The Real Scoop About Hiring An Adoption Advisor
This video talks about what an adoption advisor is, and how to choose an adoption advisor for your domestic adoption journey.
Post-Adoption Comprehensive Care
This guest blog post includes Five Recommendations for Parents to Seek Out For Their Child with a History of Adoption or Foster Care. It was written by Kimara Gustafson MD, MPH, Erin Bocock, Judith Eckerle MD with Adoption Medicine Clinic. This blog post will discuss different assessments and care that is available for a child who was adopted and/or a child who may have a background of abuse/neglect, stress, early adversity and prenatal exposures. To read more about these resources for families who have adopted a child, click here.
What’s In A Name?
Naming your child is a big deal, many people have family names or favorite names they have picked out for their child for years before their child arrives. But in an adoption scenario, there are a lot of things to consider when naming or “re-naming” a child at the finalization of an adoption. Read more below to understand better how a child is initially named in an adoption scenario, and how that is reflected on two different birth certificates.
Another way to look at birthdays…
So, today is my (gulp) 43rd birthday. I used to be one of those people who LOVED my birthday, and was so excited to celebrate it, preferably for a whole week. Now that I’m in my 40s, I feel a little less like that (I’d really rather like to stop aging altogether), but it has also been adoption that has changed my perspective on birthdays as well. My mom typically texts me or calls me the morning of my birthday, celebrating a special and momentous day for her as well. But the same can’t be said for a birth mother who placed her child with another. My daughter Cora’s birthday is only a week after mine, and now I feel a pang of sadness on Cora’s birthday each year. Click here to read more.
Why You Want an Attorney to Represent You in Your Adoption
At Purl, we work very closely with adoption attorneys as we guide our families through the domestic infant adoption process. Before a family actively begins their adoption process, we work with our Purl Families to determine the best professionals for a multi-professional (attorneys and agencies) approach to their adoption journey. Our recommendations always include at least one adoption attorney that is a fellow in the Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys (“AAAA”). As a lawyer myself, licensed in both Arizona and California, I believe strongly in legal representation at least by the point of a match with an expectant family, and separate representation for adoptive families and expectant families. One of the adoption attorneys we work closely with is Ted R. Youmans, founder of Familybuilding, a professional law corporation with offices in California and Idaho. Ted has practiced law for over 33 years exclusively in adoption, focusing on private, agency, newborn, toddler, special needs, interstate, stepparent, adult, disrupted and foster care adoption, as well as the related litigation to those adoptions. Ted is a member of AAAA and the California Academy of Adoption Attorneys, academies dedicated to the promotion and development of highly competent, ethical practices in adoption and children’s law. Today, Ted shares his thoughts as to Why You Need an Attorney to Represent You in Your Adoption.
Pre-Adoption Consultations from the Adoption Medicine Clinic
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.
Natural Haircare Coaching: Tutus & Tennis Shoes
Today we are featuring an amazing resource for prospective adoptive families and adoptive families considering transracial (Black) adoption: Kanisha Tillman, the owner of Tutus & Tennis Shoes LLC (TTS). TTS has been designed to be a community enterprise that celebrates everything about the beauty and health of naturally curly hair and black girls. TTS is dedicated to making sure that everyone has access to the proper education and support in taking care of their child’s naturally curly hair. What started as a brick and mortar children’s salon in Des Moines, Iowa has grown into a global community of fellow natural hair lovers, including and focusing on transracially adoptive families. TTS offers online courses in haircare, support groups, virtual 1 on 1 sessions for education, and an online store full of tools and products to ensure total hair care success. Click here to read more about her and access her ABC’s of Hair Care, and the Tutus Hair Care Shopping List.
National Adoption Awareness Month
November is National Awareness Month. During the month of November we celebrate and raise awareness of adoption. While every type of adoption is celebrated, the particular focus this month is to raise awareness about the urgent need for adoptive families for children and youth in foster care. During the month of November, people across the nation raise awareness of adoption and hope that awareness of adoption encourages others to open their homes to children waiting for a forever home. Also, this month includes National Adoption Day, which is usually observed in courthouses nationwide, where thousands of adoptions are finalized on National Adoption Day,. COVID has put a damper on some state’s celebrations, but we are hopeful that there will still be energy around this important cause. This year, Purl will be highlighting some of our favorite resources for both prospective adoptive families and families that are already formed through adoption. We hope you’ll enjoy what we share!
The Adoption Baby Shower Dilemma
Adoption changes the way in which parents prepare for a child. When you are preparing to have a child biologically, you typically have 9 months to think about your registry, what you might need, and time for friends and family to offer to throw you a baby shower where you get many of the items you might need to bring home a new baby. If you are adding to your family through domestic infant adoption, many prospective adoptive parents struggle with whether and when it is appropriate to have a baby shower, but at the same time they could really use the baby items and the support from friends and family before they take home their child. So, I do think prospective adoptive parents should consider having an adoption baby shower, but I think the timing of that shower is really important. Click here to learn more.
A Purl Family’s Pregnancy Loss + Infertility Journey
Priscilla is a prospective adoptive mother who has been through tremendous tragedy and loss trying to grow her family. Today, in honor of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness week, she shares her three pregnancy losses and her infertility journey in hopes that it will help others feel less alone in the process. Now, Priscilla and her husband Daniel are a Purl family who feel like these losses led them to their adoption journey. To read more about their story, click here.
