Viral Adoption Situations (and what the real story is)

Our world has been impacted dramatically with the internet and particularly social media. Information, networking, and advice is literally at our fingertips and as close as our laptop or cell phone.

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The adoption world is no exception. There are groups specifically for hopeful adoptive families for support, encouragement, and advice. You can access agency information and reviews, blogs and articles on the vast array of adoption topics, and even advertise as a potential adoptive family to expectant families.

Instead of heading to the library for information, you can search google in seconds. And rather than attending a local support group, you can join any number of groups online to connect with others on the same journey. Just like anything online, the information is a mixed bag. But how do you know if the information you're getting is accurate or the best available?

The danger of viral situations

One of the biggest dangers I've seen in the last few years popping up often is viral adoption situations. These are situations, often posted by an agency, attorney, or adoption professional (I use that term very loosely) of an expectant family who need to be matched with an adoptive family (or a child/children available for adoption). In my experience, in general if you've come across an adoption situation online, there are often significant red flags. The information shared is minimal and the post is shared with thousands of people (sometimes even more).

A recent adoption situation that went viral was shared 3.7 million times. The business who shared the post admitted they had thousands of responses, couldn't keep up, and were backlogged for phone calls of people interested in signing up with their business for weeks to come. It's worth noting that these situations can easily become marketing strategies. Also worth noting: any reputable and ethical agency or attorney will already have contacts with adoptive families who are home study ready to be matched. (I want to note however, there are unique circumstances where sharing a situation online might be very appropriate: specifically when there is a little one with special needs who needs a specific family to step in to provide care. In these cases it often makes sense for adoption professionals to get the word out to find the perfect family to care for the child.)

So, how do you protect yourself?

First, make sure you're working with the right people. Anyone can pass on situations they've heard about, but do they know the agency or attorney working with the expectant/birth family? Adoption professionals with years of experience can help you spot red flags, ask the right questions, and protect you from risky situations.

Second, make sure the expectant family is working with the right people. What agency/attorney is the expectant/birth family working with? Are they reputable and ethical?  Are they offering them care and counseling (both pre and post birth)? Ensuring the expectant/birth family has access to services is critical not just for a successful adoption, but an ethical one.

Finally, be cautious when stepping into situations. Do you have all of the information necessary to know you want to present to the situation? Do you have access to important medical/social history? Also, beware of hidden fees: is there a fee associated with presenting? Ensuring you have all of this information allows you to be fully informed and prepared.

Curious about where to start or how to get help on your adoption journey? Christian Adoption Consultants can walk with you! We are a team of adoption professionals who work to serve hopeful adoptive families as they navigate the complexities in adoption. Our team is made up of adoptive families and social workers with decades of experiences. We have experience serving as case managers, birth parent counselors, and even agency directors with knowledge regarding state laws, how adoption agencies operate, and years of relationship building with agencies and attorneys across the country. With this, Christian Adoption Consultants can speak from a place of experience and authority in the adoption field and has helped hundreds of families successfully adopt. 

 

In Their Own Words: Adoption Wasn't Our Plan B

Brian and Heather started their adoption journey the beginning of this year. I've had the privilege of walking with them in their hopes to become parents in 2018. They were recently matched with an expectant mama and are anticipating welcoming a little one this fall. I love her heart as she so graciously shares God's very good idea for growing their family. 

I think most people view adoption as plan B… you know, that thing you do once all else fails. And for some people, maybe that is why they adopt, which isn’t wrong! God has different journeys for each of us, and for some, adoption might start out as a plan B (but I’m pretty convinced it usually turns out to be so much more than that!). But adoption as plan B has never been the case for us.

Adoption wasn’t the “next best thing” or our “second choice.” Both Brian and I have had adoption on our hearts since long before we met each other, and we’ve always planned to grow our family through adoption. True, we decided to adopt now, rather than later, in part due to not getting pregnant as quickly as expected. But once we started talking about the idea of adopting now, instead of waiting until a few years down the road, the thought of not adopting was really disappointing. We longed to adopt!

Adoption is hard and beautiful and heart-breaking and breath-taking. It’s probably a lot like pregnancy in some regards, but also completely different in others. There are aspects that are messy and awkward, and others that bring me to tears because they’re so wonderful. And we haven’t even adopted yet! I can only imagine all the emotions I’ll feel come Fall when we get the call that our expectant mama is in labor. 

What I do know is that we want this baby, with every fiber of our beings. We long to hold him or her in our arms, we picture how they will roll their eyes at Brian’s dad jokes one day, we feel fiercely protective of them. We have all of the same feelings that any expecting parent has (I imagine). And we’re so grateful for how our friends and family have already begun to celebrate this precious life with us. We know Baby Douglas is loved, and that them coming into our family is no mistake, but rather, the sovereign hand of God at work.

