A while back I blogged about the insensitive comments infertile people often hear, including “Why not just adopt”. This comment is certainly insensitive and unhelpful, but in response several people, including a woman named Maria, commented: “Adoption is just not the same as having a child of your own.”
Turns out that it isn’t just the infertile that are maimed by insensitivity.
The statement that adoption is not the same as having a child of your own is both remarkably accurate and remarkably wrong. The first part—“not the same as”—is quite true. Adoption and giving birth are two very different ways of creating your family. Just as New York City and Paris are two different vacation destinations, or chocolate and vanilla are two different flavors of ice cream.
What Adoptive Parents Miss
Adoptive parent don’t get to experience the joys and pains of pregnancy and birth. They don’t have the visual proof of impending parenthood and the communal sharing this elicits. They miss out on the wonder of seeing a tiny foot or head or butt make waves across the belly. They don’t get to indulge in the pregnant parent’s favorite pastime–playing Guess the Gene. “Whose nose she will have” or “Will he get grandma’s gigantic feet?” They likely won’t get to breastfeed exclusively. The expense of adoption, while often similar to the expense of giving birth, is covered by the adoptive parents rather than insurance. And then there is the worry about the unknown–prenatal exposures, genetic conditions, emotional state of the expectant mother, and on and on.
What Parents Who Have Not Adopted Miss
We seem to focus so readily on what adoptive parent miss by not giving birth that we overlook what parents by birth miss by not adopting. As a mother by birth and adoption, I have often felt a little sorry for people who haven’t adopted. They have missed so much.
If you haven’t adopted you haven’t felt the breath holding excitement of “getting the call” announcing that an expectant mother has chosen you (domestic adoption) or that you have been selected as a match by the child’s caseworker (foster care adoption) or that a child has been referred (international adoption). You’ve missed the wonder of meeting a fully formed human being that is your child, complete with all the unspoken possibilities of that relationship. Oh, and you’ll never have the pins and needles sensation of waiting to travel to pick up your child whether you’re driving across town or flying across an ocean—making lists, packing and unpacking, giggling at absolutely nothing, and worrying over absolutely everything.
People who’ve never adopted have never felt the overwhelming intensity of first meeting their child. It’s hard to explain the giddy anticipation mixed with unnamed anxiety. This combination of emotions helps etch even the tiniest details into your memory forever– the colors, the smells, the words, the emotions. For me, this moment is one of my “mountain top experiences”.
Adoption can make the everyday seem miraculous. The moment when this child that you met only a few months or even weeks before seeks you, and only you, out of the crowd with her eyes. The moment when you realize that your small developmentally delayed child is now a robust into-everything preschooler, and the quiet pride you feel knowing that but for you, these gains may not have happened. The contentment in knowing that you took a risk and it paid off. A feeling of satisfaction unique to adoptive parents when we look around our Thanksgiving table and realize that we are a family created by choice and love.
Yes Marie, you’re so right. Creating a family by adoption is not the same as creating a family by birth. You couldn’t be more wrong, however, about the “child of your own” part.
What Exactly Is “A Child of Your Own”?
I’m not exactly sure what Marie and others meant by “a child of your own”, but it implies a desire for a child who looks and acts like you. A child you conceive will share half your DNA, and while it’s true that appearance and certain characteristics are influenced by genetics, what’s most interesting from research, as well as from my personal experience, is how little of our traits, personality, and intelligence are controlled exclusively by our genes. (I highly recommend the Creating a Family show on Nature vs. Nurture).
A child conceived and born of you and your spouse will be a mixing of two different gene pools, with a unique environment thrown in for good measure. Your child by birth may be nothing like you at all. I can honestly say that I am no more similar to my kids by birth than to my kid by adoption. And for the record, similarities are overrated. Being similar to a child doesn’t guarantee closeness or parental enjoyment. In fact, sometimes it means just the opposite. Also, it’s easy to find similarities with all your kids if you look for them.
I suspect that those who made the comments are seeking a feeling of “this child is mine”. But what they are missing is that this feeling comes through the acts of parenting. Sure, giving birth is one act, and a big darn act at that, but parenting is made up of thousands of acts each day, and it is the sum total of all these acts of claiming that creates this feeling of “owness”. Biology has little to do with it, unless you make it.
I worry a little when I hear the word “own” used in relation to our children. I am sure that Marie would assure me that she wasn’t using “own” in the possessive sense, but I wonder. I know that before I had children, and even when my children were young, I thought of them as an extension of myself. It was only after my children grew older that I completely grasped the concept that I am only along for a short part of the ride. I can influence and guide, but never own. Don’t worry, I’m not going to go all Kahlil Gibran on you, but your kids are never really yours regardless how they join your family.
I can hear it now, all these things I mentioned that are special about adoption are not necessarily unique to adoption. Parents by birth can and do have some of these same experiences. True enough, but doesn’t that help make the bigger point? I have always realized that I am immensely blessed to have had children by both birth and adoption. I can’t imagine not having had the joy and excitement of doing it both ways. Neither giving birth to a child nor adopting a child is superior; both are special, and both are great ways to have a child of your very own.
Other Creating a Family Resources You Will Enjoy
- Is It Really Possible to Love an Adopted Child as Much as a Biological Child?
- Will My Adopted Child Love Me As Much As If I Was His Birth Mom?
- Adoptees Help Adopted Parent Answer “You’re Not My Real Mom”
First published in 2014; Updated in 2017. Image Credit: Gantas Vaičiulėnas; Kindel
As an adoptive parent there isn’t a thing such as getting the call. We adopted from the foster system. The only call you get is that they have a baby or toddler available to foster and there are no assurances that it will become an adoption. There is no giddiness nor is there really any picking.
And when they as far as being your own your adoptive children do and will say “you’re not my real mommy or not my real daddy” I have yet to observe anyone’s natural children say that to their parents!!!
“Why not just adopt” is not nonsensical and insensitive. Why? What is the difference between having a biological child or not? If there’s a problem with having an adoptive child then it means you wouldn’t love it the same as a biological child which, in turn means you want a child out of ego and not love. This is probably the biggest misconception of the modern world. We live in a dying world. There are thousands of Chinese baby girls who will be murdered by their own government every day. You could save one of them and be mom or dad, but instead you insist on having a biological child simply because of the strong nature of human ego.
How about you ask adopted children this question. It is not the same to those of us who are adopted, that doesn’t mean we can’t have full and loving families made this way, but unless the adoptive parents are willing to understand it from the adoptive childs view, don’t adopt….just don’t do it. It’s not fair and it’s a horrible thing for those adopted children whose parents can’t or won’t put the adopted child’s needs first.
Hi Karyn,
Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts. YES, we adoptive parents must learn to listen to adopted persons’ lived experiences and feelings. However, until we are “in it” — living and learning how to do it well — we often don’t know that it’s something we need to know to do. It’s not always something that pre-adoptive training through an agency or attorney covers. So if we are not familiar with the adoption world before we adopt, we cannot necessarily know it’s something we must learn.
CreatingaFamily.org offers many resources for waiting and hopeful parents which we hope will give them the nudges they need to expand their learning to include adoptee voices. We are also committed to ongoing opportunities to listen and learn, like our recent panel discussion or our online support group.
It’s is the same thing with procreation. You shouldn’t procreate if you can’t put the child’s needs first. Really, you shouldn’t procreate at all as there is no guarantee that the child will have wanted to have been born. Suffering is inherent to living. There is no consent with procreation. At least with adoption, you are helping an already existing child.
I get why the is irritates you but it shouldn’t.
What “of their own” means is to say they want to experience pregnancy, giving birth and seeing some of their physical traits in their child. ”I want to have a child of my own” is a blanket way to say all of that without stating the finer points as to why they can’t. The more painful and personal points. And without expressing the vast collection of reasons they have for wanting what they want. Perhaps they do not want or cannot manage adoption and some of the things that come with that. Another person may say “I only want to adopt,” for the same reasons. They do not want or cannot manage the things that come with pregnancy and birth. Neither is meant to belittle the other. It is about personal choice. And no, the parents who prefer one over the other are not missing out on anything by not choosing the other. How we choose to create our families is deeply personal. One person saying they want a “child of their own” in no way insinuates that adoption is less than. Only that it isn’t for them.
K,
Thanks for weighing in and sharing your perspective on the “of their own” language. While I understand what you mean about personal choice and not wanting to get into the nitty gritty details of opening up the door of those choices to others, it’s important that we also recognize that those words have been noted by adoptees as problematic and othering. It’s an important point to ponder for those who seek to further understand the adoptee experience. I also find that listening to and thinking of the language we use around adoption from the adoptee perspective can help us all raise awareness in culture about the nuances of adoption as an option to building a family.
We stress over what a youngster will turn out to be tomorrow, yet we fail to remember that he is somebody today.
If you need to have your own biological child to feel special and truly experience unconditional love, then that love is not actually unconditional. The only difference between people who are so dead set on biological children and people who are willing to adopt is the former lack a tru understanding of unconditional love. This a hill I’m willing to die on even if nobody else agrees with me.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I tend to think that none of us can really truly understand unconditional love fully and parenting — whether biologically or via adoption – is only one manifestation of what that kind of love is meant to be. It’s a LOT of weight to put on a child to say that only those willing to adopt have a true understanding of unconditional love. We adults/parents should come to the role of adoptive parenting without the expectation that we know how to do unconditional love. Once we are in it – again whether bio or adoptive – we learn how much we still have to learn about how to love well. And truly, none of us ever can get it all right the right way.
“No one can Truly understand unconditional love” is such BS man. It just means you haven’t fallen hard enough to understand that YOU CAN. Once you truly have lost everything you’ll realize a very obvious truth that unconditional love is simply that… UNCONDITIONAL. BIOLOGICAL OR NOT. You’re making a simple equation ridiculous and it’s because of ego my friend.
Thanks for responding. I should have said, maybe more accurately, that the concept of unconditional love is very subjective and that I haven’t ever experienced it or learned how to give it unconditionally. I personally don’t see any human as capable of blanket unconditionality, especially given what I’ve learned about parental attachment, trauma, and the generational factors that impact how love is given and received.
I don’t see it as ego making the equation ridiculous. Rather, I see it as having an experiential impact on my learning and language. I appreciate your perspective on loss as an impact though. Thanks for adding that to the consideration.
Women who are infertile are not infertile for any reason. Also, you are taking that biblical story out of context. Think of crying in the Bible, she was infertile and it hurt her terribly when her husband’s other wife tormented her for it. Your words can deeply hurt women who want infertile but desperate children. I really hope you don’t cause others pain and suffering.
Okay, first of all, why would you want your kid to be “Infertile”. If they decide, for whatever reason, that they want to give birth, then you are basically saying you either want that to not be an option or you want this to be harder to do. Also, “Desperate”…huh. I am not even going to try and guess as to what you meant by this, Atikul. Also, YES, THERE ARE INFERTILE PEOPLE. These are people who cannot, for some reason, make a child on their own without a procedure( and even so, this may not work), and typically because of their genetics. People with this trait do, infact, exist. That is why why have a medical study of it and why there is science behind it and why we have procedures. Infertility is very real and the WHO(World Health Organization) estimates that there are anywhere from 48,000,000 to 186,000,000 people in the world that are infertile. I personally believe there may be more because people may not be coming forwards and admitting it because of the stigma and judgment that surrounds this topic(of which there should be none), especially for Women, who are much, much more pressured into motherhood via childbirth in today’s patriarchial world.
You know men can be infertile too, right? Almost half of infertility is male factor. It’d be really nice if we stop calling infertility a woman’s issue.
Nobody said men couldn’t be infertile. Infertility and the issues surrounding it do not affect men as they do women. Women are expected to be able to get pregnant, carry, birth and raise children. Society makes us feel less than if we are not able to birth our own children or if we decide to not have children at all.
What are we supposed to do? We can’t have children, despite a decade of trying. We don’t have $30k lying around to adopt. We cannot handle the emotional abuse of a legal risk foster adoption. We cannot handle the unique and extreme emotional trials of an older child through the foster system.
We’ve spent a decade of wincing every time friends or family announce a pregnancy. It’s the most painful thing I’ve ever experience in my life and the pain never goes away.
Is this it? We just waste away the rest of our lives knowing we’ve been inexplicably denied our only real purpose on this planet? What’s the freaking point?
Ric,
I am so sorry for the pain and hopelessness you feel. I cannot imagine how hard this must be for you. I hope you can find a safe place to work through these feelings and find a way forward — the feeling of pointlessness must be so overwhelming and isolating for you and your partner. You deserve to find help that will give you tools to navigate it all. If you haven’t already, I wonder if you could consider finding a therapist or counselor who specializes in infertility grief? We have a few ideas for how to do that here, within our resource page for Coping with Infertility Grief.
My best to you and your partner. I’m thankful you are reading here. I hope you’ll consider our online support group, too. For helping you feel less alone. It’s an active group of many diverse members and many have stood where you are now.
Hi, I’m so deeply sorry for your infertility and pain. Have you looked into embryo donation? Perhaps it would be a good option for you, if you don’t have medical contraindications to pregnancy.
Why don’t you just appreciate what you DO have. You can see, other can’t. You can hear, others can’t. You can walk, you have the freedom to travel, pursue your interests, and have fun. Part of maturity is accepting your infertility imo, and doing something else with your life.
You may think being a parent is the beginning and the end all but it is very stressful and tiring and it isn’t as great as you think all the time. So why don’t you think about that? No parent is happy all the time either another thing for you to consider and I think you should really get off of your self-pity pot and look outside yourselves. It’s your attitude that makes you miserable, not your infertilty..
This is the worst comment you could ever possibly say to someone with infertility. Shame on you.
I am really shocked by the insensitivity of this comment. To be honest, there are a lot of comments in this section which are verging on mean-spiritedness, but this takes the cake. It’s one thing to criticize the article, or try to gently suggest coping mechanisms for people struggling (and gratitude is a great coping mechanism), but to be this mean is unnecessary.
This is wonderful❤️
I wish I had only adopted one. It was a huge mistake to adopt a sibling group of 4. The lying, stealing, sneakiness, and defiance are enough to make me want to run away. I would if I could. My older bio kids can’t wait to grow up and leave home just so they can get away from their adopted siblings. I feel like I ruined my life and theirs. I so so so regret my decision.
