As an expectant mother, you will always be in control of your adoption plan because you know what’s best for you and your baby.
To get more information about making an adoption plan, reach out to an adoption professional today to get the guidance you need.
But, what is an adoption plan? Your adoption plan is the roadmap for your adoption journey. Your adoption professional will sit down with you to help you with how to create an adoption plan that works for you. They will be there to guide you and answer any questions you have, but you will get to call the shots.
You are making the brave and selfless choice to place your child for adoption, so you are the one who should be making the important decisions. Nobody can or should tell you what you should or shouldn’t do when it comes to making an adoption plan.
Step 1. Choose Your Adoption Professional
One of the first steps to making an adoption plan is finding an adoption professional that can meet all your needs. Working with an adoption professional that you feel a connection with can set the tone for the rest of your adoption experience. Your adoption professional will be there for you throughout your adoption process to answer your questions and connect you with helpful resources and services.
When you work with an adoption agency, you will have access to:
- 24/7 counseling.
- Financial support.
- Open adoption.
- And more.
“You could tell they weren’t just putting on a front to make you want to do it or push you into it,” Angelica says. “They want whatever you want, and that’s what they told me during the whole process. It wasn’t up to them; they were just going to be there for me no matter what decision I made.”
To get started with making an adoption plan, reach out to an adoption professional today.
Step 2. Choose the Adoptive Family
When you made the decision to place your child for adoption, you likely did so because you don’t feel like you’re in a place to raise a child or add another child to your family. Choosing adoption allows you to place your child with an amazing family who can give them the life you want for them.
You know what’s best for your baby. That’s why you get to choose the hopeful adoptive family who will raise your child as a part of your adoption plan. You will sit down with your adoption professional to talk about the qualities you’d like the prospective adoptive family to have. Your adoption professional will compile adoptive family profiles of families who fit your preferences for you to look through.
When looking for the right adoptive family, you should consider questions such as:
- Where do you want your child to grow up?
- Do you want your child to have siblings?
- Do you want the adoptive family to be the same race as your child?
- What lifestyles are you open to the adoptive family having?
- If any, do you want your child to be raised in a specific religion?
- And more
You can look through as many profiles as you need to find the right family. This is not something you should rush. This is the most important choice you will make in your adoption plan, so you want to be sure you are choosing the right family.
3. Decide the Contact With the Adoptive Family Before Birth
Once you have chosen the perfect adoptive family for your child, you will have the opportunity to meet them. Your adoption professional will arrange a mediated conference call between you and the hopeful adoptive family. During this call you will be able to ask questions and get to know them to ensure they are the right family to adopt your child.
You can decide how much contact you have with the adoptive family before the birth in your adoption plan. Staying in touch with the adoptive family before the birth is encouraged so you can begin building a relationship, but it is not required. You can even meet in-person if you feel comfortable doing so. Being able to talk to the hopeful adoptive parents face to face can help you feel more secure in your adoption decision.
“The way I knew they were the family for my birth sons was when we went to the park. The boys wanted to go down the slide, and their dad took the initiative not to take them up to the slide by themselves but to go down the slide with them,” Casey remembers.
“That’s the type of parent I wanted for them: hands-on parents that would interact with them. That’s what told me they were the perfect family for my boys.”
4. Create Your Hospital Plan
The delivery and hospital stay will be an emotional time for you as you place your child with their adoptive family. It’s important that you feel comfortable and that all your needs are being met.
Your hospital plan will lay out your preferences for your hospital stay so that your adoption agency and the hospital can coordinate accordingly. You will be able to make every decision when it comes to making your hospital plan. You’ll be able to decide:
- Which hospital you will be delivering at
- Who will be in the delivery room with you
- Whether or not you will breast feed
- Who gets to hold the baby
- What you will be bringing with you to the hospital
- And more
It’s important that you feel your needs are being met during this emotional time.
5. Make Post-Placement Contact Arrangements
Being separated from your child once the adoption is complete can be incredibly difficult, even if you know it’s what’s best for you and you and your baby.
But, adoption doesn’t have to be goodbye forever.
Through open adoption, you will be able to stay in contact with the adoptive family and watch your child grow through post-placement contact.
In your adoption plan, you will be able to decide how much post-placement contact you will have. This contact can look like:
- Phone calls and texts
- Emails
- Video chats
- Photos
- In-person visits
Open adoption gives closure to both you and your child. You will be able to watch your child grow and thrive and they won’t have to wonder who their birth parents are.
Adoption is a complex and emotional process. Making an adoption plan will help you stay organized through this process and will ensure that your needs will be met. To get more information on how to make an adoption plan, reach out to an adoption professional today.