God knew we would be starting our family through adoption. This isn’t a surprise to Him. It was His idea! And His plans are perfect. So adoption isn’t second best for us, rather it’s God’s first best. We feel so lucky that He chose us to pursue adoption as this point in our lives, and I bet we’ll feel even more lucky once that babe is in our arms!


For Heather's original post and to follow their adoption journey, find her blog at Love, Team Douglas.

Repost: Adoption Resources

In an effort create an easy "go-to" list of adoption resources, I've compiled this list of some of my most popular blogs on the topic and thought I would repost it today. Find a topic you're interested in or use it as a guidebook or roadmap to help you navigate your adoption journey!

Getting Started

The Steps to Adoption 

Keys to a Successful Adoption

Who Is Called to Adoption?  

The Cost of Adoption

Viral Adoption Situations (and what the real story is)

Adoption Myths and Assumptions 

Hiring an Adoption Consultant

Why Hire An Adoption Consultant

A New Approach to Adoption

Is Hiring a Consultant Worth It? 

Why I Recommend Hiring a Consultant 

So You Want to Hire An Adoption Consultant 

The Home Study Process 

Your Home Study Survival Guide

Preparing Your Home for an Adoption Home Study

Infertility and Adoption

What I Wish You Knew About Adoption and Infertility {Part 1} 

What I Wish You Knew About Adoption and Infertility {Part 2}  

What I Wish You Knew About Adoption and Infertility {Part 3} 

In Their Own Words: Mother's Day

What to Expect When She's Not Expecting

Waiting in Adoption

What To Do While You Wait

What I Wish We Knew While We Were Waiting

Truth To Cling To in the Wait 

Dear Mamas in Waiting 

What if We Never Get Chosen (Every Adoptive Parents' Fear)

Openness in Adoption

Open Adoption 1.0

5 Myths of Open Adoption

Navigating Openness

Making Promises in Adoption

Silence on the Other Side 

Expectant and Birth Families

For Birth Parents: A Guide for Your Adoption

The Truth About Birth Parents

Dear Adoptive Mom: What Birth Parents Wish You Knew 

The Perfect Adoptive Family {What Birth Parents Are Really Looking For}

Adoptive Mamas Talk Candidly About Birth Parents 

Raising a Child Who Was Adopted

Extending Grace in Adoption 

A Letter to My Real Son 

Other Adoption Resources 

Positive Adoption Language

Creating An Adoption Hospital Plan

Creating Your Family Profile

Your ICPC Survival Guide

Read hundreds of family's adoption stories here! 

An Interview on Beauty in Brokenness

Recently I had the chance to be interviewed by Breanna, a client turned dear friend, for a new blog series, "Redefining Beauty." Here's the beginning of our chat and the link for the full interview...

BB: Tell me a little bit of your story.

SV: I had always envisioned our 10 year wedding anniversary as one big romantic celebration. When you’re a newlywed at 21, 10 years married sounds like such a huge accomplishment and so incredibly far away. I pictured us on some extravagant trip somewhere, all smiles and reminiscing about our last 10 years and dreaming of the years to come. But our ten year anniversary turned out incredibly different than I imagined. Instead of celebrating somewhere on a beach, I was alone, with two young children, and wondering if our marriage would make it to year eleven. I had been blindsided with the sin that had crept into my husband’s heart, our marriage, and our family.

Instead of the blissful ten year anniversary I had planned on, we started year 10 of our marriage separated.  I was a single mom, wondering if my husband would ever come home.  We were far from celebrating our marriage: we were fighting for it...

READ THE REST OF THE INTERVIEW HERE: Easy Like Sunday Morning

If I Could Say One Thing...About Being Matched with An Expectant Family

Being matched with an expectant family can be a mix of excitement and anxiety. It's thrilling to be to that stage in the adoption journey, but soon the reality of entering into a relationship with another person or people sets in. How do we engage with them? How do we love them well during this time? How do we begin building a lifelong relationship with strangers for the sake of the child? Today adoptive parents and hopeful adoptive parents share their experiences and what they've learned along the way.