S,
I’m so sorry for your family’s struggles. Have you considered family therapy? We have an excellent resource here — Adoption Therapy Resources — that can help you find the support your family needs to heal and thrive.
Best to you!
The lying, stealing ans sneakiness?
What a hypocrite you are, because how you verbally abused these poor kids is EXACTLY WHAT ALL ADOPTERS ARE!!
I HOPE THEY TAKE THESE POOR KIDS AWAY FROM YOU BEFORE YOU KILL THEM OR SOMETHING, YOU DON’T DESERVE ANY KIDS AT ALL LADY, {edited to remove name-calling}.
LOL, the lying? Let me ask you, do you lie to the kids you adopted about Santa Claus?
The Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy? Do you demand they consider you their mother when they KNOW you aren’t their mother and not even a physical part of them? Do you ever think they feel robbed because they don’t have their mother’s love? Do you even care, or is it all about you, you, you?
You know, the self- self-centeredness of adopters continues to blow my mind.
None of you EVER, ever look at things from our point of view OR see how you act and what you say not only effects us but teaches us how to be. If you don’t want adopted kids to lie THEN SET AN EXAMPLE AND DON’T LIE YOURSELVES…EVER.
I hope you don’t destroy those poor kids you adopted either. None of this is their fault, and I strongly suggest you find a blood relative of theirs to give Guardianship too and terminate this adoption at once before tragedy strikes. Because with your attitude, trust me it will. And I know because I have lived that.
You are right. I think the main thing is both should be happy for having a child either having their own or by adoption. Adopting an orphanage child is like giving life to both parents and that child. you are really lucky for having children by both birth and adoption. This was a very informative article Thank you for your article I respect your opinion it will be really helpful if you provide more information on other blogs related to child adoption and any other law or legal related to child adoption like the adoption procedure and etc.
Thank you for reaching out. We have many resources here on our site for all those topics you mentioned. Happy Reading.
God never chose some barren woman to be the mother of another woman’s baby. Where do you idiots get that from? The Hagar story? LMAO. That infertile {edited} kicked her and her son Abraham OUT of her house remember? AFTER years of saying she was his mother! (just like that Tory {edited} who sent the poor kid she adopted back on a plane to Russia, yes you adopters are SO full of love!)
Whiny infertiles pay to have a multitude of crimes committed against the real mother to get her baby then they turn around and say God gave me her baby.
Infertiles like total spoiled brats REFUSE TO ACCEPT NO FOR AN ANSWER. THEY REFUSE TO ACCEPT GOD SAID NO YOU CAN’T HAVE A CHILD (and remember adoption is MAN MADE not God made). So she never would raise a child at all. Adoption is nothing but a barren woman’s temper tantrum at our expense.
Adoption goes against man, Christ and God and all the {edited} infertile couples and the adoption industry says makes as much sense as gay marriage. It is THAT illogical.
So guess what? ALL YOU LOSERS ON HERE ARE BUNCH OF {edited}! that’s RIGHT, INFERTILE WOMEN ARE STRAIGHT {edited}!! Irrational stupid nutcases!
And Tracy, you know {edited} for editing people’s comments. That just goes to show what a control freak, power abuser you are like every other {edited} adopter, you think you have a right to control what we think, feel and say and guess what you creepy looking demon, YOU DON’T.
{EDITED TO REMOVE PROFANITY per community standards}
Crystal,
You are certainly allowed your opinion and expression. However, we edit for profanity because it violates our community standards.
I remain thankful that opinions like yours are in the minority in this community that is education and support-focused.
UGH NO THEY ARE NOT, IN THE MINORITY LADY. But like all adopters you NEVER want to hear that truth, none of you could care less how we feel because all you DO care about are yourselves and the pity party you throw for yourselves every day of your pathetic lives, (poor me I can’t have a baby, the world revolves around me, only my feelings matter, I’m the victim so only I count (which IS A LIE) boo freeking hoo).
EVERY adoptee I ever met online and off hated being adopted.
We hate closed records, we hate not being able to see our mother’s face, we hate that some crybaby woman gets the legal right to lie to us everyday saying she’s our mother when she’s not.
We hate the fact we are forced to take the back seat in our own lives and some strangers off the street are deemed to be more important in our own lives then we are.
The list goes on and on, but you Tracy in your denial once again wave us off by saying the feelings I expressed in my comment are in the minority.
God you have SO much nerve and I am SO sick of you prima donna adopters!
And I’ll tell you this as well, this is why SO many adoptees ditch their adopters when we turn 18 and all of you deserve it.
This is why we go on to find our mothers and the rest of our family especially when we happily give birth to kids of our own.
So fine keep throwing disrespect at us, keep being self obsessed-we’ll see how far that gets all of you especially in the afterlife..
Crystal raises many points from an adoptee perspective that loving parents may not be able to see. Crystal, I was not adopted but I was abandoned by my father after 14 years of family life together. It is 47 years later and it still bothers me. He not only abandoned me but replaced me with three new bio children. I think there are innate human drives that make these less than ideal family situations really hard to process and we, the children, tend to take on more responsibility than we should. I recently watch the documentary Found. It touched me very deeply. And from the discussion on This is us about adoption, I realized on an emotional level we stay connected when on a cognitive level we might know the person, ie my dad, are not good for us. In your case it sounds like adoptive parents were NOT so good for you and you don’t know about your biological and you would like to find out. You sound in pain. I hope you find a good resource to talk through things.
Susan, I appreciate your compassion and I’m sorry your rotten dad left your family but one thing you don’t see is that you knew who he was.
When you are adopted, you don’t know who your parents are and I can’t even explain that kind of mental and emotional blindness that is forced on us. And that is where it starts for us.
Along with the same sense of abandonment you have.
We adoptees get double everything that hurts.
And adopters, facilitators and even our moms, don’t feel what we feel. Add to that the arrogance of adopters and facilitators that say they are “experts” on adoption all day long and I just WANT TO SCREAM. That insult is completely and totally shallow, intolerable and they don’t deserve the narrative.
So we adoptees have layers and layers of frustration and aggravation and no one seems to care.
And yes, I was abused terribly by my adopters. Especially her. She wasn’t good with me-she was a control freak who always had to think she was right and and have her way. She had no gentleness or patience with infants at all, or kids. She was completely military, forceful and cold and how she treated me turned me off and upset me.
So what happened was I didn’t like her. Actually I hated her and I remember feeling that way when I was 4. And she couldn’t accept that and instead of being a mature adult and talking to me about what she might be doing that was the wrong way of handling me and interacting with me, she decided to destroy me instead. She decided she was right and how I reacted to her was wrong. She decided to conclude I didn’t like her because I had a mental problem when I didn’t and all she did to me to make it seem that way is unforgivable. She was an immature, arrogant, narcissistic sociopath who refused to take rightful criticism and this is why I hate adopters.
Their arrogance. Their refusal to listen to us.
Their, it’s all about me attitude. And I see it everyday. Online and off. And this is why I speak my mind. Everyday.
I hope you spoke your mind to your father too-I hope you found him and told him off.
I know many men are dogs and that is why so many of our real moms are and were in the situation they are in.
I think men who abandon their families should go to jail.
That includes their pregnant girlfriends-support them financially or lose their freedom. They have NO right to just walk.
To many people get away with doing the wrong thing in this country and it’s time, we their victims get the justice we deserve. Take care.
Crystal,
Is there any way an adopter could be a good parent? I’m asking because I would genuinely like to foster a child so that they can have a stable home rather than be in the system. I would never dream of pretending that I was a child’s biological parent, and I would provide as much transparency as I was able/had at my disposal and how much information my adopted child wanted. My purpose in life would be to ensure the adopted child had what they needed to be healthy and happy. I do not believe a parent’s job is to control or have possession of a child. Their job is to give up their ego and do whatever’s best for the kid. That’s what parenting is to me. Do you think it’s possible for someone with that mindset to do a good job? Do you have suggestions for how to be a good adoptive parent?
Crystal, women who are barren are not barren by any fault of theirs. Also, you are taking that bible story out of context. Think about Hannah in the bible, she was barren and it hurt her terribly when her husband’s other wife tormented her for this. Your words could deeply hurt women who are barren but desperately want children. I really hope you do not mean to cause pain and suffering to others. In 2 Corinthians 6:18, God says “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” God took pity on us, and adopted us as his own sons and daughters. And while there are many sad stories of adoptions gone wrong, whether the adoptive parents mistreat the child, or the child is taken from the mother for the wrong reasons, there are also many children who are in need of a home and are given a second chance at life by their loving adoptive parents. Since I was 13 I have dreamed of adopting children, giving them a safe home and a loving family, as well as giving birth to my own children. Others have dreams of giving birth to or adopting children, please don’t try to take that away from us.
No, you adopters and your facilitators are the ones who twist that story and take it out of context. You also take one meaning of something that has NOTHING to do with the hurtful adoption system and apply it to that. Like this:
“I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” God took pity on us, and adopted us as his own sons and daughters”.
So what does the word adopt in that quote have to do with forcibly ripping a baby from their mother like in the BSE era?
What does it have to do with not letting someone know who their own mother is due to closed records (and the birth mother privacy lie which closed them and keeps them closed still in many states?)
What does that have to do with manipulating a single mother to give her baby to infertiles because they have more money?
God never said a mother had to be well off to have a baby. THAT decision was made by greedy lunatics like Georgia Tann lady..
So to use that quote from the bible, and apply it to a man made act like adoption, which didn’t even exist when that quote was first said is not only illogical and unintelligent it is also evilly deceptive and manipulative.
You are also wrong about the Hagar story. And first of all, her name was Sarah, not HANNAH, okay?
And no Hagar, the poor slave woman never bragged about being pregnant with her husband’s baby-Hagar was forced to have sex with him BY Sarah so Sarah could take her baby, which you know is just sick to begin with-
And I’ll tell ya, you are unbelievably selfish you know that.
How DARE YOU dismiss MY FEELINGS AS AN ADOPTEE-HOW DARE YOU IGNORE THAT THE SYSTEM IS NOT GOOD FOR US IN YOUR PURSUIT OF SOME SICK SAINT ILLUSION AND EGO TRIP YOU WANT FOR YOURSELF.
And no “loving adoptive parent” lies to a child, keeps them out of reality by giving themselves a title that isn’t true. Adopters aren’t parents, they are caregivers, and even if a child is taken from their real parents, even for abuse, sweeping all the child feels about that under the rug called adoption and never letting them talk about the pain they are in because it will upset the poor infertile woman who wants to wrongly claim the entire tittle of mother is just a total acid trip. Totally out of reality. It’s obvious all you care about is adopters. It enrages me how you just completely downplay how many adoptees have been abused by their adopters too AND EVEN MURDERED BY THEM. Like that isn’t as important as the adopter. PLEASE don’t adopt Alie-you are way to immature and selfish to be ten feet near any kid. Please don’t have any kids of your own either. You are NOT mother material in any way and with your attitudes you never will be..
Oh and one other thing. Yes infertility is the woman’s fault. Infertility IS a punishment from God but that is totally ignored because infertile women don’t want to accept God’s will and adoption agencies want to sell babies and get their money. The customer is always right, the customer should be pampered. The customer comes first, not the truth, EVEN WHEN THE TRUTH IS RIGHT THERE IN THE BIBLE AND EXPLAINED EVEN BETTER IN THE TORAH WHICH CHRISTIANS NEVER SEE..
Secondly many infertile women today are infertile because they had abortions in college. I have seen some of them even admit that online. But the majority of them keep it secret-from their husbands, friends and family members. Then they think they have a right to buy some young woman’s baby who is basically coerced into giving their baby away.
But I am sure that is another truth you’d like to ignore. So many lies in adoption. And with infertile women. So many coverups, well God knows the truth and denying the truth ARE SINS WHICH WILL BE PAID FOR SOMEDAY, TRUST ME.
Look, you make some good points about adopters needing to center children rather than themselves in the adoption process. Also, you raise interesting points about the ethnics of getting children from poor mothers. I’d never thought of that before, mostly because I only ever considered Foster adoptions. But man oh man are you off base with the “infertility is a punishment” thing. Infertile women are, by and large, just unlucky.
Also, phone autocorrected to “ethnics”. Meant to say ethics.
Almost half of infertility is male factor, Crystal. It is NOT just a woman’s issue. Do you feel the same derision for couples who adopt because the man is infertile?
Second, you are massively generalizing. Not every infertile person wants to adopt, or there are those who decide to stay childless rather than adopt or go through fertility treatments. Third, fertile people do adopt. There are plenty of people with bio kids who adopt. It amazes me that the anti-adoption crowd fails to acknowledge this. So, why are you only focused on those with fertility issues, specifically women? People with attitudes like your’s is precisely the reason why so many stay silent about fertility issues, which likely contributes to the emotional turmoil especially when dealing with so many insensitive people in the times they are open about it. Infertility affects many people, heaven help the family member or friend who tells you about their struggles.
And that is because God is punishing his side of the family. Don’t deny what is in the bible. Don’t blame me for infertility either lady. WE adoptees are forced to suffer that by people like you when it isn’t our fault and. I’ve. Had. It.
(P.S. and it AMAZES ME HOW NONE OF YOU LISTEN TO WHY WE ARE AGAINST ADOPTION AND ONLY THINK ABOUT YOURSELVES AND WHAT YOU WANT.
AND WITH THAT KIND OF SELFISHNESS YOU ACTUALLY THINK YOU SHOULD BE “PARENTS” AT ALL…)
Amen to all of this. Thank you for the emotional labor, Crystal.
Why do you give a shit what the Bible said anyways? The Bible if full of God committing genocides and scientific and historical lies. Suffering is inherent to living and the child does not consent to being born. A lot of the time, people wish they had never been born. With adoption, you are simply helping an already born child. People who don’t exist never wish to be born. And I assume you believe in hell. Why should you risk causing your child infinite suffering if they decide they don’t believe in God given the clear lack of evidence? It doesn’t make sense.
I’ve always wanted to adopt rather than have biological children, and so many people have asked me why. My long-term boyfriend just broke up with me because of it—he literally said, “I want my own kids.” It broke my heart. But reading this gave me so much hope. If there are people like you in this world, then one day, I will find a partner just as excited to adopt as I am. Thank you.
