Choosing adoption to grow your family can be overwhelming at first since there’s so much to learn and to do. Before you can think of yourselves as officially hoping to adopt, there are steps, terms, and questions that every future adoptive parent needs to understand to reach their adoption dream successfully.
If you’d like to adopt, here are six things you need to be doing right now:
1. Read All You Can
Adoption can be intricate and complicated. So make sure to read as many adoption books and articles as possible so you can educate yourself on the adoption process. Lifetime Adoption’s Founder Mardie Caldwell has written a number of award-winning books on adoption, including these three for hopeful adoptive parents: Adopting Online, Adoption: Your Step-by-Step Guide, and Called to Adoption.
2. Examine Your Finances
Adoption can be expensive, so taking a good, hard look at your finances is crucial. We recommend taking a look at articles like these to discover financing and fundraising ideas for your adoption:
“What Are the Best Adoption Loans?“
“How Can We Make Adoption Affordable?“
“Adoption Fundraising Through an Affiliate Program“
“How Can Your Employer Help You Fund Your Adoption?“
“How to Afford Adoption With a Loan from LightStream“
3. Learn from Successful Adoptive Parents
There’s nothing like having a conversation with someone who has “been there, done that.” Connect with a couple who adopted using the same type of adoption you’re interested in, whether it be domestic adoption, open adoption, infant adoption, older child adoption, or another type. It’s smart to create a list of questions you’d like to ask them.
A great way to hear from experienced adoptive families is to attend a live webinar! It allows you the opportunity to get your adoption questions answered live. Go to AdoptionWebinar.com to sign up for Lifetime’s next upcoming webinar.
Also, watching Lifetime’s webinar recordings that feature adoptive family’s stories is a wonderful way to learn from those who have “been there, done that.” Visit AdoptionWebinar.com to get free access to our Adoption Story webinars. Every adoption story provides encouraging help to anyone thinking about adopting a child.
4. Address Issues
Before moving forward with the adoption process, it’s imperative that both you and your spouse are physically and emotionally healthy. So if you’re dealing with issues surrounding infertility, miscarriage, or infant loss, you might consider seeking out a support group or counseling before starting your adoption journey.
5. Put in the Required Work
If you want to adopt soon, you’ll need to do what’s required of you by your adoption professional. Set aside an hour each day to dedicate to tasks like scheduling home study visits, gathering the necessary paperwork, or working on your adoption profile.
If you’d like to speed up your adoption, make sure to implement the suggestions your adoption professional provides. As experts in the field of adoption, they have experienced what works and what doesn’t towards a successful adoption!
6. Announce Your Adoption Plans
When you’re ready, share the news of your plans to adopt with your family and close friends. They might have misconceptions on adoption, based on their knowledge of how adoptions happened decades ago. If so, you can provide them with resources to help them understand how modern adoption works. Two suggested resources include the articles “Before You Adopt: Prepare Your Family” and “Get 7 Tips on How to Support Your Loved One’s Adoption.”
Make this the year that you adopt a baby or child!
Take the first step today by filling out Lifetime’s free application to adopt.
As Vice President of Lifetime Adoption, Heather Featherston holds an MBA and is passionate about working with those facing adoption, pregnancy, and parenting issues. Heather has conducted training for birth parent advocates, spoken to professional groups, and has appeared on television and radio to discuss the multiple aspects of adoption. She has provided one-on-one support to women and hopeful adoptive parents working through adoption decisions.
Since 2002, she has been helping pregnant women and others in crisis to learn more about adoption. Heather also trains and speaks nationwide to pregnancy clinics to effectively meet the needs of women who want to explore adoption for their child. Today, she continues to address the concerns women have about adoption and supports the needs of women who choose adoption for their child.
As a published author of the book Called to Adoption, Featherston loves to see God’s hand at work every day as she helps children and families come together through adoption.
0 Comments