Drug/Alcohol Exposure Archives

Pre-Adoption Consultations from the Adoption Medicine Clinic

BPetersonDesign2022-04-01T08:30:44-07:00November 15, 2020|Adoption Education, Adoption is Hard, Adoption Process, Domestic infant adoption, Drug/Alcohol Exposure, Hoping to Adopt|

Today, we are featuring a piece written by Judith K. Eckerle, M.D. FAAP, Director of the Adoption Medicine Clinic (“AMC”) at the University of Minnesota. AMC is an outpatient clinic serving families with children adopted domestically, internationally, and from foster care. AMC provides pre-adoption consultations, medical reviews, travel counseling, and comprehensive post-adoption care. Their services can help prospective adoptive families consider their preferences and openness in their adoption journey. To learn more about their services, click here.

Substance Exposure In Utero

BPetersonDesign2023-07-19T16:12:08-07:00November 14, 2020|Adoption Education, Adoption is Hard, Adoption Perspectives, Adoption Process, Domestic infant adoption, Drug/Alcohol Exposure|

This is a guest blog post written by a mom through adoption, and a former Purl family. She is writing anonymously so that we can continue to protect her child’s adoption story.

When you decide that adoption will be a means to growing your family, you’re saying yes to a great deal of unknowns, whether you realize it or not. Post-home study, once you’re working with an adoption professional like an advisor, licensed agency, or an adoption attorney, you’ll be confronted with your “preferences” for your child and the circumstances in which he or she has been conceived and born. When you say yes to adoption, you say yes to an absence of control. Click here to learn more!

Gender Specificity in An Adoption Journey

BPetersonDesign2024-12-04T08:57:53-07:00October 9, 2020|Adoption Education, Adoption is Hard, Adoption Process, Domestic infant adoption, Drug/Alcohol Exposure, Hoping to Adopt|

Recently, I have had an increasing number of hopeful adoptive parents contacting us at Purl and desiring a specific gender in their adoption. As a mom to two daughters who considered adopting a third child, we toyed with the idea of completing our family by adding a baby boy. I can understand that inclination. However, many hopeful adoptive families make the choice to limit themselves on gender without truly understanding and acknowledging how much more difficult being gender specific can be in your adoption journey. Click on our link to learn more.

The Continuing Impact of COVID-19 on Domestic Adoption

BPetersonDesign2023-07-19T16:10:44-07:00July 10, 2020|Adoption Advisor, Adoption Education, Adoption is Hard, Adoption Perspectives, Adoption Process, Domestic infant adoption, Drug/Alcohol Exposure, Hoping to Adopt|

This is an update on the continued impact of COVID-19 on domestic adoptions. Many of you may have read my post in March on the impact of COVID-19, but I wanted to update that, particularly as we enter a new wave of cases in some states. What has been most interesting for us at Purl though, has been the significant increase in the numbers of potential prospective adoptive parents contacting us, which seems to have resulted in part due to families being home, potentially with more time to start the adoption process. That, coupled with these factors below, are making for an interesting domestic adoption environment for prospective adoptive families (a few positives, but overall generally negative). Click here to learn more.

Everyone Isn’t Meant to Adopt…

BPetersonDesign2022-04-01T15:11:51-07:00June 30, 2020|Adoption Advisor, Adoption Education, Adoption is Hard, Adoption Perspectives, Adoption Process, Domestic infant adoption, Drug/Alcohol Exposure, Hoping to Adopt, Open Adoption (Learn), Transracial Adoption (Learn)|

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately and I felt I just needed to be blunt. I often get calls from families that are hoping to adopt due to infertility or other obstacles creating their family naturally, but without a lot of understanding and knowledge about adoption, and the impact of it on all members of the adoption triad. So because of this, I just want to tell you that ADOPTION IS NOT FOR EVERYONE! Make sure you do your homework before you begin, and definitely before you bring your child home. It is okay if you research adoption and decide it isn’t for you. In my opinion, there isn’t enough education and preparation that happens in the typical home study process, and you need to do the work as prospective adoptive parents to make sure this is the route you want to take to grow your family. Click here to learn more.

