she would have, and Diana felt loved by everybody involved her adoption from the start.
“Your parents waited so long and worked so hard for you and dreamt of you, and that’s a lot of pressure. But it doesn’t matter because the love is unconditional, and it’s constant, and they will always make it felt. And that’s something that I hope to impart to my own kids. You know, I hope I can be half the parent that my parents are to me.”
As an adult, she values the strong relationship she has with her adoptive parents. She also had deep love and respect for her birth parents because of the loving decision they made to ensure she had the future they wanted for her.
“To my birth parents, and I’ve told them this before, I say, ‘thank you.’ Thank you not just for choosing adoption for me when you knew it would be the hard but right decision but thank you for giving me this family. Out of all the places I could have ended up in the world, this is where I ended up, and I am so grateful for that.”
Closing Words on AZ Adoption Stories [Finding Your Own Happy Ending]
The adoption process can be challenging for all members of the adoption triad. But it can be helpful sometimes to know how others found their happy endings despite those challenges. Reading the Arizona adoption stories of others can improve your own morale as you navigate your own adoption journey.
To learn more about AZ adoption stories, you can speak with one of our highly-trained, knowledgeable professionals today. Simply call 1-800-ADOPTION or complete our online form, and we’ll do the rest.
Disclaimer
Information available through these links is the sole property of the companies and organizations listed therein. American Adoptions provides this information as a courtesy and is in no way responsible for its content or accuracy.