Adoption Today

Jed and Vicki have two beautiful children adopted from Nepal and Thailand. We are talking all about how their first adoption from Nepal didn't quite go as planned. It left Vicki in Nepal for 6 months not knowing if their adoption would ever got through and changed their lives forever!

Latest episode of Adoption Today

The cost of adoption can be a big stumbling block for many people- but it doesn't have to be. We have some great info to help you over the financial hurdle of paying those adoption fees. From employer matching plans to the government tax credit, and fundraising or crowd-sourcing, it may be more manageable than you think! Carrie also shares her non-profit, the Promise Love Foundation, which helps fund adoption-related expenses for people right here in Tampa Bay.

Here are some of the links to info we shared:

Adoption Tax Credit Info: http://fundyouradoption.tv/adoption-tax-credit/

Foster/Adoption Process:

www.promiselovefoundation.org/blog/2014/4/21/adoption-through-the-foster-care-system-how-does-it-work

Private Adoption Process:

www.promiselovefoundation.org/blog/2014/4/17/private-adoption-how-does-it-work

Grant Info : https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/adoption/adoptive/expenses/grants-loans/

Promise Love Foundation - www.promiselovefoundation.or

We take a look at some popular children's books about adoption. Each has a slightly different message, so we checked out some geared towards international adoption, and others that are better for domestic infant adoptions. Here are the ones we reviewed:

"Wonderful You"

"When I Met You"

"Motherbridge of Love"

"The Family Book"

"Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born"

"Yes, I'm Adopted!"

"A Mother for Choco"

"How God Makes Babies"

"I've Loved You Since Forever"

And we also are looking forward to reading the Dungy's family's new booking coming out February 2019.

Many times in adoption, families have to travel to another state to meet their baby and bring him or her home. That usually means the adoptive parents will need to remain in the state where the baby was born for a few weeks after the birth. Karyn and Scott did just that when they lived in Nashville and traveled to Tampa to be present for the birth of their son. Listen to hear tips on staying sane while staying in a hotel with a newborn baby.

Adoptive parents: For anyone who has ever wished they could ask what adoption feels like from the other side, Anna shares what she wishes all adoptive parents could know.

Meet Anna Bolton:

Anna was adopted from Russia as a toddler and has grown up here in the United States with her mom, dad and brothers. She is about to begin her freshman year in college, but when she's not spending time with her family, hanging out with friends or working as a hostess, she loves talking about adoption. Anna shared with us how her family told her about her adoption, and how she dealt with the information. She also opened up about her feelings towards her birth family, her recent visit to Russia, and the impact that faith has had on her journey.

Liz Aguero and her husband have been foster parents for six years, in addition to having two biological children. Most of their foster placements have been babies and toddlers who wound up finding forever homes with relatives. Their current foster care child is 18 months old, and he was just matched with his permanent adoptive family, right here in Tampa! So, yes, despite what you may have heard, it is possible to adopt a baby or toddler through foster care.

(Keep in mind that any child in foster care has been through some emotional or physical trauma or neglect.)

We talked with Liz about balancing the harder parts of foster care with the joys of loving on all those sweet babies.

In today's episode, we talk about forming a secure attachment with your child, and where to go for help if that doesn't come easily.

Jessica Alvarez helps families in need of attachment-focused therapy and provides adoption-competent services. Jessica graduated with her Masters of Social Work, and is currently a Registered Clinical Social Work Intern at Adoption Related Services of Pinellas County.

We talked with Jessica about the needs of children who have come through the foster care system or are adopted. Jessica shares why attaching to a primary caregiver is so important, and how she is able to help families repair or strengthen that bond.

Also, she shares why some behaviors that look like defiance are actually a survival mechanism for children who have been through trauma.

If you would like to contact Jessica or someone on her team, please call Adoption Related Services at 727-657-7761. They also offer parenting classes and a monthly support group.

"I could never foster, because I couldn't give them back." Sound familiar? Maybe you've said it or thought it. What kind of people can do that, knowing it might rip their hearts out? Are they superhuman? Reuniting a foster child with his or her biological family is usually the goal of foster care. It can sometimes also be a path to adoption, but in this episode we focus on the placements that are short-term, and the families who step up to parent children with unknown futures. Carrie shares the story of loving and caring for their foster baby for six months. We talk about the emotional cost of opening your heart to love someone who may not stay forever. What happens when you have to say goodbye?

Carrie also wrote a blog post the day they had to release Miss Pretty from their care and deliver her to her new home. Read more here about the day they said goodbye: http://adventuresinfoster.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-post-i-never-wanted-to-write.html?m=1

Check out our conversation with our sweet husbands, David and Scott. The Dads stole the show on this episode- and we're ok with that!

David and Scott share their feelings and provide a look at adoption from a dad's perspective. David also shares his bacon-cooking tips. If that doesn't make you tune in, we got nothing.