Thanks for sharing your story, Alanna. We’re sorry to hear of your break-up, but wow — if you know you want to consider adoption for how to build your family, it’s great that you are so clear about it. Whether you find a partner or not, adoption is a great path. We have lots of supports for single parents, should you decide not to wait on a partner. Check them out here:
Adopting as a Single Parent – 1 hr. podcast from early in 2021
Creating a Support Network as a Single Adoptive, Foster, or Kinship Parent – article
Single Parents – Resource page with a variety of content
Best wishes to you! And thanks for commenting.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and knowledge on this subject. This is often really helpful and informative, I might like to see more updates from you…
Do not know biological parents, brown skin,brown eyes features of native indian, as I have been told I am American indian all my life. How do I find out if I am
Many people find tremendous amounts of biological information when they take the DNA tests that are widely available. We don’t recommend one over another but it’s worth talking to your primary care physician about if you are curious.
Best of luck!
Thank you very much for your response
It’s our pleasure!
I have one biological daughter and 4 adopted children and at not point have I loved them and differently. And no point did going thur childbirth change one thing or make me love my biological or adoptive children differently. If you feel that way and that is your heart then maybe you aren’t cut out to be a mom.
Thanks for sharing your experiences. Everyone answers this age-old question differently — I suspect it’s because some folks consider loving each of their kids “differently” to equate to loving each of them them “more or less” while others define the word “differently” well, differently.
Additionally, I think folks also define how they love and how they express the feelings of love, care, and nurture differently. And I think there’s room for each of us to do so — without disqualifying anyone’s fitness or ability to be a mom.
In my experience as a parent to both adopted and bio, I do love them all quite similarly, across the span of the 6 of them. But I act on that love differently, per the need of the child in front of me at the moment. Additionally, I am a VERY different mom now than I was 27 years ago when I started and if I want my kids to have room to love me differently than their siblings do (because of their unique experiences of being mothered by me) then I want them to leave room for me to mother them differently (some would define this as loving them differently) also.
Thanks for this, it’s important for people to know that families are formed in many ways. I just want to add that many children, something like 500,000 year around the globe, are born through sperm or egg donation. Sometimes a straight person is infertile, sometimes a same-sex couple want to have a child, etc. So when you say (in a factual-sounding way) “A child conceived and born of you AND YOUR SPOUSE will be a mixing of two different gene pools…” it excludes this huge population of children and their parents and presents it as factual information. It would be more truthful and inclusive to say “A child conceived and born of you and someone else will be a mixing of two different gene pools…” (Or something like that.) Any case, thank you again!
MS
I was adopted 2 weeks. My mother couldn’t have children so my parents decided to adopt. She told me of the stories of her trying and the tests and pain and the sadness and emptiness she felt without a child. I love my parents and I am loyal to them until the day they pass. We were placed into each other’s lives through the powers above. How fortunate we are to have each other and the bond is unbreakable. She had so much love to give a precious baby and I’m so fortunate that love was showered on me. My birth mother was 17 and I found out I was the product of a rape. I basically was born against the odds but I still stand strong today. I have 4 children of my own now 3 girls and 1 boy and I plan to leave a legacy before I leave this great earth. If adoption is right for you then go for it. I’m a living proof that there are happy stories in these circumstances and I’m 39 now. Love you Mom and Dad 🥰
That’s beautiful. I love that you came to realize that you both filled each other’s hearts so fully. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for the kind words Tracey it means
a lot.
That’s a beautiful story Emily, I have dreamed of adopting children since I was a teenager, I hope I can have the same unconditional loving relationship with my adopted children. You have given me inspiration to keep dreaming, even when people give me strange looks for wanting to adopt when I have the ability to give birth. Thank you so much.
I like how you said that adopting a child can make parents feel like every day is miraculous. My girlfriend got pregnant and we won’t be able to properly care for the baby. We’ll look for an adoption agency that can help us find a couple that would love to have our child.
Thank-you for this article! I have to say, it isn’t only infertility that might drive someone to adopt– they may prefer adopting. (I’m sure you know this but just wanted to add my 2 cents in case there are others like me!) I am biologically able to have kids but would like to adopt because of so many reasons, both for my personal preferences and because older kids in the foster system are less likely to be adopted and there are a lot of them.
I happen to like older kids, too! My plan is to be a foster parent, and then, if my husband and I find a special kid who feels like our family, we will adopt them.
I just wish more people would consider adoption before pregnancy– we would have a lot more kids with stable, loving homes. Thank-you to everyone who made that choice!
Thank you for sharing your story, Christine.
We love hearing about folks who are pumped up for older child foster care and/or adoption. Please check out our resources to help ready yourself for that adventure, like these two:
https://creatingafamily.org/adoption/resources/adopting-older-children/
and https://creatingafamily.org/welcoming-a-new-foster-child/
How one builds one’s family is a uniquely personal plan — and if I’ve learned nothing, it’s to hold those plans loosely. Whether folks come to adoption or foster care as their intended plan or by a more circuitous route, it’s imperative that they do so in an educated and prepared way. That’s why we exist and we’re happy to help you do that!
Curse you {edited}. Most kids don’t want to be adopted and no one EVER thinks about them in this entire process. It’s always about the inferior crybaby infertiles. Adoption is emotional child abuse and needs to become illegal. Only Guardianship should be allowed so they get to keep their natural born identity, the only one they should ever have. Pushing single moms to give up their babies should be illegal as well, and the baby stealing/selling adoption agencies need to be shut down permanently. Adoption is using a child and taking everything that matters away from them, it doesn’t give them anything at all, only the immoral baby buyers and sellers benefit.
{edited for inappropriate content}
Well, “Had It,” there are many situations where adoption is the best option for the child’s welfare. Nothing about adoption, infertility, or parenting is as black and white as you seem to think in this comment. Thankfully, your opinion seems to be in the minority. There are many who would disagree with you and spend their lives improving the opportunities for children to thrive and find permanency.
Adoptee here and I agree 100%.
Many people don’t want to have been born. If someone has an ability to adopt and wants to they should, as it may save them from going homeless or in poverty and starving. Procreation should be illegal as nobody consents to being born and suffering is inherent to living. The unborn don’t wish to be born as they don’t wish for anything. And sure, eliminating procreation would spell the end of humanity. But why continue humanity just for the sake of it? There is so much cruelty and suffering due to humanity, and we will go extinct eventually anyways. Might as well cut it short and save more working people from being born just to be wage slaves.
I am a grandmother of 2 biological grandsons, who are loving, kind, respectful and my world. I also have an adopted granddaughter who is 4. The boys are 18 and 15. The love I have for my granddaughter is different, it’s not that I don’t love her because I do. How do I explain that. My Son, daughter-in-law and the 2 grandsons all think I don’t love her and that I treat her different than the way I treat them. I don’t see her a lot and I try to bond with her but she not easy to bond with. I am not a cuddling grandmother. My grandparents weren’t cuddling grandparents either. In fact nor was my Mother. Why don’t people understand that a grandmother can have different feelings for biological grandchildren and adopted grandchildren
Hello Cheryl,
Thanks for sharing honestly about your experiences. I can certainly understand that the love you feel for the older kids is different than for a little one. That it might feel different for boys than it does for a girl. Even that it feels different for the biological grandchildren than for adopted grandchildren. Your feelings are your feelings and your honesty is essential in addressing the conversation. What would concern me is that others around you perceive that the difference in how you are feeling is translating to how you are treating her. And that’s likely to translate to HER as well. I wonder if you can consider how that feels to her? As she grows, it might be quite painful for her and she might make assumptions about you and your feelings that are damaging to her growing identity and to family relationships. I would also wonder if you would consider some intentional ways to build a stronger connection that speaks of your love to her? Find something that you love to do — gardening, knitting, baking, painting, any hobby that fills you with joy — and share it with her? Make movie dates or ice cream dates? Anything FUN that can build a connection between you and communicate to her that you are safe, nurturing landing place for her. Grandparents are SUCH an asset to a child growing up and she deserves your efforts even if you aren’t the “cuddly” type of grandmother. (I so identify with that descriptor — neither of my grandmothers were cuddling types but they were very nurturing and invested in my life in other ways.)
Here’s one resource that can give you some great ideas for building connections together: https://creatingafamily.org/adoption-category/fun-simple-ways-to-develop-attachment/
My grandmother had thirteen kids and over twenty grandchildren. She was also not the “cuddly” type. No one on that side of my family was adopted. Some of my cousins definitely took that lack of cuddliness differently. I think maybe you’re being to hard on your self in a sense that you’re having a hard time making a connection and the child happens to be adopted ( not because she is adopted). Sometimes when people don’t have the option of the baby grace period (adopted or not) it can be awkward forming a relationship with a kid. When you have been around since infancy, you are a matter of fact in that child’s life. Getting to know them as a toddler/ child might take a bit more adjustment for you and the child, because you are a stranger and everyone else is foreign to them. Most children gauge love by affection unless they are raised differently. I never took my grandmothers lack of affection as a lack of love. It was because she was consistent across the board with all of my cousins and as far back as I could remember she had always been that way. It was a matter of fact. Bonding with children can be awkward and sometimes stressful. I work with kids so I can attest that it takes times. Trust is earned, it’s not just given when you first meet and some relationships I have to work a little harder at than others. Most of the time before unconditional love is established, in the case of child they gauge how much they like you on how nice/friendly you are because what else do they have in their aresenal? I too am not a big cuddler but I try to meet my kids at their needs especially the smaller ones. I understand what they might perceive from an accepted hug or me turning them away. I speak endearingly to them ( calling them sweet names like little darlings, or telling them how smart they are and how proud I am) and try to smile as much as possible because they imprint on that and know they can come to me for a kind/ positive word. In many cases that is enough. I understand that they may be going through a lot when I am not around and what creating a safe space could mean for them. I’m not sure what your granddaughter went through before she came into your family. I also understand It’s not your job to fix it but imagine if you could help alleviate some undeserved anxiety in a child by getting a little creative.
While yes an adoptive parent does miss all of that jazz….some didn’t have any other options to become parents. Failed IUIs, miscarriages, failed IVFs, embryos sitting in a lab because you just can’t take the heart break anymore. Medical problems up the wazoo all because of the meds, injections –
However the 2 boys that I fostered then adopted look like us, love us as much as we love them. So no maybe it’s not the same- but the saying can be misconstrued.
Couldn’t say it better than Dawn’s own words at the very end:
“Neither giving birth to a child nor adopting a child is superior; both are special, and both are great ways to have a child of your very own.”
It’s not the same – in great ways of what you gain as well in the hard ways of what you miss, “all that jazz” as you call it!
Thanks for reading and weighing in.
Following your thinking, that having “a child of your own” can be through adoption or natural birth, then..
There is no reason to have your own children. No reason to go through a pregnancy and give birth.
Adopt.
According to you, it is the same as having your own kids.
I’ve never heard such hogwash and rubbish.
God created the natural family a father and mother and children.
God hasn’t changed his mind.
And it is through great error and foolish decisions in the human race that orphans were made.
Sad, but true.
To think adopted kids are the same as natural kids is the same as calling God a liar.
Yes, we do all we can to make a fake look real like zirconia looks like a diamond, but it isnt.
Adopted kids, as soon as they’re able, search for their real parents, the ones God gave them. It is natural.
Though they may be rejected by a seriously disturbed natural parent doesnt diminish their need for their natural parent..
God created the family and didn’t leave it open for debate anout what it is .
But until those orphans grow up to care for themselves and try to unit with their “real parents?” Would you leave them to fend for themselves?
I’m so grateful that your opinion is just that — your opinion. And not at all the reality for the many children who are indeed, often the victims of the great errors and foolish decisions that adults make or struggles and obstacles that require other adults to step in and help.
Yes, my belief is that God’s best idea is the family. No, He didn’t change His mind. BUT in HIS infinite wisdom and mercy, He created humans with a tremendous capacity for love, compassion, and wisdom to find additional ways for children who are often the unintended victims of those adult choices or struggles.
You know Tracy my adopters abused me terribly to the point of giving me a permanent physical injury, and they are responsible for the death of my second child, so I want you to tell me how being adopted made my life better.
Especially since my real mother never did or would of abused me.
YOU tell me how God in his cough, cough mercy and love worked in all of this.
I wonder if you Christians will ever, EVER stop lying about adoption.
And if you have enough decency or guts to even publish this comment.
It’s evident that you have some unresolved trauma.
We can’t possibly know that from one post. There are many folks who don’t believe that anything other than the original birth family is best for a child, even outside the adoption triad. It’s sad but it’s true and we can keep educating and raising awareness. And hope that doing so will better serve the children who DO find themselves in need of another family.
It’s such a shame that someone so devoted to God as yourself seems to lack love and compassion towards children who, through no fault of their own, have spent their life feeling unwanted.
I can sit here and tell you that not everyone worships a God, or your God for that matter but that’s besides the point entirely. Basing how much of a connection you have with your child based on whether or not they share your DNA seems pretty shallow and selfish to me, which doesnt seem to be qualities that an omnibenevolent God would get behind.
To say that an adopted child seeks their bio parents because of the natural order also seems pretty ignorant. It is natural CURIOSITY not necessarily how “nature intended”.
As an adopted child myself, I can tell you now that I distinctly remember people who share your opinion. They are quite ingrained in my memory thanks to their horrible attitudes towards me and my parents and overall simple – minded narratives. And no that is not a jab at you personally, I dont know you. It is, however, a jab at people who may agree with you. People who went out of their way to remind me that I would “never be their real daughter” as they’d make sly remarks in front of me to my mum. Or that my parents were such “heroes” for taking in a child that wasnt “theirs”.
In the days of IVF, surrogacy, etc, disregarding something because you dont believe it is “natural” seems quite petty.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and this isnt me taking a personal dig at you, I’m certain due to your opinion you wont be adopting anytime soon so it seems irrelevant. I am quite glad that this isnt the view of many people, as that kind of negativity can really put a damper on people’s moods.
I do wish you the best in life and will leave you with a few quotes from the Bible (I know you never specified which God you were actually referring to but I took a slight guess with that you follow the teachings of Christianity)
Deuteronomy 10:18- “He defends the cause, the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you”
James 1:27- “to look after orphans and widows in their distress”
Isaiah 1:17- “learn to do good; seek justice, reprove the ruthless, defend the orphans, plead for the widow”
Acts 7:21 (in reference to the adoption of Moses by the Pharaoh’s daughter)- ” And when he was exposed, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son”
I’m so confused about your wording….
are adoptive kids unnatural? them not being with their biological parents makes them artificial kids?
