My husband Travis and I were married in 2009 and wanted to start a family right away. After years of infertility and two miscarriages, we decided to take some time to really enjoy some time together. We travelled, camped, gardened, etc. A year later, we both had a strong feeling that adoption was the path we were meant for. We began researching the process and different agencies around the country. We finally decided to go with an agency that another adoptive family in our area had success with. By August of 2016, we had completed the home study process, signed a contract and were officially an adoptive couple in waiting!
Waiting was HARD to say the least. Time seemed to crawl and fly by at the same time. Days, weeks, months passed without any indication of a match. In March of 2017, we received a phone call from the local agency that completed our home study. They had been working with a birth mother from Oklahoma that was interested in us and wanted to get to know us better. After making sure that it was allowed to adopt outside of our contracted agency in California, we were thrilled to start a relationship and were matched shortly after. Unfortunately, we were not matched for long. We were absolutely heartbroken, but did our best to stay positive about the future.
At the end of May 2017, we received another phone call from the local agency that completed our home study. There was a local birth mother who really wanted to be matched with a family in the same area as her so she could get to know them before placing her child with them. We were so excited for this opportunity and set up a meeting right away. After a couple weeks of getting to know each other, we were once again matched for an adoption.
Over the next three months, we spent a lot of time building a relationship and soon became great friends. We were able to attend all doctor appointments in the third trimester, spend quality time with our birth mother and her nine year old daughter, and be a part of the birth plan.
On September 27 2018, our birth mother gave birth to a beautiful baby boy that we named Benjamin. We were blessed to be able to be in the room when he was born. After two days in the hospital we were able to bring Benjamin home from the hospital and have been blessed ever since. After six months and completing all adoption requirements, we were able to finalize the adoption and officially be a family of three—even though we felt that way immediately.
We continue to have contact with Benjamin's birth mother. Most often through text message with an occasional visit.
