Today, women considering adoption may initiate the adoption process for a child at any time before, during, or after birth. This means adoptive parents need to remain available and ready at any moment. While it’s never too late for a birth mother to start an adoption, there are times when it’s too late for adoptive parents to accept an opportunity to adopt a child.
In last minute adoptions, such as when a woman calls while in labor or immediately after her baby’s delivery, it’s vital for adoptive parents to travel right away, if needed. While some adoptive parents struggle with the need for flexibility in adoption, most people hoping to adopt welcome the chance to drop everything and head toward the child they’ve longed to add to their family.
Being ready to adopt is more than completing the necessary steps to become approved as adoptive parents; being ready to adopt also means being ready to say yes and GO when the opportunity presents.
Just this week, a woman called in labor, determined to take the next step to start her baby’s adoption plan. She had chosen adoptive parents from a packet received while she was still pregnant and was hopeful this adoptive family was still available and that they could get to the hospital soon. Upon contacting this adoptive family we learned they had just arrived, within hours of our call, at their vacation destination. Eager to adopt their first child, this adoptive couple repacked their rental car and drove several hours to meet the woman who had chosen them to adopt her baby. They were ready, they said yes, and they are bonding with their new baby today.
Unfortunately not all adoptive parents are ready to go when the opportunity to adopt comes along, which puts their adoption’s success at risk. Parents waiting to adopt are wise to plan for the possibilities as they wait to adopt:
• What arrangements will we make for our pets or children when we are needed to travel to adopt?
• Who can cover for me at work? Is my employer aware of my plans to adopt?
• Do I know how to search for flights and hotels with little time to prepare?
• Is there an alternative airport or option to get me there in a reasonable time?
• Which friends could help me pack or take us to the airport?
• Can I pick up baby necessities once I get to the hospital?
• Am I familiar with texting and email on my phone to get the answers I need to move my adoption forward as we travel?
• If we’re traveling for vacation, will I need travel insurance so I can easily rearrange our plans?
Flexibility in adoption is one of the most-offered tips experienced adoptive parents will share. While it’s unnecessary to put life on hold to the extreme, it’s important to remain prepared and keep perspective through this temporary time of waiting to adopt. Your child’s birth mother is counting on you to be ready when she needs you to be there for her baby.
If you are thinking about adoption it helps to learn what to expect with each type of adoption. Right now, Called to Adoption is available as a free eBook download. Click here to get your copy from Amazon and read this helpful adoption book from any Kindle device or using the free Kindle app on your phone or tablet.
Founder of Lifetime Adoption, adoptive mom, adoption expert, and Certified Open Adoption Practitioner (C.O.A.P).
Since 1986, adoption expert Mardie Caldwell has been dedicated to bringing couples and birth parents together in order to fulfill their dreams.
“Many years ago, I was also searching for a child to adopt. We didn’t know where or how to get started. Through research, determination, and a prayer, our dream of a family became reality. I started with a plan, a notebook, assistance from a caring adoption consultant and a lot of hard work; this was my family I was building. We had a few heartaches along the way, but the pain of not having children was worse!
Within weeks we had three different birth mothers choose us. We were overwhelmed and delighted. Many unsettling events would take place before our adoption would be finalized, many months later. Little did I know that God was training and aligning me for the adoption work I now do today. It is my goal to share with our families the methods and plans which succeed and do not succeed. I believe adoption should be affordable and can be a wonderful “pregnancy” for the adoptive couple.
I have also been on both sides of infertility with the loss of seven pregnancies and then conceiving by new technology, giving birth to a healthy daughter. I have experienced first-hand the emotional pain of infertility and believe my experience allows me to serve your needs better.
It is my hope that for you, the prospective parents, your desire for a child will be fulfilled soon.”
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