I’ve never heard such hogwash and rubbish.
There are folks who believe adoption to be unnatural and wrong. Thankfully, as I said in a previous comment, those folks are in the minority. The children who are left without families deserve the chance to grow and thrive in a new family. And I assure you, none of them are artificial — at least not the ones in my house who leave real love notes on my desk, ignore very real dirty dishes in the sink, and smother me with very real sticky kisses. 😉
Gd brings adopted families together. The live is exactly the same no matter how your family is created.
Great comment.. until you got to ” very own ” if it was that simple or true there would not be so much debate. And millions of adult/ adoptees looking for Mom. Its primal. And little can change the mother /Child connection.. and rarely is does a mother/child separation heal
I want the Adoptive Stepparents to be another available option
I want it to legally exist
for it is best long term for mom and baby to not be ripped apart due to temporary situations
but added support option
Adoption is played heavily on moms to do then guilt not to hurt the adoptive parents done privately
& this is duress
so, moving forward if we were to legally make Stepparent Adoption option available
long term we will see this humane approach and will evolve into a healthy impowering solution
Let me know please who I do to speak with to add this as a choice to the Adoption laws
Adoptive Stepparents
As you know mom will still be mom and loose no rights as mom, but she is sharing her child to an Adoptive Stepparents
which will be the legally adoptive stepparents Which baby may be with mom during the week and stepparents on weekended or vice versa
Birth mom
What I meant by Social Services is there involvement in the adoption screening process / involvement in open adoption except this is adoptive stepparents
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OPEN ADOPTION AND ADOPTIVE STEPPARENTS
OPEN ADOPTION-MOM GIVES UP HER RIGHTS
ADOPTIVE STEPPARENTS – MOM DOES NOT GIVE UP HER RIGHTS BUT SHARES HER RIGHTS
BOTH ARE PARENTING AND BOTH AGREE TO GO TO PARENTING CLASSES TOGETHER
TO BE ABLE TO BE APART OF THIS YOU GO THROUGH THE SAME PROCESS THROUGH SOSIAL SERVICE & MOM HAS TO BE CLEAN
Please help us
I would like to evolve adoption options to a humane approach
Adoptive stepparents
It is an option for a mom who does not have support but does not want to give her baby up for adoption
but would be open to adoptive stepparents
This would still allow mom to be a mom during the week & the adoptive stepparents share parenting during the weekends or vise sera
I think this is a human approach for moms who want to be mom but don’t have the support
This is a situation where they share the responsibilities together respectfully
Rather than becoming permanently mentally damaged by adoption the main option as an outcast baby machine
Being guilted out of your child’s life due to temporary circumstances to sign a paper that last lifetime
If you were to interview all the birth moms who lived through this and the severe unbearable traumatizing pain they must endure for the rest of their lives as a result You would hear from most birth moms they would wish adoptive stepparents’ option was available to them instead
This pain never goes away and you are stuck in a situation of being power tripped and put down by the adoptive parents
you’re not allowed to speak out if you want to give a gift to your child
Birth mom
We appreciate your thoughts and concerns. It sounds as if you’ve been struggling with a lot of these painful losses. Thanks for reaching out and being vulnerable. You are right that there are many options that adoptive parents and birth parents can pursue to improve the relationship, to find openness, and to benefit the child — who should be at the center of all these conversations.
Adoptive step-parenting is an option for those who marry a spouse with children and choose then to legally adopt the spouse’s children, after the biological parent has terminated rights.
When you say “still allow mom to be a mom during the week & the adoptive stepparents share parenting during the weekends or vise sera I think this is a human approach for moms who want to be mom but don’t have the support This is a situation where they share the responsibilities together respectfully” it sounds as if you are trying to get to a co-parenting situation without the legal recognition of parentage. That leaves the child vulnerable to questions about decision-making, guardianship, medical decisions, and other big and small parenting issues. Open adoption seeks to answer some of those issues but provides legal protection for the child as the priority.
Thank you for this. Thank you. I needed someone to get it – to validate what I knew. I have only adopted, but my love and my bond with my children is beyond words. I can only think of words like magical and miraculous to describe it, and even they don’t fully express this crazy, overwhelming, all-encompassing love I have for my girls. I would jump on a grenade without a moment’s thought to keep them safe and well.
Someone said something to me years before I had children (that isn’t worth repeating) that was similar to the comments you were referencing in this blog. However, I found when I had my children that there could not be a love stronger or deeper than this. A person wouldn’t survive it.
I also want to thank you for pointing out the things I did get to experience. I never thought of it like that, and it gave me a new perspective on the special journey I had to my girls.
You made a difference in my life today. God bless you. And, thank you.
Jamie, Thank YOU so much for sharing your thoughts and kind words. Folks like you are why we do what we do. So glad you are enjoying our resources and that you feel supported by our work!
It’s absolutely disgusting there’s so many “people” who think that “not blood related = not deserving of as much love as a biological child gets.” There’s a difference between biological kids and adopted kids, and that’s that you don’t necessarily have to TRY to have biological kids, not including people who may have fertility issues. That’s not the point here. One little accident where you think the condom is fine but there was really a microscopic hole in it, boom, pregnant. There’s so, so many people out there who got pregnant accidentally. Those are biological kids, and yes, there are many people out there who love their children who were born out of an accident, but also many who hate and resent them and abuse them for “ruining their life.” I’d know, I’m one of those kids.
Adopted children, you have to actually want them. It takes a long time to adopt, a long time to get through the system, and lots of money, but you know why people do it? Because they want a child to love and care for like their own, and who gives a damn if it’s not “your” child? You are still their parents, you are still their caretakers, you CHOSE to have them, and you are expected to LOVE THEM as MUCH as you would a “””real””” child. These are children that only want homes and families that will love and care for them. Biological children? They didn’t have to want those things, simply because they didn’t even exist before you decided to bring them into the world.
Frankly, it’s absolutely horrendous there are people who think that they aren’t deserving of the same love as a biological child, only because they don’t share your DNA. Shame on you. Shame. Stay out of the system; these children need people who will love them the same as a “real” child, and if you aren’t prepared to treat them with the same love, don’t bother. They need real parents.
Jessica,
Hopefully, those who cannot find it within themselves to offer that “blind intensity” love (that Dawn articulated in a comment further up the thread) will not pursue adoption or foster care. Unless they either have a change of heart or open themselves to the possibility that the love that exists between parent and child could be a gift to their lives. No child deserves to feel second rate, second choice, or “plan B” in their parents’ eyes.
As an adopted child, that makes me incredibly sad, because I think about it a lot. My mom can’t have bio kids, so she adopted my sister, and later me, and I remember very distinctly when I was a teenager her going through some serious depression and I asked myself “Are we not enough?”. Of course if I asked, she’d deny it, there were plenty of other factors too, so I didn’t disbelieve her (still don’t), but when I see these things, I tear up because that was a really emotional time for me and it still hurts
Thanks for sharing your experience with this topic as an adoptee. I’m sure that it hurts, even while you are choosing to believe your mother, as you say. We appreciate how you shared that both feelings are present and true.
Oh, Taylor, hearing your fears breaks my heart. I couldn’t have biological children and I adopted, but let me tell you, honey, my children are my life. I am SO THANKFUL I couldn’t get pregnant now because now I know THESE were my children God had for me. Obviously, I don’t know your mother, but if she is anything like me, you were the answers to her prayers and more than she had ever imagined you could or would be. Believe her, sweetie. I do.
#infertilityrocks
It is true. Children should not be ripped out of their biological parents’ working class arms as a substitute for ‘real’ children we can never emulate or replace and given to complete stranger for money to accommodate desperate and infertile upper class types. Nobody wants adoption. People want their parents. Ninety percent of adoptions are fraudulent due to lack of signing of the father.
I’m certainly glad that opinions like yours seem to be the minority in this adoption-education focused community.
You are a disgusting, embarrassing, heartless human being.
It’s entirely likely that Nadine is speaking out of the depth of her own experiences. Obviously, those inform her views. While we don’t agree with her conclusions, we do strongly support her right to share those opinions and experiences.
I actually do feel that the primary goal is to keep biological families together and I don’t think fathers are given enough rights..
But there are cases where the parents have not been parents and children deserve good homes so there is a balance.
And you are taking your infertility out on her. And how isn’t that disgusting, embarrassing and heartless?..
I adopted a baby boy of 5 months myself, and I love encouraging people to adopt. But I also hate to see it used against people who want to adopt an infant. Domestic infant, foster, and international adoption are all about finding the right families.
My child is adopted and I’m very happy because of the joy I get just by seeing her smile, when she is hurt I’m miserable, she helped me grow and be more responsible and I’m so happy to hear her say mama.
Dawn,
When I read the name of this article, I was becoming indignant …
Well let’s just say I could not have written a better response myself.Thank you.
Sadly, some people just don’t seem to get it is NOT about them … It is about parenting children and the joy that comes with it is the same no matter the origin.
Funny, my mother thought it was all about her. She used to introduce my sister and I as “their not ours, their adopted”, you could almost see her taking her bows as people would tell her how wonderful she was to adopt us. I wonder how she would have felt if I had introduced her as “she is not my mother, she’s my adopted mother”? Many children need loving homes but that doesn’t necessarily mean all adults who want to adopt have loving intentions as they adopt. The most important thing you can give your children (adopted or bio) is knowing that they are lovable and they belong. When you adopt a child they are yours, period. What kind of mother you are going be depends on what is in your heart.
I’m sorry. That sounds really hurtful. You are so right, that the most important thing you can do for your kids is to give them the message that they are loved and that they belong. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Are adopted children loved “differently” than children that the mother had?
I can only speak for myself, but my adopted kids are loved with the same blind intensity as the children born to me.
My son and his s.o. have had their 2 girls (2&3) taken by court and placed in foster care, now 2nd time in less than 2 yrs. New foster parents since March. Heroin. Court goal now changed from reunification to adoption, so i have begun process and can provide warm, loving, stable home w much support so not just me. If kids stable and loved by fosters, what is best for them? Family? 3rd uproot? Many say long term effects not best? Your thoughts?
I’m so sorry for the struggles that your son and his s.o. are experiencing, including the removal of their girls. Certainly, if you have a relationship already with the girls as grandparents and feel able to raise them, then kinship care is a great way to keep them growing up with family. Maintaining that connection for all of you is important. We have a lot of helpful resources for grandparents and are continually building more. Here is the link to our resource page: https://creatingafamily.org/kinship-care/
Best wishes to you.
If you were to ask my two younger brothers (my parent’s biological children) who was the “favorite,” most loved child, I’m sure they would say it was me, my parent’s adopted daughter. 🙂 I’ve always known I was adopted (at birth; I’m now 54). My mother, who had seven miscarriages before adopting me (all boys), always referred to my birth-mother as her angel who gave her the most incredible gift she never would have been able to obtain on her own – ME. (FYI: When I refer to “my mother,” yes, I’m referring to the woman who adopted me, but I hate it when people ask if I’m talking about my REAL mother. My mother was the realest mother I could ever have hoped for. Yes, we were not blood related, but we were unbelievably connected in every other way. My mother passed away in 1993, and not a day goes by that I don’t miss her.) After adopting me, she had two successful pregnancies, both boys. I’ve always believed that mine and my mother’s souls were always meant to be together. For whatever reason, my soul wasn’t ready to enter this world – or be a boy – until 1964. Since my mother and father only produced boys, my soul needed another vessel that would bring me to them – my birth-mother, her angel. I met this angel two years ago (and was blessed to be able to celebrate her 90th birthday this past June). And she truly is an angel. I found out that she dressed me in the clothes my mother brought to the hospital (I was a private adoption set up by my parent’s attorney) and then walked out of the hospital and handed me to my mother. She told me it was the most difficult thing she’s ever done, but that when she saw my mother’s eyes, she knew she was doing the right thing. She told me that she loved me then, she’s loved me all these years, and she loves me now. And I love her. In a different way than I love my mother, but I do love her. For whatever reason she felt it best to give me up, and the reason really doesn’t matter, she did THE MOST SELFLESS thing out of pure LOVE. I wish more adoptees would see that, that their adoption AND birth were all done out of LOVE on both sides. I will always be grateful to both of these incredible women who have surrounded me with so much love.
Thank you for sharing your story. It’s beautiful and it strikes me that the love with which you were welcomed and raised gave you a great foundation for sharing that love with your birth mother once you got to meet her.
“People who’ve never adopted have never felt the overwhelming intensity of first meeting their child. It’s hard to explain the giddy anticipation mixed with unnamed anxiety. This combination of emotions helps etch even the tiniest details into your memory forever– the colors, the smells, the words, the emotions.”
Yes actually, I have felt all of the above. Every moment since I knew there was a baby growing inside me. As a bio-parent, how could you even say this? That bio parents have NEVER felt that? You are undermining every moment of the wonderful process of growing a child- SHAME ON YOU.
Shame on you for your lack of empathy. Nothing has been undermined – merely the differences highlighted. I have a biological child and an adopted child. Growing a child inside you isn’t nearly as anxiety riddled as adopting a child (at least for myself & by the sounds of it the author). Feeling the baby kick, move and hiccup are wonderful feelings that help to qualms any doubt, even if momentarily. Having a child who you have no physical contact to lends a whole new level of anxiety.
How about we read sensitive topics with open hearts and minds and not compare individuals experiences?
