Advocating for Your Adoption

Something important that I wish I would have known when I started the adoption process was that my husband and I were going to need to be our own advocates. What I mean by that is, we would need to be proactively looking for our baby-that no one was going to just drop off a baby at our door or call us to come pick up one from the hospital the day after we were certified, that we would need to do research on adoption law in our own state as well as other states that we might adopt from, that we would need to ask questions, voice concerns and check in frequently along the way to make sure that we had dotted our i's and crossed our t's. You MUST be involved in the process, if you sit back and wait for someone or something to happen, opportunities might pass you by or fall through or you may miss an important step or paper that needs to be submitted or filed with your adoption agency. You and your spouse need to be your own advocates, fighting for whatever it takes to get you to your baby. Don't be afraid to ask your caseworker or your friends or family that have adopted about questions or concerns you have. It can help alleviate alot of stress or unneccesary worry as well as helping to prevent any problems that could occur in your adoption plans. Be honest with your caseworker and your birthmom, be upfront, be yourself! Flex your "adoption" muscles, stand up for what you want and persevere and when you are standing at the end of the road with your sweet baby in your arms, you will be glad that you spoke up and got involved in the process because it will mean more to you and you will feel like an adoption warrior! -Elise