How Can Reading Florida Adoption Stories Help You on Your Journey?
Are you wondering what kind of impact adoption could have on your family? You can find a lot of adoption info online, but gaining a personal view of adoption is easier when you read FL adoption stories from those who’ve already been through it.
When searching for a great FL adoption story, what should you look for? Undoubtedly, the best stories of adoption in Florida have happy endings. You can find those kinds of stories by speaking with an adoption professional, and we can help with that.
At American Adoptions, we’ve helped more than 13,000 families with successful adoptions, and we’d love to share those positive FL adoption stories with you. Some of those stories even feature our own staff members. To speak with one of our adoption professionals today, call 1-800-ADOPTION or complete our free online form. Now, let’s talk through some adoption stories in Florida and what you can learn from them.
How Will I Benefit from Reading Florida Adoption Stories?
Anyone going through the adoption process can find strength and hope by reading successful FL adoption stories online. Statistics about adoption can tell part of the story, but hearing first-hand from those who’ve completed the steps in the adoption process can show you adoption in a new, more personal light. You can also learn how to complete tasks like finding an adoption opportunity. These adoption stories in Florida offer an intimate insider’s view into the process.
Are you having feelings of fear and uncertainty about the adoption process? That’s normal for people considering adoption. Through reading about positive FL adoption stories from people who’ve been in your shoes, you can learn to process your emotions and obtain valuable perspectives on the adoption journey.
What Kinds of Adoption Stories Are There?
Every FL adoption story is unique, but there’s a good chance there are others who have stories of adoption in FL similar to your own who can describe their own happy endings to adoption stories. You’ll find stories about adoptive parents in almost every possible situation, including those who endured extended wait times and are still successfully adopted.
Some of the special situations described in online FL adoption stories include:
- Open adoption stories in FL
- Transracial adoption stories in FL
- Multiple or sibling adoption stories in FL
- Last-minute adoption stories in FL
- Special circumstance adoption stories in FL
- And many others
Reading what others encountered on the way to successful adoption stories in FL can boost your morale and help you overcome your fears and concerns. They allow you to learn that despite the obstacles, things usually work out in the end. That can give you inner peace throughout your own journey.
FL Adoption Stories from Birth Mothers [Amanda’s Adoption Story]
Birth mother Amanda didn’t initially know if the family she chose for her child was really the perfect match.
“I didn’t like the idea of being cut off right afterwards,” 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.”
But when she saw the online profile of Jenny and Keith, she felt an instant bond with the couple and knew they were the right people to raise her child.
After offering Jenny and Keith an opportunity to visit her in her town, which was across the country from their home, the couple accepted enthusiastically. They met Amanda on her home turf, and what followed was the start of a wonderful 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.”
The bond Amanda felt with Jenny and Keith was instant. Amanda further amplified their connection by referring to her baby as “your son” throughout the open adoption process. She did that purposefully out of a desire to put them at ease and 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.”
Amanda’s kind reassurance has been repaid in the time since placement. Jenny and Keith both continue to reassure Amanda about the important role she’s played in their family and their future commitment to her and their child.
“You will always be a part of our family,” Jenny told Amanda at the hospital.
Throughout their shared adoption journey, the parties have continued to remain in touch frequently. Jenny and Keith routinely provide Amanda with photos and letters, and they stay connected using Facebook as a way to stay in touch on a monthly basis.
The online interaction is enjoyable for Amanda because it lets her see her child grow and develop. She also says she continues to be grateful for Jenny and Keith’s ongoing recognition of her role in 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.
FL Adoption Stories from Adoptive Parents [Lindsey and Michael’s Adoption Story]
Not every FL adoption story is positive in nature from beginning to end. Some start from a less joyous place only to become success stories. For example, adoptive parents Michael and Lindsey saw a negative circumstance, a miscarriage, and forge their will to adopt their son, Dominic.
After the miscarriage, the couple pursued IVF, but it didn’t provide the result they’d hoped for. After three egg retrievals and two failed transfers, they still weren’t expecting, and they were losing hope of creating the family they’d always dreamed of having. That’s what brought them to consider adoption.
With adoption, there would be less uncertainty about starting their family. After deliberating about it, they decided to try it. Though they weren’t sure they wanted an open adoption initially, they decided it would be best for their future child after reading about its many benefits. After all, 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.”
For Michael and Lindsey, an adoption opportunity came swiftly. They were only on the active adoptive parent list for a week before being selected by an expectant mother in their home state a few hours away. She suggested connecting in person, and Lindsey and Michael agreed even though they were 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.”
After that meeting, their contact with Dominic’s birth mother was frequent, and it continued immediately after placement. They texted updates to each other regularly about their children and lives. However, that contact slowed over time, even though the couple is still committed to open adoption.
“The birth parent is a person just like you; they’re going through a lot,” Lindsey says. “Open adoption looks different 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 Michael and Lindsey don’t have as much contact with Dominic’s birth mother as they once did, they still send picture updates and hope communication increases 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.”
FL Adoption Stories from Adoptees [Diana’s Adoption Story]
We’ve seen what reading FL adoption stories can do for birth parents and adoptive parents. But what can they teach us about the impact of adoption on adoptees?
Reading FL adoption stories from adoptees can offer perspective on the tremendous influence that adoption has on those who are at the heart of the process. It would be difficult to argue that any member of the adoption party gains more from adoption than 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, and 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 and 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. Like many adoptees, she enjoyed the great future her birth mother wanted for her, plus Diana felt the love of everyone in her adopted family 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.”
Diana’s relationship with her adoptive parents is strong, and she also has deep love and respect for her birth parents. She recognizes that they made a loving, selfless decision to make sure she would get the future of opportunity that she deserved.
“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.”
Final Thoughts on FL Adoption Stories and the Benefits of Reading Them
The adoption process isn’t without challenges for everyone involved, but knowing how others found their happy endings despite those obstacles can be helpful. By reading the Florida adoption stories of others, you can gain valuable insight and improve your morale as you work through your personal adoption journey.
To learn more about FL 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.
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