I am a mother of 5 children, 3 biological, 1 through international adoption and 1 through our domestic system. That being said, shame on you for trying to discount the feelings of someone who has done it both ways. I agree with the author. Her experiences are mine as well, or very similar. No experience is exactly the same. However, the feelings from the author are not discounting the other ways of having children. No one is telling YOU that YOU missed out on your greatest adventure or “shame on YOU for not doing it a different way”. By condemning someone’s feelings because you feel good about the way you created a family (and implying that there can not posibally be another way of creating your family that is equally fulfilling and real and have unique feelings that you don’t understand because of the process; however a little different road to getting there) is like hearing your good friend compliment another good friend for being both pretty and smart and then thinking to yourself, “well she doesn’t think I am pretty or smart because i look different than my friend and posess a different skill set; therefore, I am not equal.” That is a very simplistic example, but people do this, and it’s very shallow. It’s extrodionarily shallow to look down on other people’s experiences because somehow you feel slighted that someone could possibly say that both ways they have had an experience were extremely fulfilling to them. There is nothing discounting your birth experience (or my 3 births or hers) in her words. Great for for you that you had positive experiences through pregnancy!! Me too!!! But, your statement is much more about you than the author you are condemning. The intensity to which I love all of my children in exactly the same; however, the reasons I am enamoured with each of them is unique to who they are as individuals. That’s pretty much the case with most normal families no matter how they got there. We don’t own our children, agreed! However, as parents, irregardless of how our families were created, we shape them through our own day-to-day lessons that come from a family. It is up to our children individually own themselves and their feelings, ones we agree with and don’t agree with as they grow to adults. The parenting role is exactly the same, regardless of how the family was created, at least insofar as to how one individual family is capatable of loving and parenting, that’s not because of “adopted” or “biological” status. That’s incumbent on who people basically are. Though different hurdles and questions (which should always be approached openly and honestly), adopted or biological, these are children, for God’s sake! These children, in all kinds of families, didn’t ask YOU which kind of family they should end up in. Hopefully the homes in which they all landed are not broken, a much bigger deal than the debate on how they landed. Don’t put down other children or their families, telling them they are not as “real” or as “loved” or as whatever because adults (who haven’t had the experience, thus having NO platform in which to make a judgement anyway) need to feel the most special because they birthed, adopted, abstained, blah blah blah, is cruel. Grow up!! It is selfish and it is one of the most puerile and hateful reactions another “mother” can express to other children because of her own insecurities. Hopefully you teach your children to be more open minded than you. Also, To say you just can’t love one person as much as another because you don’t is just stupid. Btw, blood may be thicker than water, but love is thicker than both. Love may begin in the womb, but relationships begin with the living, which begins outside of the womb. Just sayin’.
XO, 5 children , 3 ways, pregnancy was neat, adoption had more anxiety=no difference after birth or adoption:) all loved intensely !!
Coming from the perspective of a child that was adopted at the age of three, I loved this article. As I am coming to an age now where I am looking to start a family in the next years, thinking about giving a child that is in need of a family and sharing that connection of adoption with them is in my mind, as I could go through the ups and downs they feel as they grow and think about what could have been. On the other hand, I know that my SO wants biological children, and I also want to see myself go through the stages of pregnancy. I think that doing both is a great way to go, as my parents also did. Great perspective in this article from both sides.
Loved reading this article. A very fresh and different perspective I hear from everyone else. Thanks so much! Sharmila , an adoptive mom
I guess I have a different perspective on this topic. My bio mom was adopted. She is now in her mid 60’s and still struggles with abandonment and rejection issues. Her adoptive family was loving and supportive, but she never felt like she was “one of them”. I can’t have kids of my own, but I personally would not adopt after seeing how it affected my mom. My relationship with her wasn’t good until I was in my mid 20’s, and even now it can go south pretty quick if things don’t go her way. It’s like she was programmed at birth to get rid of anyone that hurts her. I have watched her alienate so many people from her life over the years. On the outside, she has done well for herself. She holds multiple masters degrees and owns a large, nice home. Financially, she is well off and she worked for everything she has. On the inside, she is cold, manipulative and distant. I think she knows this about herself and wants to change it, but she can’t even after years of therapy. I’ve never told her this, but she is the reason I never wanted kids when I was younger. I always assumed if I had a daughter, I would hate her the way my mother hated me growing up. Looking back now, I think she was jealous of me that I was loved and accepted automatically, and she never thought she was. I love my mom more than anything, and this is just my story, but I wouldn’t even consider adopting a child after being raised by an adoptee.
I was planning to respond to this post because I found it wise and insightful and loved how it turned the sort of usual narrative re ones “own” child on its head (I happen to have one biological child and one child who was adopted), but I felt even more moved to respond to your comment, Brenda, because it sounds very much to me like your mother has an “attachment disorder.” This condition is very common in people who were adopted and often results in much the same symptoms as those your mother exhibits. We have worked very, very hard to help our daughter to develop compassion as well as the ability to feel – her body, her feelings…Without such interventions (and we needed a specialist therapist, believe me), she would have been much as you describe your mother. She will still, we know, be extremely successful and even ruthless, but at least now she will we hope have more of a capacity for joy, trust and love.
I wonder if you could in some non-loaded way (haha) share this possibility with your mother?
Wishing you all the best,
Full Spectrum Mama
Since I have adopted my son, I have become sensitive to the phrase “a child of your own.” People say it all the time and I’m sure they don’t mean any harm but I always respond back “He is our own.” Not in the possessive sense of course but think about it from the child’s perspective. You wouldn’t go up to an adopted child and say “Wouldn’t you rather have parents of your own?” He doesn’t consider us anything other than his mom and dad. The only reason I ever feel compelled to mention he is adopted to people is to promote adoption. I don’t mention it often and as he grows up it will, of course be his decision whether or not to tell anyone but I hope he feels proud of his story. Not all blood is family and not all family is blood.
Yikes. Great article Dawn. I see why you question whether or not to allow comments…. Wowza. Anyway, thanks for writing it! We have two biological children and often consider adoption to grow our family. Good insights 🙂
LOL
Raising a child is about love, about giving till it hurts. No child is ” your own.” What I believe to be the most beautiful thing about adoption is that you realize you can love completely without the help of biology.
All my friends who have both biological and adoptive children honestly say they can make no difference, and they are often more connected with one of their adoptive children.
As an adoptive mother, after fostering without knowing if we’d ever be allowed to adopt, I would give my life for my son. I don’t think it’s about what you miss or not, since once you’re a parent it’s not about you. It’s about and for the child. It’s about teaching the child about love, and that love does not depend on biology.
I have the utmost respect for all dedicated parents, no matter whether biology is involved.
When you adopt a child, you become a legal guardian. If your adopted child lives overseas, she must leave her native country to come live with you. You are responsible for all your child’s needs. Sponsoring a child is different because it allows children to remain with extended family and friends in their home countries. You provide vital financial assistance, and you have the opportunity to write letters and develop a close relationship. You can even visit your sponsored child if you want! Child sponsorship can be an excellent alternative to adopting a child for some people.
Thanks for all your posts. As an adoptive parent first and having a biological child several years later, and working in the adoption field for the last 13 years I am going to tell you adoption isn’t for everyone and it isn’t a fix to a loss you are grieving. There are different types of adoption. Children that have been in the foster care system or institutionalized can suffer from trauma and neglect that has lasting affects. These children, depending on their ability to handle trauma, can be considered special needs and have learning difficulties, behavioral problems and need specialist for and undetermined number of years. People considering adoption need to educate themselves on what to expect because sometimes love isn’t enough. Just be prepared, because with these types of adoption (sometimes), the love, relationship and joy of parenting will not fulfill your dreams.
Hi Karen,
As an adoptive child I know exactly what my adoptive mum would say to your comment and it is this: even biological children raised in their biological families have behavioural needs, learning difficulties and problems! No prospective parent, through adoption or otherwise, should embark on the parenthood journey thinking their child will be immune to these challenges and difficulties! There are an awful lot of biological parents out there whose children have never fulfilled their parents dreams, ambitions and expectations and who have no intention of ever doing so. I think you need to address your point to all parents rather than thinking that prospective adopters are living in a fantasy world and that you need to point this out in order to protect them from a bitter disappointment that is only unique to themselves.
You are BIASED, as most of these comments are … I was a foster parent to children with ‘special needs’ and it is VERY different from raising your OWN child from birth and starting from scratch. I know EXACTLY what Karen is speaking of. Adoption is NOT ‘better’ than having biological children, as many here are trying to imply. Some people strongly desire to have their child come from them. I understand this BIOLOGICAL need. There is nothing that can replace it. Adoption can be very rewarding, but most of you need to stop undermining the benefits and rewards of bearing children naturally.
And to those of us that don’t want children biological and never want children biological? Or the idea of having biological children because the process of it is anything but fabulous?
Adoption is not for everyone. Neither is biological children.
For some it is both.
For some it is one or the over.
If anything I would dare say the biased one here is you. You need to be more open minded to the idea that there are 7 billion people on this planet with their own individual personalities, not all feel that deep need for a biological child and to them it has no benefit. To some people no child in their life benefits them. To some having a biological child is the goal in their life.
But really at the end of the day it comes to this.
Everybody deserves a loving family, regardless of their race, mental capabilities, gender, or sexuality. No child should be deprived of that. And no person should be persecuted for their choices in this matter, and nobody is the position to make those accusations including you.
This is disgusting. This whole thread is to discuss how A) GROSS it is to claim you “own” children simply because you pushed them out of your body. and B) That for some families adopting is the best option and that it doesn’t make the love or relationship any less valid.
“Raising a child from scratch” sounds awful, and way more biased than anyone else on this thread you are accusing. I’ve worked with tons of children of all backgrounds, some with special needs, and I feel sorry for the children you’ve come into contact with if your opinion is that being a caregiver to them is somehow lesser than a child who shares your DNA.
ALSO a biological NEED would be to breathe or drink water, not voluntarily have a child. That’s a want.
As someone who struggles with infertility it really angers me that you would shit on alternative ways of having a family. Think before you speak, you are the type of person this article is aimed towards in the first place.
To the haters here, how is loving your adopted children any different than loving your wife, or your husband? Your wife is not “your blood”, and I am pretty sure people love their wife as much as they love their children. (or at least I hope they do, for the sake of the entire family’s well being) I swear, some people have problems. Would you rather the child either, a) be unable to be properly taken care of, B) live in foster homes their entire life, without any parents, or c) be with abusive parents? And who are you to say how much someone can and can’t love someone else? Do you truly have that little faith in humanity?
There’s no humanly way possible to love a husband or wife with the same depth and emotion as a child you have given birth to. That’s a silly comparison.
Jenna, I think it would be more fair to say that there is no way “you” could love a spouse that way, rather than trying to make that statement for all others.
Totally agree.. no love is greater than the love you have for the child you gave birth to.. I agree we could love our adopted baby s lot.. but the love you feel for the child you gave birth to has no limits..
And I dnt agree adoption can match the joy and happiness of giving birth .. I am not saying adoption will not give you happiness.. I believe adoption is a great thing to do.. loving a child as your own is not everybody’s cup of tea.. people who do that are great..
But my point is that dnt compare adoption with giving birth.. there is no comparison as giving birth and loving the child you gave birth to is something way too above
So you honestly believe that a child you gave birth to is easier to love and deserves more love simply because you pushed it out of your vagina? How cold are you. The correct thing to say would be that it the SAME bond, but started at a DIFFERENT time. For a bio child, it starts the minute you take that pregnancy test and it comes up positive, or you hear it’s heartbeat for the first time. For an adopted child it can start the moment you hold the child you never thought you could have in your arms for the first time, are given the wonderful call that someone selected you to raise this child, from among a long list of people, or perhaps rush out to the store for the first time to get baby supplies for the new addition. It’s the same kind and amount of love and the same bond. It just starts at different times. If you are a truly loving, good, and kind parent, you’re love for your child won’t be limited by biology or DNA. It will be UNCONDITIONAL, not because they share your genes, or because you saved them from a abusive situation. Rather it will be because of the joy they bring to your lives, the excitement, the drama, that comes from the late night diaper changes, impromptu runs to the grocery store for formula, or the trouble they get into at school. You will love them because they are YOUR child, YOUR responsibility, someone that will run to you for help on their homework, make you breakfast in bed on Mother’s Day, or ask you to push them on the swings at the playground. You are blessed to even have them in your lives, whether bio or not. Love has no boundaries, no limits or rules. Loving a child is the greatest adventure anyone could ever ask for, and it doesn’t matter how or where this gift comes from.
Ashleigh,
I’m sure (SADLY) that there are many folks who believe as “Stellcy” believes. Thankfully, there are many, many more that love their adopted children fiercely, unconditionally as you express, and regardless of HOW that child came to the family. Those who do not or claim they cannot are also likely inexperienced in all the “moments” that you listed with an adopted or even foster child.
I particularly like your last line: “Loving a child is the greatest adventure anyone could ever ask for, and it doesn’t matter how or where this gift comes from.”
You are wrong. You’re selfish and blind. This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. I hope you don’t have children. It doesn’t matter if you have a bio child or adopted child. A mothers love should be unconditional despite being your biological child or your adoptive child. Our job as parents is to nurture.
Ariel,
It’s entirely likely that “Stellcy” is speaking out of the depth of her own (maybe painful or challenging?) experiences. Obviously, those inform her views. While Creating a Family does not agree with her conclusions, we do strongly support her right to share those opinions and experiences. We are here to educate and hopefully people like her who share these views can learn from those of us who ARE actively loving both adopted and biological children with all that we are and all we can give.
Jenna, you are totally right! Dawn, you are not, my apologies but you are wrong!
Hi There,
I just read this article at work today, I’m 25 and still have a few years left before I start thinking of children. But it has always occurred to me whether I should give birth or to adopt. There’s an Indian woman in my studio who every month suffers with great pains during her cycle. I asked her way she suffers with it and she told me that traditionally if a woman can’t give birth, they’re not really a woman and her step parents would disown her. I couldn’t believe it when she told me, every month she goes to the hospital, take far more pills then she should at her age all for the sake of a tradition. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not here to diminish traditions, but to think a woman not truly a woman just because she couldn’t give birth boggles me. I would think a woman who could love someone so unconditionally blood related or not, would be considered a true saint, a true woman and a true mother too.
I’m also not diminishing people who give birth. If I happen to get pregnant I would be just as glad, but if we can love our lovers, our husbands, our wives with all our heart and want to become a family with them, join families with them, then why couldn’t that love be just as unconditional for an adopted child?
I think I’ll let what happens, happen. but reading this article and everyone’s comments really helped make me feel better that I’m not the only one who thinks about adoption as a first choice be them able or unable to give birth. Thank you! 🙂
Oh wow, it’s so SO great to hear this from people my age.
Just recently my friend was challenging me because of my desire to want to adopt my first child saying that just by wanting that alone means the number of potential people out there for me greatly reduces. But seeing your comment, and you being a similar aged woman who shares the openness about the subject really has helped me.