It's like climbing the next step on a very long ladder. You’re another step closer to your dream, but you are still climbing to the unknown of the outcome. I clung to the quote: “Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.” (Martin Luther king Jr.) It kept my perspective off of the journey itself, but on the purpose behind it: my faith and walk with God.  - Andrea

Keep the focus on the expectant mama/parents. I sent weekly encouragement cards to our birth mama (expectant mama at the time) and she told us she had never been loved like that, and that that kind of love was so foreign to her, but fulfilled her in a way that nothing else ever had. Focus on THEM. It keeps your mind off yourself and the unknowns, and can create a beautiful experience between yourself and the expectant parents. Also, lean in to God. Only He knows the end result, and though that’s hard to accept sometimes, it helps strengthen your walk and trust in Him. Trusting that if this is the right situation, God will guide the steps perfectly, but if it’s not the right situation, He’ll guide those steps perfectly, too. You want to have the baby God intends for your family, and if it doesn’t work out, though incredibly hard, it means He has something even bigger and better in store for you. Wait with trusting hearts in His ultimate plan. He’s not just a good Father. He’s a good GOOD Father, and will only give us the best.  - Andrea R.

Learning the heart of an expectant family is a tragic, beautiful, and prayerful path. Be patient, loving, and kind, and trust in the knowledge that God is over you all through the process. Pray for them daily, and, if given the opportunity, take advantage of the time you have to speak with them. Listen more than you talk. Offer comfort and compassion. Most importantly, love them.  - Katie W.

Hmmm....hard to live, but try not to sweat it. I was going to say don’t sweat the small stuff...but in the moment it’s not small! Go with the flow. Be kind. Ask questions. LISTEN! Everyone wants to be listened to...understood...HEARD. I feel like that is amplified in this situation. Be yourself...but less of yourself as you concentrate on someone else’s story. This part of the journey is not so much about you. It’s about someone else and they NEED to know and understand that. The other thing is love. Love them. They are not necessarily used to being loved. Let alone loved unconditionally. I think I tried to show them how I was going to love their daughter by loving on them...with my words, my comments, my expressions, my actions (not by things and stuff!).  - Katie S.

One thing that was suggested to us in the hospital was to buy a journal for our daughter’s birth mom and just present it to her in case she wanted to write anything down for us to share with our daughter in the future. Her birth mom was very shy (especially around my husband) so we took her lead on how much she wanted to have my husband around. And then we just let her know there no was pressure whatsoever with the journal but if she thought of anything over the couple days we were in the hospital all together she could write it down. Nothing was too small. Since we were matched just two weeks out from the delivery and had only met her the night before we didn’t know much about her, but didn’t want to overwhelm her with questions either. It’s just a sweet little journal and I am so happy to have it to go over with it when our daughter is older and ready. It includes simple things like her birth mom's birthday, activities and sports she liked as a child, and things she craved while she was pregnant. She even included info like when her birth mom’s mother went through menopause so tiny bits of family history. It meant a lot to me and I’m so thankful we have it.  - Ashley

It’s such a BIG moment for everyone involved. It helped us to remember that as excited and as scared and as hopeful as my husband and I were, there was an expectant mom who was having all the same feelings and then some. It helped us to connect with her when we understood it was a huge leap of faith for her too. We also had to resign ourselves to accepting that we had not walked in her shoes or her life experience that brought her to making her adoption plan. We could not always understand her choices or thoughts, so that’s when we had to surrender to grace and love and to a God that was bigger than all of it. It was not always easy, but our faith in Jesus grew as did our love for our daughter’s birth mother during that time.  - Tracy

Prior to being matched, the thought of developing a personal relationship with a total stranger seemed very daunting. But being on the other side now (twice!), I'd say just pour out love and respect them. I see the love they have for their children and the gut-wrenching decisions they made and I stand in awe of them. The love I have for both my sons' first mamas was truly my biggest surprise with adoption! Developing a relationship is not always easy, but oh so worth it!! And remember, they're just as nervous about it all as you are.  - Gayla

It's a very surreal, unfamiliar yet beautiful experience. You are being matched, through a third party, to someone who is going to have a huge part in the rest of your life.  - Nathan

They remain the parents of this child, through and through! We get to love and support them, and then if they decide to parent their child...we can grieve for us but not blame them.  - Natalie

Being matched is an opportunity to pray over and love on someone in a very difficult time, no matter the outcome. We have been matched with both open and closed situations. In closed situations, I’ll send a gift and encouragement through letters if they are receptive to that. In open situations, I make sure to always ask our expectant mom about herself and her life before I talk about baby. I think it’s important that she know we genuinely care for her and her well being, not just the baby growing inside her.  - Michelle

For more in this series:

If I Could Say One Thing...About Beginning the Adoption Process
If I Could Say One Thing...About the Cost of Adoption

If I Could Say One Thing...About the Adoption Home Study

If I Could Say One Thing...About Expectant and Birth Families

If I Could Say One Thing...About the Wait in Adoption

If I Could Say One Thing...About Caring For Your Marriage During An Adoption