Adoption Muse, (formally on Typepad) has been an advocate for open adoption since 2002.  She is raising 'virtual twin' daughters both involved in open adoptions, as well as a biological son who was born at the same hospital as his big sisters only 23 months later!

The oldest book I have that was written for children about adoption is "The Chosen Baby" written by Valentina P. Watson. This book was published in 1939 and revised in 1977 with new illustrations, but, I'm pretty sure, still with the original text. I sought out this book because I got to talking with a guy in cafe and when he heard I was writing about adoption, he told me that he had been adopted and that he really liked "The Chosen Baby" when he was a young boy. I was curious to read this book he remembered from his childhood and see what it taught kids about adoption. The most striking thing about the book is that it doesn't mention the biological parents at all.

The baby appears at the social worker's office, lying peacefully in a crib, alone. First a baby boy, who is already old enough to drink orange juice, then a baby girl a few years later. Open adoption wasn't even a possibility then, unless it was negotiated at home between friends or relatives. If an agency was used, the adoption was closed. "The Chosen Baby" is written very warmly and I can see how it would be comforting to a child, except for the burning question that would eventually have to arise: "where did I come from?" That question is answered in various ways in books of the 1950s and beyond.

The Chosen Baby author: Valentina Pavlovna Wasson,Glo Coalson asin: 0397317387

This Guest Blog comes to us today from AdoptionMuse an adoptive mother involved with open adoption, who writes:

If my own adoption story were a newspaper headline, it would read: Married Mother of Three Adopts "Virtual Twin" Daughters Via Domestic, Open Adoption in CA Then Gives Birth to Son at Same Hospital 23 Months Later!

Since 2002 I have been an advocate of open adoption and in my AdoptionMuse blog (formerly on TypePad) I'll continue to write about open adoption and family.

When adoptive parents approach open adoption, they are encouraged to make something called an Open Adoption Agreement. This agreement is not legally binding, but it is supposed to lay the groundwork for future contact between the adoptive family and biological family members. Typically, the agreement will call for an exchange of photos and letters, phone calls and perhaps some carefully monitored visits. In my family, a mixture of willingness and luck led us to some extraordinary relationship-building to the point where we now consider the birth families to be extended family members.