Thank you and good luck with the future 🙂
Really! It’s up to you and your life ^-^ Nobody can make these choices but you, not your parents, your parent, or friends.
It’s a big responsibility and it is your’s alone to mill over. All the rest of us can do is support your choices and inform you of the choices to make sure you get the best possible experience ^-^
Ya know, some of these comments really diminish my hope for humanity. Are there really people who seriously believe that once an adopted child turns 18, they’re just gonna say “screw you” to their adoptive parents and cut them out of their life just because they don’t have the same dna? Well I don’t believe it. I mean, is blood relation all people really care about? What about love? Have people in this day and age really forgotten about that? I say to hell with dna. If you really bond with any child, teach them important values, help them gain confidence and be there for them whenever they feel unhappy, then that’s what really matters to them. To quote the quoted title of this blog “Adoption is not the same as having your own child”, you’re right, it isn’t. I say it’s even better than having your own child, because it allows you to show a wonderful form of human compassion. Something which based on some of these insensitive comments, a lot of people cleary don’t have.
It happens, there’s a large group of adoptees that have been adopted back by their biological parents as adults. They assist other adult adoptees in the legalities of undoing their adoption by strangers.
No one is saying that the adopted child says screw you to the people who raised them .. but the adult/adoptee looks for their Mom.
While its true that love is thicker than blood. Blood is still thicker than water .So love and blood will still always be thicker over love and water. In other words a child over 18 should have the right to know who their real mum is .Actually both adopted mum and birth mum are real mums. But a birth mum will never forget her child/ren and only did what she did to give her child/ren a better life. Yes an adopted parent can and probably do love an adopted child/ren as if they were their birth blood child. But a birth mum also loves her child/ren . And the adopted parents should know this and stop denying their adopted child/ren in having a relationship with their birth mum and family. Also alot of adopted children will say that they want to know where they came from and who they are. So in other words they are basing who they are on their birth family over their adopted ones. They will always consider their adopted parents as their parents as they raised them but that does not take away that they will want to know who their birth parents are too.
Unless you worked with the birth parents and the adoption was agreeable to all parties, you stole the child. Adoptive families are not FOREVER families. A court-order is only good until the age of 18. DNA is forever. Stop forced adoptions by CPS. No child should ever be adopted out if either parent objects. No parent should ever lose the right to contact their child. Thanks to social media, the archaic practice of forcible adoption is no longer permanent. Children are rejecting their government-approved families and fleeing for their biological family.
Hummmm,agenda anyone?
How can anyone say that adoptive families are not forever families. Blood may be thicker than water but love is thicker than blood. Children are not carelessly taking from their homes by CPS, they are taking from their homes for a reason of abuse whether sexual or physical, and neglect due to the BIOLOGICAL PARENTS not being able to step up and be parents. Your comments seem to stem from a misguided position or an uneducated place.
Unfortunately your statement could not be more false. I am adopted and cps took me from my “egg donor” at the ripe age of 6 months old. She was a homeless drug addict. I was extremely malnourished, couldn’t hold my head up and my legs were bent Indian style(from sitting in a backpack for the entirety of my life, at that point). My real parents fostered me within weeks of being taken away. Four years later they had to fight to keep me from a “mother” who couldn’t stay off drugs for longer than 6 months, in the YEARS the court gave her to get her “act together”. She still tried to fight. By the time I was 8 months my legs were no longer bent, I had learned to walk and was like any normal, happy, chubby baby. I have grown up to be a happy and healthy adult that is looking into adopting a baby as well. CPS SAVED MY LIFE, if it weren’t for them intervening I probably wouldn’t be here today. I have no desire to meet my biological mother and have a wonderful “forever family” as you call it, I call them my family.
I am so touched by what I read from you. God bless you and your adopted parents. I agree with you, they are your family now.
You are lucky that good people took you in and cared for you. You sound really angry at your Mom. I’m glad she fought for you and tried to keep you even if she was a drug addict because you know that you mattered to her, she and your father just did not have the capability or skill set to provide a safe and stable home for you. Some people just can’t do what they really want to do for their children – a rough life themselves, addiction, lack of education and lack of a supportive environment often around people who are abusive to them can make taking care of their kids out of their reach. You speak of your legs being bent because you were in her back pack – she kept you with her next to her body she was homeless and would not put you down no safe place to put her baby down. She could have cut holes in the back pack for your legs to dangle but did not think of that because maybe it was cold outside and she thought you’d be safer and warmer with your feet tucked in. She was not swift enough to understand your bones were going to stay stuck that way…my baby had a flat back of the head nobody told me that would happen – she hated being on her stomache so I would leave her on her back. Nobody took my kid though. Someone should have helped her at least remain in your life to whatever extent she could or was capable. So she’s not as fantastic as those who raised you…so what she’s still your mother and it’s mean to call her an egg donor. Would you say that about your mother if she was a mentally handicapped woman who was judged incapable of caring for you or if your mom had gotten in a horrible accident leaving her be a quadriplegic or if she was in hospice dying of aids or cancer? Parents owe their children the duty of doing whatever they can for them and if all your mom is able to do for you is call every once and a while when she’s sobor to say she really loves you then she should do that for you so you know it’s not you, she did not reject you she just can’t take care of you like they can. I bet she does love you. I reunite families for free ask Dawn for my email if you ever change your mind. I’d be happy to help you locate her so you could say hello to her or to your father. They made you. I help people whose parents are actual egg and sperm donors and the anguish they have of knowing their parents gave them up for money when they were healthy educated gainfully employed men and women who have clean criminal records and passed psych tests when there is not a reason in the world their parents could not take care of a kid – they sold them and their siblings off because they were not in love with the people they made them with. The trauma that people whose mom’s are really egg donors deal with is a way different kind of trauma than you deal with. Your adoption makes sense to an extent your mom just could not raise you in a healthy way you seem to accept that and your not mad at your adoptive parents for buying you from her right? Egg donation is so much different. Between the two f’d up options of being adopted or the child of a donor being adopted at least you don’t feel like your adoptive parents are the whole reason you were separated from your family. I will help you anytime you want or give you my passwords so you can search at your own pace. Good luck to you and I’m glad your adoptive family is wonderful to you. You did deserve that level of attention from your mom and dad and I’m sorry they could not do that for you and glad you landed with nice people who could.
🙂
So glad to hear your perspective. There are so many terrible myths about CPS and Social Services. I believe they saved my son’s life as well. He was placed in our home at 4 days old so he was sheltered from his biological parents’ abuse and neglect however, his older biological siblings were not so fortunate. They are in a better situation now but will be recovering for years if not the rest of their lives. Your past just makes you a stronger person today. I hope my son feels the same when he is grown!
Who wants to live with strangers???? Thats sick. God naturally made Adam and eve as man and woman, they became lovers and started making babies of there own. They didn’t have to go and adopt. // stealing peoples children. The law is messt up, some women need to get a life and get themselves checkt. It’s not the biological mothers fault that those women can’t make babies, oh well. End of story. [edited by admin to delete derogatory words]
How very wrong you are if you would like to get religious Jesus was adopted by Joseph. Joseph wasn’t Jesus’ biological child (drop the mic)
Boom
YES!!!!!!
LMAO Jesus was NEVER adopted by Joseph. STOP lying. He was only Mary’s husband. Man it kills me how you people twist the bible and the truth for your adoption agenda!
P.S. Do you quote scripture about Santa Claus too? 🤣🤣🤣
Says the person who has been twisting scripture all up and down this comment section.
Jesus was not adopted by joseph in the same sense that adoption is played out in our culture. Jesus was not expected to deny who his real father was and he was not seperated from his mother. It’s even more notable that he wasn’t taken from Mary because in today’s society an unmarried pregnant woman who has to give birth in a barn surely would not stand up to your standards of what a mother should be. No boom, Jesus was not an orphan.
I was adopted with a twin, also have an adopted brother, and my parents have a biological child born a few years after our adoption. The love is just as strong if there is bonding, regardless of biology. Enough emotional intunement from the primary care giver ensures healthy connections. Not enough intunement or bonding and the child will likely have relational problems later in life with themself and others. This happens regardless of whether the child is genetically linked to the parents or not. So, Daphney… love is love… I will pray for you.
You lost the argument as soon as you brought religion into the picture. Real life is very different from an angry fantasy based on your interpretation of the Bible.
I am close friends with three people who are adopted and they all three are fabulous people who have wonderful families and were raised with inclusive love.
Luckily there are plenty of religious people here who are kind, respectful, and non-hateful, to balance your comment out.
My son’s biological parents murdered his brother. You really think they should have any say over what happens to my son? I don’t think so. They are rotting in jail and my son hopes he never has to see them again.
thanks for the great article! brings in so much positivity about the whole concept of adoption. i’ve always been terrified with the idea of giving birth and now my health issues may not be able to support it. leaves me with adoption as the way to go. i know there will be loads of things i will miss by not being a biological mother but i’m hoping adoption will be great in its own special way. thankfully my fiance is very supportive of this decision. shall be back with more experiences and comments!
Perri, I look forward to hearing from you.
Everything discussed in this blog.. all begins the same.. A Child is not with their Mother… and no matter how great the new location is for the child.. Neither really recover.. its Primal !!! The child will look for their mom forever.. .Neither fully recover from mother / child separation.. its primal..
What a bunch of delusional whiners. If you didn’t give birth to the child you’re not the mother. That’s a fact. You can in no way love the child as much as a real mother does (I’m not taking about abusove parents so don’t reply with that nonsense). The only reason adopters constantly whine about things people say to them, like this blog post, is because it disrupts their little fantasy. Guess what? No you cannot love an adopted child as much as a biological and no an adopted child is not your own and never will be. Yes, I know you want everyone to continually play into your delusions but I won’t. Some people are brave enough to admit or say the truth to you psychos and they should be commended for that. The reason you fools get so offended by it is because deep down you know they’re right
Courtney, please please please NEVER adopt.
She’s cleary just some spoiled immature kid who most likely bullies adopted children at school just to make herself feel good. Well, Courtney, do us all a favor and get lost. Your insensitive ignorance is not wanted or needed here.
I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sick and tired of how you never listen to adoptees Dawn Davenport.
Blood does matter because we WANT TO BE WITH OUR BLOOD KIN.
Do you get that?
You can’t understand when we say biology matters that expresses our deep pain at not being with our own parents and family?
And btw way lady, all you adopters say you do for us, well you don’t do the one thing we WANT AND NEED THE MOST.
Being with people we are a physical part of, who look like us, who are like us, our BLOODLINE.
You know yours matters to you, your family tree and all, but you demand ours doesn’t matter to us and guess what?
THAT AIN’T LOVE.
And being with our bloodlines, especially when we are adopted as infants is MORE IMPORTANT THAN your {edited} Christmas presents, your band aids and all the other crap that you think makes you a parent but any governess or nurse has done.
So come into reality and get over yourself.
Your right except for giving birth won’t make you a mother. Remember its having offspring that makes you a mother. Egg donors are actually people’s mothers if they have offspring and the women who gave birth to their kids are not their mother’s they are frauds. They paid to make their adoption be concealed.
Marilyn, you repeat this constantly on comments to this blog, but you couldn’t be more wrong about woman who are moms via egg donation or adoption not being moms. They are moms to the very depth of their beings.
Not offended in the least, I’m laughing because of how [wrong] you are. {edited by admin}
Dear Courtney,
The problem with what you say is this: it is YOUR truth. It is the truth for MANY others who are where you are, psychologically, mentally and spiritually. Everyone is NOT the same on this planet….each of us is an individual. Yes, there are many people who cannot love a non-blood child as much as a blood child. You and your fellows are those people. But there are people who can.You can only experience your own consciousness, not someone else’s; therefore you cannot know what it means to be someone else. I think the “fools” as you call them are offended because of so many people’s obvious hatred and lack of compassion for others’ grief. Perhaps all the adoption haters should be born in their next life as infertile people who have the nature given instinct to have a family. Then they will know how it feels, and what they are, and are not capable of. Perhaps those who have successfully adopted should be reborn as mothers or fathers who lose a child to adoption, or as adoptees for whom it just doesn’t feel right. Then we will all understand eachother.
I’m an adoptee with natural children of my own. Courtney, you hit the nail right on the head. There is NO way an adoptive parent could love their adopted child as much as one “of their own”. (we all know what that term means). If your neighbors perished in a plane crash and you agreed to raise their child , would you love that child as much as your own? rhetorical question I know. Why would a woman with adopted children risk her health for a failed uterus transplant? ans:because she wants children of her own”. Adoption in the U.S. is mostly about finding children for needy parents not the other way around. If they truly cared about their adopted child, they would encourage bio contacts, knowing heritage. Unless you are an adoptee, you can NEVER understand what it’s like to be forced into being a person you were never meant to be. Lots of wonderful stories in the news about re-homing adopted children because they “didn’t work out”. My current wife’s son is a heroin addict but I’m pretty sure she never once thought about returning him if she could. Being a bio parent is a MUCH stronger bond that , try as they may, are delusional in thinking otherwise.
Brad, there are poor attachments between adopted children and their parents just as there are poor attachments between biological children and their parents… You are refering to poor parenting and not the topic at hand. I am an adoptee and I agree that it does take an awareness of the parents to provide sufficient bonding, but not every adoption is generalised to your experiences, including exposure to negative media. Sorry that your life circumstances/trauma has given you an overall negative view on adoption.
Wow… you’re a horrible person.
This is true: “Neither giving birth to a child not adopting a child is superior; both are special, and both are great ways to have a child of your very own.”
Both ways are good, But yes, babies who are in adoption agencies deserve to have family and parent love. So parents who are considering adoption should be cheerful and happy that they doing something more good then giving birth to own child.
thats true amen
Domestic newborn adopters are vile pieces of trash that should all be shot and put out of their psychotic infertile misery. You all, every last one, are delusional, pathetic, narcissistic, baby abusers. You’re infertile for a reason and it’s not so you can go exploit impoverished people for their children that you want to force into your delusion. Sickos!!
Some days it’s really difficult to know whether to approve comments or not. I try to ere on the side of approving because at least it shows the world that these type of opinions really do exist. {sigh}
That comment is heartbreaking. I’m adopted. I also have chosen to adopt a child instead of creating one.