So You Determined Your Preferences, What’s Next?

BPetersonDesign2023-07-19T16:05:39-07:00November 19, 2019|Adoption Advisor, Adoption Education, Adoption Process, Domestic infant adoption, Drug/Alcohol Exposure, Hoping to Adopt, Transracial Adoption (Learn)|

Once you’ve figured out your preferences in your adoption, what is next? The dreaded adoption wait. If you’re working with an adoption advisor like Purl, you’re likely getting on the waitlist for many different attorneys and agencies. You might be including some adoption outreach, hoping to connect with an expectant family that way. You are then waiting for an expectant family to choose you or find you through your outreach, typically speeding up your adoption journey. But it can take only a few weeks or months, or even a few years to be selected, but your chances are much better in a multi-faceted approach (in fact, none of our Purl families have waited over a year to match with an expectant family).

Resources for Determining Preferences in Your Domestic Adoption

BPetersonDesign2022-04-08T09:24:05-07:00November 14, 2019|Adoption Advisor, Adoption Education, Adoption Process, Drug/Alcohol Exposure, Hoping to Adopt, Open Adoption (Learn), Transracial Adoption (Learn)|

As I spoke about in my post from a few days ago (here), the domestic adoption process is so awkward in that you are essentially saying yes or no to a child. Sometimes you are doing it just by setting preferences in your adoption, but sometimes you’re actually reviewing a summary of an adoption opportunity and saying yes or no as to whether to present your family profile to the expectant family considering adoption for that child. When prospective adoptive parents start to consider their adoption preferences, many have no idea what they should say when adoption professionals ask what types of circumstances they would consider. Here are just a few of the things you should research and educate yourself on as you determine your adoption preferences, as well as some resources for helping you navigate these decisions.

The Emotions of Adopting a Child Born In Addiction

BPetersonDesign2023-09-14T11:54:26-07:00September 23, 2019|Adoption Education, Adoption is Hard, Adoption Perspectives, Domestic infant adoption, Drug/Alcohol Exposure, Hoping to Adopt, Open Adoption (Learn)|

This blog piece is written by a guest blogger who has adopted two children through domestic infant adoption. I believe strongly that parents through adoption should protect their child’s story, that’s why this piece is being shared anonymously.

I’m totally in love with a woman who gave me so much of herself, so much of myself. And I hate her. I struggle reconciling these opposite, intense feelings, all for one person. How can I love someone so tragically? How can I hate her when I feel such gratitude? It was through counseling that I learned how normal it is. It was through counseling that I learned this is what it’s like to love an addict.

5 Adoption Myths Debunked

BPetersonDesign2023-07-19T15:58:16-07:00March 28, 2019|Adoption Education, Adoption Process, Domestic infant adoption, Drug/Alcohol Exposure, Funding Your Adoption, Hoping to Adopt, Open Adoption (Learn)|

Are you someone who is considering adoption, but is scared off by the contradictory things you’ve heard about the domestic infant adoption process? Here’s a list of five myths we commonly hear about adoption - debunked.

Protecting Your Child’s Adoption Story

BPetersonDesign2022-04-01T17:21:50-07:00February 21, 2019|Adoption Advisor, Adoption Education, Adoption Perspectives, Drug/Alcohol Exposure, Open Adoption (Learn)|

When you are an adoptive parent, you are bound to get questions from friends, family and strangers alike about the details of your child’s adoption story, particularly if you have adopted transracially. As a mom of two girls only eight months apart in age (and currently the exact same height), I can’t seem to get out of a public place without questioning stares and at least one person asking me how I managed to get two such adorable, but completely different looking children. I have never had a trip to Costco with the girls without someone asking me where Cora’s adorable auburn curls and gorgeous brown eyes came from.

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