Your Adoption Adventure

Congratulations on your decision to enrich your family through adoption! Many children of all ages and walks of life are waiting for loving parents and hoping for warm, nurturing homes.

Your goal—and the goal of adoption agencies, lawyers and facilitators—is to find a good match child for both you and your child, a process that will take some time. The First30Days is here to help guide you through the ins and outs of this exciting journey with information, inspiration and steps that will help you find an incredible child to wrap in your loving embrace.

You will ask yourself many questions during this first 30 days. You may feel elation about the promise of a loving child. You may even feel a little fearful of what lies ahead, as your life will forever change during these next few months. Take comfort in the knowledge that those before you felt just as excited … and overwhelmed.

Be honest and open about your own fears and hopes for the adoption process. Rely on your intuition and do what feels right for your situation. It’s common to worry whether you’ll be a good parent, whether your child will love you back or whether you can cope with the journey you’re about to embark upon. Just remember to take it one day at a time!

In the next 30 days, you can expect to learn about:

• The types of adoption available, their costs and the typical time it takes to complete the process.
• How to decide the type of child you want to adopt.
• How to talk with your family and friends about your decision.
• How to select an agency, lawyer or facilitator.
• The support systems in place for adoptive parents.

DID YOU KNOW? There are more than 127,000 adoptions completed in the United States each year? Yours may be next!