Thank you for leaving the comment. I am considering adoption (not because of infertility as the other comment mentions, but because we have the resources to do so.) I had no idea anyone could ever think of adoption negatively. The comments (while hateful) are informative to the fact this is a complex matter for a lot of people. Thank you for allowing it
Wow. First, I am sorry you have obviously had such a horrible experience. Maybe you were adopted and abused, you should take a look at where that anger comes from. You are also sadly misinformed. Not all adoptive parents adopt because they are infertile. The author of this article has biological kids as well as adopted kids. And kids who are adopted don’t necessarily come from impoverished families. And abuse happens in bio families too.
Evan you statement is extremely false and ignorant. Emily is absolutely correct… I was adopted and taken away from my biological mother because I was extremely neglected. I have siblings that are biological to my parents and I got the same treatment as the rest of them. I have the most amazing family and couldn’t have even dreamed of having more patient, kind and loving parents. Evan, I feel sorry for the way you think. I hate to judge or point fingers, but you sound like you’re the one who is psychotic, delusional, pathetic and narcissistic. I hope you find a better way to channel your anger and better your life. Sending positive thoughts your way.
Evan: whoa!!!!!!! You are one angry sick puppy, I sure hope you never “breed”. As an adult adoptee who found her birthmother, I can assure you that your comment is beyond offensive to all three sides of the adoption triangle. My adoption was a closed adoption and it took a great deal of time (and there was no internet access in 1989 for the whole world) for me to find her. I was the youngest of six children, and the product of an affair with a married man. She already had two children by him, and her decision to give me up was very hard for her, but the best thing she could have done for me. I was never able to look at her as my mother, because she wasn’t there when I needed mothering. I was very lucky and blessed that she made that difficult and unselfish decision. Now, I suggest you take a nap and shut up, you’re a tad cranky.
YOU’RE SO RIGHT! MY ADULT DAUGHTER HAS NOW DECIDED TO BE ADOPTED BY A STERILE WANNABE MOM, WHO’S ALSO TAKING MY ONE & ONLY 15 MONTH OLD GRANDDAUGHTER, BECAUSE I’M DISABLED-MS ON A VERY LOW INCOME. A YEAR AGO, MY ADULT DAIGHTER WANTED TO KILL THE STERILE CUCKOO. NOW, SHE LET’S HER PAY FOR MANY THINGS & IS HER FULL TIME BABYSITTER. IS THIS BASURA LEGAL??? CHRISSI
THAT HURTS!!!!
I was adopted when I was a little baby because my real mom didn’t want me, and they are the most loving people you could ever come across, and I love them very much. I plan to adopt later on down the road because I want to give a child the same love and good life my adoptive parents gave me. Heck my adoptive parents are my one and only true parents for I was too young to know my biological parents, and they have treated me as if I was blood related. The love is still there, and it doesn’t matter whether it’s biological or adoption, the child is still your own.
I am not infertile and have a household income of over 100,000 a year. My husband an I choose to adopt because we didn’t see a reason why we should create a new child when there are plenty of other children who deserves a loving home. Don’t be ignorant and say sweeping statements that overlook so many wonderful parents who take care of children who have been born into unfortunate circumstances. They deserve more than that.
Who the hell says that parents and children have to be blood related to love each other? In 1999 my wife and I adopted a beautiful 14 year old girl some time after giving birth to our first child. This poor girl was abused and neglected throughout her childhood and needed as much love as she could get, and we were more than happy to take her in, even during the joy we experienced at the birth of our own. Since then we’ve cared very deeply about this girl just as much as we do our real daughter. And she feels the same way about us. Being a family is not about having the same flesh and blood. It’s about what’s in your heart. And I have loved my adopted daughter with a passion since the day we met. And she loves me as if I were her real father. She even calls me Daddy, which by the way brought tears of joy to my eyes the first time I heard her say it. So don’t tell me that parents and children have to have the same blood running through their veins to truly love each other. That is just total ignorant nonsense.
True. What you commented is the truth.
Love is not just about blood relation. My mother was adopted by my grandma. My mom has lived a wonderful life – her adoptive parents loved her a lot and all five of my mother’s children love her a lot.
Hello everyone. I found this site just searching for some closure to my feelings. I am almost 46 and childless. I have however raised my two step children. I have lived a double life for many years because I have always wanted a child of my own. I understand the longing or statement of “my Own”. My husband however will go along with whatever my decision is. My issue is I have tried everything medically to have a child but it just didn’t work out for me. My sister-in-law seems to think adoption should be my next step. I guess in some instance I am just selfish because I have spent my entire adult loving and caring and sharing someone else’s children and I just wanted my own. Not only that but how do you choose from one child to another. All children need love. I guess I am also afraid of adopting and that child growing up and one day wanting to know who his/her real parents are. Not only that but my husband if a grandfather now. So to decide to adopt would mean starting over instead of enjoying life at this point. So I feel left out and uncertain on my future.
unknown, your first step is to start getting educated on adoption so you’ll better know if this is an option you should consider. Sign up for the Creating a Family weekly newsletter. https://creatingafamily.org/subscribe/
Unknown: I was adopted at birth and for some odd reason when I was growing up I had several close friends who were also adopted. We all wondered why we were placed for adoption, we all thought of it from time to time, but not that much. As far as I know, I’m the only one who actually searched and found my birthmother. My brother was also adopted, and he has never wanted to know, he has the basics and that’s good enough for him. But here is what you need to know, that child will be YOUR child, I can’t think of my birthmother as my mother, that’s impossible. Your fear is normal and common, but if you and your husband decide to make this decision, your baby will be yours.
It’s a shame there isn’t more financial support for both fertility treatments and adoption. Sometimes after spending tens of thousands of dollars to get pregnant there isn’t tens of thousands left to adopt.
Yep Leslie, that’s very true.
We adopted our son through foster care and didn’t have to pay any fees. Not a single dime. And- there is no doubt in my mind that he was meant to be a part of our family.
Linda, you’re right that my words are based on the assumption that these are ethical and legitimate adoptions.
I love this so much!
As always, you nail it!
The author is the best type of person who should adopt.
This is an interesting article. Thanks for this POV!
Adoption, unfortunately is not an option for us.
If it was, I’d happily have looked into it.
That being said I did and do want to be pregnant to experience my child growing inside me, getting bigger, feeling it move for the first time and then bringing it into this world.
I think both biological and adoptive children have their own special qualities and bring something unique to families in their own ways.
Happy ICLW!!
#40 http://thegalwho.wordpress.com/
As an adoptee and a foster mama who hopes to one day adopt I send a Big Virtual High 5!! Great post!
This article sounds good, but in reality, there is no substitute for a blood related child. There’s nothing wrong with adoption. To each his own in my opinion. But I would much rather be able to look into the eyes of my own biological child everyday. You can’t love anyone else the same way you love your own flesh and blood. You can love an adopted child, it’s nowhere near the kind of unconditional love that happens with a biological child.
Brandy, you couldn’t be more wrong about the love parents feel for their children regardless whether they are adopted or biological. But, if you feel this way PLEASE do not adopt.
Brandy, it’s closed minded people like you that are referenced in this article. I hope for the sake of everyone, you never adopt.
How incredibly insensitive. There are a ton of people who cannot biologically have their own children, that would love adopted children just as much. I hope you don’t pass you ignorance and hatred to anyone else.
Ummm Erica, I hope you caught that the blog was not supporting that comment–hence why the title was in quotes.
You have defined yourself with your statement. When you speak of unconditional love that parents feel for biological children, how do you explain the tens of thousands of parents who abuse or neglect their children to the point that their parental rights are terminated? Or the ones that don’t wish to raise the baby they are having? And what of the tens of thousands of adoptive parents who are willing to put in the time, money and effort to take these children into their home, love them and care for them and give them the life they deserve? I have both biological and adopted children- I can attest that I love both of them unconditionally. I understand our choices are not for everyone. With all due respect, each of us can answer only for oneself – that goes for you too. YOU are the one that cannot love a child that is not your flesh and blood unconditionally. That is a perfectly legitimate way for you to feel. What’s not ok is for you to generalize it to everyone else. I’m utterly offended by your post.
Ummm Robin, did you read the blog??? If so, you would have realized that the title was a quote that I strongly disagreed with. Hummmm, maybe reading before assuming and posting would be a good idea next time.
Late to the party, but Robin’s comment was a reply to a negative post above. She isn’t arguing with you; she’s arguing for you.
Adopted children are more at risk of abuse than biological children. Adoptees are not immune to abuse.
This was a fantastic article. Brandy, I’m sorry that your experiences have made you come to this conclusion. Ever since I was a child, I’ve wanted to adopt. I don’t have any fertility issues; adoption is my first choice. I don’t understand why people think that is odd. I don’t get emotional watching birth stories and I usually don’t cry at movies, but show me a good adoption documentary and I can’t stop crying happy tears. Many biological parents do not love their children unconditionally but I am absolutely certain that I will love my children unconditionally, no matter how they become mine.
I am of the opinion that the unconditional love attributed to biological parents is that of ‘you have no other choice’……because otherwise,I would consider the adoptive parent as the one who has unconditional love
Im adopted. And i have one brother who is my moms biological child and i can day im the favorite. I never think oh thats my adopted mom shes just mom. And i know with certainty that she sees me as her child. I was born by another woman to be delivered to my mother. I chose my mom and she chose me. And after 6 years of foster care it was and still is amazing. What happens if the child looks nothing like you or your husband? Will you love it less? How selfish of you. In reality me and my 2 biological brothers look like each other but we look ABSOLUTELY NOTHING like our birth presents… its kinda strange. But while my mom has blue eyes and i have brown we have the same love and happiness in them. People tell us all the time that we favor each other. It saddens me that people dont see that while i an adopted, im really not. I just to the long way to get to my REAL family. Thw people that created me are not my family. They were more like vessels to carry me to the family i was made for
Thank you for some insight Jackie. I have a bio child and my husband and I think adoption might be the way we are going to choose to expand our family. My concern is bringing in another child when there is a bio child and how that might work years from now.
For some of these posters that are making such uneducated comments about never being able to love a child that isn’t blood, not only do I hope you NEVER EVER adopt, but that you NEVER EVER have biological children. To pass on that kind of small mindedness, that kind of language about people you don’t know, to think your primary job as a parent is to birth and that is it, I feel bad for your children.
This is refreshing and I do not find your comment offensive at all. I, as an adopted person, feel the reverse. For me, there is no substitute for my biological family, who are so much like me. I wish I could have stayed with them, but due to temporary difficulties now long past they were forced to relinquish. I hope adoptive parents realize that as much as they insist their adopted child is their own, there are really no guarantees about how the child will feel when they grow up. They may love their adoptive parents “as their own,” or they may love them differently, or even not as much as, their biological parents. And I don’t see what’s so wrong with being honest about that.
Brandy; I am so glad that you never adopted a child, you sound like a vicious and cruel troll with such a pathetic life that the only joy you get is posting cruel comments about a subject you know nothing about. I was adopted, and I gave birth to my own children, let me tell you something pumpkin, you are dead wrong. How do you live with yourself?
You are entitled to your opinion but it is one that you should really keep to yourself. So basically as an adopted person I should feel “less than” and not as special as a child that was naturally born into a family? Super…you did your job and made me feel awful…hope that made your day!
This may be true, at least in your case. But I’ve noticed that so many parents of adult biological children have problems loving them once they’re grown and out of the parents’ control, and may make different choices than those that reflect or are similar to their parents’ choices. Your comment implies that your “flesh and blood” owes you something, or has a lot in common with you, or exists to reflect what you want. This may not be the case. I wonder if love really is a combination of fantasy and projection, control, and hope for rewards later. And how can we even measure love? By numbers? Haha!
I have giving birth and have also adpoted.one day my mother in law said she didn’t think she could love my daughter the same way she loves her biological grandchildren.i was in shock coming from a woman who is a christian.i looked at her and said that Christ adopted you. So r you telling me that Christ loves his chosen people more then us adopted ones.she didn’t know what to say to that.Christ loves us all the same and it something very spiritual and amazing happens when you look into the eyes of your adopted child.I love both of my children the same and to me they are both mine.one from under my heart the other from my heart.we call her the chosen one and she laughs about it.she always tells her brother that too.just remember I am the chosen one.lol
Teresa, thank you for your post; I absolutely love the analogy you made about Christ’s chosen people. People who claim that it isn’t possible to love an adopted or non-biological child as much as a biological child — or, worse, who actually find themselves incapable of accepting and loving an adopted child — are certainly not practicing the kind of love Christ taught. It’s ironic that anyone so ignorant regarding what defines a family could claim to be a person of faith; I doubt you could find support for the ignorant “adoption is not the same” argument in the teachings of ANY religion.
I always wonder how those self-centered people — those claiming that their “love” for their biological children and/or grandchildren is somehow superior or more valid — would react if they suddenly discovered that the biological connection they thought existed wasn’t actually there. Would they stop loving the child/ren? When you consider that scenario, you realize that those people are fundamentally flawed – either they would continue to love the child the same, proving that up until that point they were deeply ignorant of and incapable of truly understanding love; or they would no longer love the child as much, proving that they were and continued to be shallow and self-absorbed. And in that case, losing their love would, I think, be a rather insignificant loss.
I’ll remember your words when and if I’m ever confronted with the small-mindedness and poor character of those who think that an involuntary biological event is of more significance than years of care and love. I can attest first-hand to the foolishness of the belief that it isn’t possible to love an adopted or otherwise non-biological child as much as a biological one. I love my children unconditionally and always will. I did not happen to give birth to one of them (in fact, I didn’t even meet her til she was nearly grown), but this has nothing to do with me being her mother, or with whether or how much I love her.
Bless you dear one. I have an adopted daughter.
I tried and tried to have a child.
I wanted to be a mom so much I cried often. When I was 37 my husband and I where blessed with a beautiful daughter we adopted. We brought her home when she was 2 days old. Her biological mother was 16 years old at the time.
Not able to have a child, it was heart breaking to see her biological mom give her up.
I promised her that this would be an open adoption and that she will have a relationship with her in time.
I made sure she saw her often. I was so grateful to be a mother.
My daughter is now 22 finishing college has a son, we have had challeges along the way. In our situation it was the best thing to be honest, I always told her she was adopted.
