Adoption Under One Roof

When I was going through the adoption process, I became very nervous about putting together an adoptive parent profile. I have many talents, but scrapbooking is not one of them. I came up with the idea of creating a PowerPoint presentation because I am quite talented on the computer (if I do say so myself). Unfortunately, I was ahead of my time. The agency did not have the social workers travel with a laptop, so I had to print out my presentation, and the printed out version did not look nearly as slick.

After an entire year, not one expecting mother noticed our adoptive parent profile. I could not understand why not. We had a loving and stable home to offer a baby, so why wasn’t anyone interested in us?

I asked some friends to help me put together another adoptive parent profile in scrapbook form. They were immediately able to identify what was wrong with my adoptive parent profile. I was too guarded and sales-pitchy. I needed to reveal who I was through a scrapbook and did not have a clue how to do so. Fortunately, my friends did, and we were matched with my son’s birth mother a few months later.

For many people (particularly those of us who are scrapbook-challenged), getting an objective view of our adoptive parent profiles can make all of the difference. This is where my buddy Lori comes in. Lori and I have known each other for years over at my favorite adoption message board, Forever Parents. I was excited to learn that she has this talent that I sorely lack. She even has her own business called Bestlight Adoption Profile Review in which she helps hopeful adoptive parents design their adoptive parent profiles. She also provides ten free tips on her website – tips that I sure could have used.

The difference between the adoptive parent profile that I put together myself and the one that my friends did for me was huge. I had created a book that told all of the reasons why an expecting mother should choose us as adoptive parents (steady jobs, stable home, etc.). My friends invited the expecting mother into my life with warmth and humor. The facts were not different – it was the tone that changed.

If you have been waiting to adopt a baby domestically for over a year, I strongly suggest that you replace your adoptive parent profile. Whether you contact a professional for help like my friend Lori or enlist help from your friends, get an objective opinion about how you are presenting yourself. I was too close to the situation and could not see my adoptive parent profile through another person’s eyes. After I replaced my adoptive parent profile, we were matched with an expecting mother within two months.

Related Topics:

Private Domestic Adoption

Photo credit: BestLight Adoption Profile Review