Q: Did you use an agency?
A: We did not use an adoption agency. We ended up advertising ourselves on adoption.com and using an adoption attorney. Yes, there is another option besides an agency! Check out my previous post for more information. You have another option!
Q: What was the cost like?
A: There are many variables that determines the cost of an adoption. Whether you use an agency or attorney, varying prices/fees from agency/attorney, medical costs for baby + birth mom, prenatal appointments, birth parent/s counseling, travel expenses, home study, background checks, and so on! So, based on my research, the cost can be anywhere between $5000 to $30,000 or more depending on your particular situation. In our specific situation, we were extremely blessed and without sharing too much, the cost of our adoption was around $10,000. Again, we were so blessed and everything fell into place for us! I'm not saying this will be how much you'll pay if you use an attorney like we did, but generally, an adoption attorney will cost less than using an agency. But then again, us adoptive parents will pay however much and do whatever our birth parents are comfortable with so do what is best for you and your birth parent/s!
Q: How were you able to finance the adoption?
A: We were able to finance our adoption by doing two things: saving up and hosting fundraisers. We had a gofundme account and we also hosted two fundraisers. We had an adoption auction on Instagram and a Lularoe night where my sister was generous enough to donate all of the sales from that night and Lularoe matched her donation. I'm not sure if they still do this, but I would look into it since Lularoe is so popular right now! Our most successful fundraiser was definitely the auction hosted on Instagram. That would be our first suggestion for sure!
A: We were able to finance our adoption by doing two things: saving up and hosting fundraisers. We had a gofundme account and we also hosted two fundraisers. We had an adoption auction on Instagram and a Lularoe night where my sister was generous enough to donate all of the sales from that night and Lularoe matched her donation. I'm not sure if they still do this, but I would look into it since Lularoe is so popular right now! Our most successful fundraiser was definitely the auction hosted on Instagram. That would be our first suggestion for sure!
Q: What was your adoption timeline like?
A: After our second IUI failed in June of 2015, I knew our next step was adoption since it was always something we wanted to do. We announced our decision in July and after prepping our profile, doing a home study, background checks, etc, our profile went live on adoption.com in late August of 2015. Our first contact from a birth mom was in October but she decided to parent with her boyfriend's help. We were contacted numerous times between then and November but some of those were scammers or a couple either chose someone else or we just never heard from again. On November 19, 2015, our angel birth mom contacted us and quickly chose us to be the parents. She was only 16 weeks or so but we enjoyed going through the pregnancy with her and I felt like I was pregnant right along with her (she had the tougher parts of course), which meant so much to me. So like I said before, we were extremely blessed! Things happened quickly and perfectly for us. We truly believe God had this perfect plan for us. So, if it is taking longer than ours did or longer than you expected, please do no lose hope. I know it's hard to hear people say this (believe me, I know), but there is a perfect plan and once it happens, it will all make perfect sense and you'll wonder how you got so lucky!
A: After our second IUI failed in June of 2015, I knew our next step was adoption since it was always something we wanted to do. We announced our decision in July and after prepping our profile, doing a home study, background checks, etc, our profile went live on adoption.com in late August of 2015. Our first contact from a birth mom was in October but she decided to parent with her boyfriend's help. We were contacted numerous times between then and November but some of those were scammers or a couple either chose someone else or we just never heard from again. On November 19, 2015, our angel birth mom contacted us and quickly chose us to be the parents. She was only 16 weeks or so but we enjoyed going through the pregnancy with her and I felt like I was pregnant right along with her (she had the tougher parts of course), which meant so much to me. So like I said before, we were extremely blessed! Things happened quickly and perfectly for us. We truly believe God had this perfect plan for us. So, if it is taking longer than ours did or longer than you expected, please do no lose hope. I know it's hard to hear people say this (believe me, I know), but there is a perfect plan and once it happens, it will all make perfect sense and you'll wonder how you got so lucky!
Q: Do you still have to take the same steps with an attorney as you would with an agency? Example: home study and background check?
A: From my knowledge, you still need to do all that is required to adopt; no matter if you choose an agency or attorney. Choosing to use an adoption attorney does not mean you're taking a short cut. The main difference from an agency and an attorney is that an agency will try to find a birth mom for you while using an adoption attorney means you have taken the initiative to advertise yourselves and the birth parent/s have chosen you to parent (through adoption.com for example).
A: From my knowledge, you still need to do all that is required to adopt; no matter if you choose an agency or attorney. Choosing to use an adoption attorney does not mean you're taking a short cut. The main difference from an agency and an attorney is that an agency will try to find a birth mom for you while using an adoption attorney means you have taken the initiative to advertise yourselves and the birth parent/s have chosen you to parent (through adoption.com for example).
I hope all of my answers made sense and you found them sort of helpful. If you have further questions, please feel free to comment here or find me on Instagram: ckjohnson27 :)
No comments:
Post a Comment
I just called to say......I love you.