Did you know that hopeful adoptive parents often overlook one of the most important parts of their adoption journey?

Hannah Eloge from Kindred + Co. sat down with us for thirty minutes to give us the low down on creating a profile book! We chat about why it’s important and what it should (and shouldn't) include.

If you’re in the process of adopting and getting ready to create an adoption profile book, this episode will be invaluable to you. Hannah offers a fresh perspective on the precious opportunity to connect with an expectant mother (and sometimes family) for the first time. She takes the guess work out of what your profile should communicate!

To learn more about Kindred + Co. and the beautiful profile books that Hannah helps create, visit kindredand.co. You can also follow her on Instagram at @kindredand.co & @heloge.

PS - for 30 days after this podcast is published, Hannah is giving you $100 off a template or full custom book by using code AWPOD.

Connect with us:

Instagram: @adoptwell

Email: [email protected]

www.adoptwell.com

Pregnancy, miscarriage, secondary infertility, adoption - Macie Perreault, founder of Adopt Well, shares about all of the above as she reflects over the last nine years. Adoption is a journey, and while it looks different for us all, there is oftentimes comfort in knowing others have walked a similar path. 

We hope you find courage and hope in Macie's story. 

Connect with us:

Instagram: @adoptwell

Email: [email protected]

www.adoptwell.com

As adoptive parents, we know the weight of sharing your kids story with them. There’s no handbook for it, and every story is different, every kid is different, so it makes it impossible to really plug it into an equation. In this episode, we share some findings from research and survey results from over 130 adoptees in the Adopt Well community. 

We will answer questions around the topic of talking to your children about their adoption story and share advice from adult adoptees on how to do that well. As adoptive moms ourselves, we also give some specific examples on how we talk to our own young children about their adoption story.

We reference two previous episodes, here’s a quick link to both of those:

Season 1 Ep. 3: Navigating a Closed Adoption

Season 1 Ep. 6: Adoption and Christianity

Connect with us:

Instagram: @adoptwell

Email: [email protected]

www.adoptwell.com

In this episode, we interviewed trauma informed, licensed clinical counselor, and transracial adoptee, Cameron Lee Small from Therapy Redeemed.

Among other things, Cam shares what a therapy journey looks like and how we as adoptive parents can support our children.

During the episode, you’ll hear about several helpful resources. Find more about them here:

Therapy Redeemed

Cam's online workshop 

Therapist resources:

https://www.growbeyondwords.com/adoptee-therapist-directory/

https://www.mnadopt.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Adoption-Competent-Therapist-Traits.pdf

https://www.pactadopt.org/resources/resource-library.html

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/cameron-lee-small-minneapolis-mn/490129

Connect with us:

www.AdoptWell.com

@AdoptWell

[email protected]

Do you wish you had a way to include your friends & family in your adoption education journey? Are there things you wish you could tell them, but you don't know how? This episode is for you!

We asked the Adopt Well Instagram community what they want their friends & family to know, and in this episode we share their responses.

This is not an exhaustive list by any means, but we hope you will find this episode helpful to share with your friends and family. Let this be the beginning of open lines of communication and ongoing education for you and your tribe!

You can find us on instagram at @adoptwell

www.adoptwell.com

Kiana Bosman was so kind to sit and share with us about her experience as an international & transracial adoptee. She was adopted from Haiti as a toddler and has maintained cultural connections to her home country. 

We talked through practical ways that Kiana and her family have maintained a cultural connection to Haiti, all the way from Washington. From cooking Haitian meals to attending camps, and even making trips to Haiti. 

She offers wisdom beyond her years for parents who have adopted transracially and internationally. 

If this episode is helpful for you, we hope that you will subscribe and leave us an honest review!

Connect with us:

www.AdoptWell.com

@AdoptWell

[email protected]

Maybe you’ve considered adopting for a while, and now you are at the point of wondering if you’re ready to go for it. This episode is for you. The majority of content we share has to do with adoption education, but this episode will focus on one step before adoption. Actually deciding to adopt, are you ready to adopt. Adoption is beautiful and adoption is hard, so before you decide to begin the process - we have listed out quite the gamut of topics to talk through with your spouse (if married) and questions to ask yourself. By the end of this episode, we hope that you will have the necessary tools to decide what’s the best next step in your adoption journey. Episode referenced: Home Study: A Practical Guide We hope you find this episode helpful! If you wouldn’t mind, please leave us an honest review. It would mean so much! Connect with us: www.AdoptWell.com @AdoptWell [email protected]

Adopting well can start much before a child joins your family. Oftentimes when you are hoping to adopt, there is so much to be done leading up to “the wait”. You research, choose an agency, do your home study, etc. Then...you wait. You wait for a child to join your family. This season can be done well, or to be quite honest - it can be riddled with anxiety. 

In this episode, we share the good and bad things we learned while we waited. If you are in the wait right now, congratulations, you are already taking steps to do this well by pursuing adoption education!

We hope you find this episode helpful! If you wouldn’t mind, please leave us an honest review. It would mean so much! 

Connect with us:

www.AdoptWell.com

@AdoptWell

[email protected]

Are you considering becoming a foster parent? In this episode, we talk with Paula from All Things Moms Blog about all things foster care. 

The intent of foster care is to reunite children with their biological family when possible, but there are also over 100,000 children and youth who are legally free for adoption. Paula and her family have adopted two of their children through foster care and have had over a dozen children spend time in their home. She shares with us some practical tips, and opens up about the emotions that accompany adopting through foster care. 

If you would like to read more about the stats we shared in the podcast, check this out. 

Connect with us:

www.AdoptWell.com

@AdoptWell

[email protected]

Expectant mother expenses is a loaded topic of conversation. Talking about money is always a sensitive topic, but it’s necessary to understand. Oftentimes, the season that hopeful adoptive parents are paying these expenses, is the same season that they’re building a lifelong relationship. Understanding these expenses legally, ethically, and emotionally is crucial for a healthy start.

We sat down with Ashley Mitchell from Lifetime Healing and had a great conversation on expectant mother expenses - what they cover, if they’re necessary, and what questions you can ask about them. 

In this episode, we told you we would link some questions from Lifetime Healing to ask an agency - here you go. 

Connect with Adopt Well:

www.AdoptWell.com

@AdoptWell

[email protected]

Ashley Mitchell 

@bigtoughgirl

www.LifetimeHealingAdoption.com