In many posts, I mention that you should research your options in order to make an informed decision. I thought I should dedicate a whole post to this and explain in more detail exactly what I mean by this.

By researching your options, I mean that you should research and educate yourself about both adoption and parenting.

Find out what resources are available to you should you choose to parent. Does your state have programs to help with childcare? Do you qualify for any programs such as Medicaid or WIC?

Find out about the adoption... more

In my last post, I wrote about why you should educate yourself about adoption. Now you are probably wondering how you should go about educating yourself about adoption. Don’t worry; I have some ideas for you.

1. You are already doing this one but read blogs! Continue to read blogs like this one but also read blogs personal blogs written by birthmothers. They give you great insight into the emotional side of adoption from a birthmother’s point of view. You... more

Continued from the previous post

2. Finances Are you working? Do you have any money saved? Can you afford to raise this child? There is WIC and many other programs for single mothers, etc. Look at them and the requirements. What do you have to do in order to qualify?

3. Will anyone be helping you raise this child? Is the child’s father involved? Do you have anyone willing to support you mentally, emotionally, physically, and/or... more

"Two roads diverged in a wood, And I took the one less traveled by, And that has made my life all the different." ~ Robert Frost

You are pregnant. It’s been confirmed by the doctor. It still may feel a little surreal but you now have come to the fork in the road. You have options – two of which we will discuss in the next few days in this blog. You can take the road of parenthood or you can take the road of birthmother hood. Each road has different ups and downs and in turn different results... more

I think Heather has posted about this before, but it’s definitely worth re-mentioning. I believe in most cases, you have to make the decision to place a child twice. Once while you are pregnant and then again for a second time after you have given birth.

During your pregnancy, you may decide that adoption is the best decision for you and your baby. You decide to move forward with it, contact an adoption agency or adoption attorney, and begin the process of selecting families. You may find a family you like and get to know them. You may feel very secure... more

As you consider adoption, it’s important to educate yourself and know the different types of adoptions they are. Some people have different names for them so it can get a little confusing at times but they basically are divided into 3 categories. Each is a broad term but I will do my best to explain them a little bit.

Open adoption Semi open adoption Closed adoption

Let’s be backwards and start with closed adoption as it is probably the easiest to define. It is an adoption... more

It’s often said that "adoption is a permanent solution to a temporary problem." Will this be true in your case? I hope not, and I encourage you to begin thinking about this seriously.

Your biggest task right now is to separate which of your problems are temporary and which are ongoing or chronic. In other words, which of your problems are for right now, and which seem likely to be with you throughout your life? Which of them could be fixed with a little help, and which are things that only you can address? I’ll give a few examples below.

Bad reasons for choosing adoption:

You don’t have much money. (Assistance is out there, and financial situations... more