Her bio mom finished college, married and has given birth twice to two beautiful girls.
When she was 12 she wanted to visit her blogical mother we lived in the same town . It’s important for children to know where they came from and in our situation her biological mom wanted so much to tell her why she gave up. It’s all good now. We all care about each other. It was always about my daughter and her biological mom knowing everything was ok.
I’m making the presumably correct assumption that you do not have both bio and adopted children. If you did you would not make such an ignorant statement. Please leave the judgment on loving our children to those of us who do have both.
So I guess your husband is out of luck. He’s not of your flesh and blood, so how can you love him?
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for this post.
I’ve been struck by the consistent use of the phrase “adopted child†to refer to anyone who happens to be adopted, regardless of whether or not adoption has any relevance to the specific context of the conversation. It seems to me that people who use “adopted child†consistently must believe that how one acquires a child is a very important bit of information. If it is the defining attribute of a child, then we need to do a better job of describing all contingencies, not just adoption. How should we refer to children who are not adopted? Biological doesn’t really seem to be the correct way to describe children who share their parents DNA. Logically, all children are biological creatures, including those who are adopted. Clearly, we need better and more precise terms to describe children who are not adopted. Here are a few possibilities –
Conceived in the back seat of an old Ford on a country road before they were married child
John’s, thanks to a sperm donor, child
Faulty condom child
In-vitro fertilization child
Forgot to take the pill child
Tried to save the marriage child
Too much to drink child
Celebrating a new job child
Couldn’t say no child
Oops, I thought you were fixed, child
Offensive? Ridiculous? Absolutely! A parent’s relationship with his or her child is not defined by any of the circumstances through which that child might have been conceived, but by the love and the bond that exist between parent and child. So it is for the child and parent who happen to be joined through the legal process known as adoption. There is no one path toward creating the magical connection between parent and child. It is only important that the connection exists.
How your children come to you isn’t important. It doesn’t matter whether they
ï‚· are put into your arms in the delivery room;
ï‚· are handed to you high in the Andes wrapped in a big sheet with no diaper and a bad case of cradle cap;
ï‚· arrive home at one in the morning breaking out with chicken pox and screaming after seven hours in the car;
ï‚· walk into your kitchen holding the social worker’s hand saying “You my new mommy?â€
ï‚·
From those moments on, they are your children with all of the joy and pain that comes with being a parent.
Its impossible to have this conversation without labeling adopted or biological. Your point is for a different discussion.
Questions Not to Ask About Our Seven Children
(Five of whom happen to be adopted)
Are they all your real children?
No, some of them are imaginary. We just pretend that we have lots of children. It gives us an excuse to have a messy house.
Are they your biological children?
No, some are wind up toys. There are also a few paper dolls and a couple of wooden stick figures.
Which ones are your own?
All of them are our own. We walked them to sleep, tucked them in at night, kissed their boo-boos, slept on a cot beside their bed when they were in the hospital, helped them with their homework, changed their bed when they got sick in the middle of the night, washed their clothes, baked their birthday cakes, wrapped their Christmas presents, attended all the concerts, school performances and sports events, and loved them with all our hearts. That makes them our own. How we got them doesn’t have anything to do with it.
Donna, you can’t see me, but I’m applauding right now. I particularly like your line about an excuse for a messy house. Amen, sister!
I read the section titled “What Biological Parents Miss” thinking I might find an explanation of what the biological “birth” parents of a child may be thinking and feeling or “missing” about their child (and hoping maybe I could relate to it). Upon reading the article, I was extremely disappointed in finding that the article avoided the entire issue of birth parents and their grief as a whole. I do not mean to come off as a bitter birthmother, but I really wish adoptive mothers (and families) could be better educated or better know of what it is like to give a child up for adoption.
Nicole Mary, you don’t come of bitter at all, just as someone who is new to our site. This blog post was intended to address something entirely different–it was addressing a comment made by a fertile woman about adopted kids not being the same as adopted kids. We have other article/blogs talking about the birth parent experience. One you might find interesting is Who Grieves When an Adopted Child Dies. We have also done a # of Creating a Family show with panels of birth mothers to try to better understand their feelings. You might want to join the Creating a Family Facebook Support Group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/40688106167/). We have a number of first moms in that group and we welcome their input in sharing the birth mother experience.
I THINK THAT ADOPTION OF A CHILD IS BETTER OPTION BECAUSE THERE IS LOTS OF CHILDREN WITHOUT PARENTS. WE ARE HUMAN NOT A DOG THAT WE DON’T ACCEPT THE CHILD OF OTHERS.. AND WHAT ABOUT THE CHARACTER? THERE IS NO SPACE OF THIS QUESTION BECAUSE CHARACTER OF HUMAN DECIDED BY THERE PARENTS .HOW THEY LOOK AFTER HIM OR HER IN CHILDHOOD.. PAIN ? WHAT A GREATEST PAIN OF PREGNENCY? U NEVER UNDERSTAND IT.. WND HOW U ALLOW THAT LADY TO FACE THAT PAIN FROM WHOM YOU LOVE…AND FRIENDS NEVER TAKE WRONG STEPS UNDER THE PRESSURE OF PARENTS,SOCIETY.. TRY TO EXPLAIN THEM.. OTHER WISE DON’T MARRY WITHOUT TALKING ON THIS ISSUE WITH THE FAMILIES…
I have two children: one of whom I gave birth to and one who I birthed from my heart (yes adopted ). Since the day I brought my daughter home from the hospital as a foster child at two weeks there has been no difference to me in my passionate love if both of my children. Honestly I now forget who is adopted and who is biological.
Karla: I love that term, “birthed from my heart”.
I’m very sad to see that Anon feels s/he has nothing to learn from blogs – they are a rich source of real experience, real lives and raw emotions. The world of adoption is complex, has many facets and many of us have learned that there are no experts in adoption, those who call themselves experts rarely are. When we close our minds to learning and discovering how the world of adoption really operates in all it’s aspects it maintains something that is unhealthy and needs reform badly.
As an adult adoptee who has suffered infertility and who understands adoption from ‘the inside’ and also loved all my parents I would be interested to know the reasons why Dawn decided not to publish my last comment on this post.
Shannon certainly not all adoptions turn out like you fear! My first adoption of a daughter at 1 yr. old~she is now an adult is a very happy, healthy, well-adjusted, loves her adopted mom, dad and siblings. She has meet her bio-family and is still very attached to us, loves us, and knows many stories of times that thankfully she missed. I know many adoptees are not happy but perhaps you do not hear much about the happy ones. Just wanted you to know we have one in our family.
Anon.. Too many of my bio family never even liked me and due to such I didn’t feel a lot of warm fuzzies in return. There is no guarantee in life bio or adopted or landed on planet as a baby on a meteor like superman that people will like, love, respect, appreciate, etc. If you do your best to care for your child and help them get through life then you’ve done your piece. As I tell my kids not everything in life has to be a contest. I don’t have to love one more than another and don’t fear if they should care about bio family. I do know what you are talking about with the barrage of negativity which if we learn from and constructive it’s good but if only serves to hurt then bad but I see you as going to other extreme. You point out it is wrong. But then you say it will make you turn away. Wrong is wrong, Some have this Cinderella concept and can’t distinguish between what should be in a perfect world and what is. There is no more truth that children should stay in bio families than to say all should be adopted. Every story is different.
Very nice article
I am glad for the frustrating, terrifying, emotional, in the dark, and sometimes disappointing or heartbroken journey on the way to my children because that is the journey that led to them. If I could go back and trade it all for an easy ride or genetic path I would not. I love them and always will. Grass is always greener on other side for bio or adoptive whether discussing children or adults. Sometimes we learn through watching others and sometimes we don’t believe it unless we experience for ourselves. If you take time to read from others you will see there is no group that has an easy path. There are hard stories on all sides and good stories on all sides. If you find the people who love you and you love someone in life regardless of genetic background you r lucky.
Love is a decision and you have to do that with any child at some point.
I love the ending
Read the article it is actually a rebuttal to that
Cherà Howard go read the article. That’s the point, that the child is our own.
With all due respect to commenters, when I became a mom,, the needs of my child supercede my own. It’s ok if my child who is adopted never loves me as much as I love them. It’s ok if she yearns to find out her biological roots. I didn’t become a mom so I would have someone who loved me, I became a mom so that I could share the love I have in my heart.
Beautiful comment.
I haven’t read the article yet, but the title rubs me the wrong way. “…having a child of your own”…that just sounds really bad. When we adopt, the child DOES become our own! I wish the author had said “biological child” instead.
What a great article…thank you for writing it 🙂
I am in the process of becoming an adoptive parent and often the first thing people say to me when they find out is “did you not want to have (or could you not have) kids of your own?” which is a) very rude to ask someone, and b) a bit sad that the stigma of adoption as something “less than” still exists.
Thank you for being open and proud of your special role as a parent and family 🙂
Ali
Anon AP – it is nice to read your thoughtful comments.
“Greg,
I think you are just trying to stir the pot because you know I am blunt, and have said as much before – but sure, I will say it again. No one should adopt when they hold that type of attitude, because adoption is supposed to be in the best interests of the child. That is why they have classes, and counselling, to find a level of peace with them situation, and openness and knowledge about adoption – before they are approved – that is the job of the social worker.”
I was just pointed out that you were being just as unfair to your side as you were accusing others of. Be fair and point out that Holly’s place of hurt caused her to lash out just as Shannon did.
I’ve been where Shannon is before and no I was not ready to pursue adoption. For me to be as effective a parent as I need to be I had to be in a better mental place before pursuing. And realize there is another half of the picture that needs to be ready as well.
I’m not judging all adoptees and first mothers, as you are assuming TAO, just the ones that I have encountered through blogs like the ones I described. I have learned a great deal from blogs by adoptees and first mothers who are able to present their views in a fair and balanced way, by which I mean they don’t present adoption as the root of all evil and where they accept that for some people adoption is a valid way of building their families, and that there does not NEED to be other motives-saving the world, providing temporary homes for children whose bio parents are just “having a hard time”. That sometimes it’s okay if a PAP only wants to be a parent. It’s amazing what you can learn when you are looking at a blog that doesn’t assume that you, as an IF/PAP you are not a lower form of life. This is where I have gotten a lot of my information about adoption, and I honour this information. But alas even these blogs are not safe places to learn, because someone from the other blogs always chimes in with opinions that seek to discredit anything that I might have gleaned from this other blog and its authors. The internet is not a safe place for me to learn about these issues, and I’m slowly becoming okay with that. I will get my information elsewhere-from real experts, not just the ones who only put forth facts that support their own prejudices. I wish to have no further discussion with you on these issues. I know where you stand and you know where I stand and that will have to be enough.
Anonymous,
Pretty sure you haven’t read my blog…or you didn’t hear it anyway…nor do I know Holly either…but you have assumed what you will…and yet, I don’t judge all adoptive parents by the same broad brush holding them to same beliefs, and attitudes, or actions, as you have for all adoptees and all first mothers…
TAO-I’m sorry but I will not take your challenge, because I have reached a point where I have learned as much of the lesson that you and the first mothers who regret choosing adoption want to teach me as I can take. And that lesson is this: as someone who is IF and who is physically incapable of offering any future children a genetic connection to myself or my spouse, I can never hope to be “good enough” as a parent. Something will always be missing in our relationship, something that my husband and I are unable to provide due to a physical disability and that our child will always resent us for. This is the message that I have taken away from the “teachings” that you have put out there for people like me to learn from-that no matter how loving and caring a parent you might be capable of being, no matter what other life giving things you might be able to provide for a child, at the end of the day it will not be enough for anyone, least of all the child you have raised and considered your own, in spite of your physical failings. The best someone like you can hope for is to provide a temporary safe place for a child through the foster care system-which of course has the ultimate goal of reuniting all children with their REAL (read: biological) parents-and if you dare to aspire to anything more lasting, then once again you have failed-failed to accept your own defective nature, failed to remember that your child is not truly your own, etc. I would like to believe that the love given to a child by an adoptive parent or a parent through 3rd Party ART is good for something-not to make up for the lack of a genetic or biological tie, but as a force for good that could benefit a child-not because I don’t believe that biological ties are important, but because a loving home and love for a child is all that I can offer-I am not in a position to offer them my genetic material. But from reading your adoptee blogs and certain first mother blogs, all I hear is that the love I have to offer is not enough because the genetic connection is not and cannot be there. My family will be different than other families formed through natural means because it has to be, but to you and others that means that my family is ultimately wrong or bad or should not come into being at all. This fear is deeply rooted in my heart (and I read it as being part of Shannon’s journey, too), but my heart and mind at the same time tell me that even though my family has to be different due to circumstances beyond my control, it can still be a good one. They tell me that I can still be a good mother to a child and my husband can still be a good father to that child, even though we will not be connected to them physically-they will not look like us, sound like us, smell like us, take after us in any genetic way. These beliefs are the ones that keep me going on this journey, and I need to hold onto them, because they help me to overcome the fears that could paralyze me and keep me from resolving my IF grief by moving forward in some meaningful way.
So it doesn’t help me one bit to hear from first/birth mothers and adoptees who seek to feed on those fears and use them against persons like me when we seek to learn from your stories. Once again, I will use your friend Holly’s example “Stay afraid and don’t adopt”-in any other realm such a comment would be considered bullying-identifying another person’s weakness (fear, physical disability) and preying upon it in order to intimidate them-yep, sounds like Holly’s comment to a T. But I digress. I don’t want an echo chamber as you claim, but I don’t want to be taunted and made to feel like my future family will be inferior just because I cannot give them the “gift” of genetic connection. This is something that first mothers and adoptees are very comfortable in doing when they seek to “teach” (or “re-educate”) those of us who are seeking to build our families in healthy ways through these alternate means, and I don’t find it helpful. In fact I find it harmful. If this is the “take home” message that you want all PAP’s and ART parents to be to absorb and never forget, you can count me out. I know that my family will be different than others-I have no choice but for it to be different-IF stole that choice from me and my husband a long time ago. I cannot offer my future children a full genetic connection to both his/her parents, but my husband and I can give them other things, things that I still believe are valuable and worthwhile. Do I expect our children to be grateful for what we will offer? No-I wouldn’t expect gratitude from biological children either-but I hope that they would be at peace with what my husband and I CAN offer them, despite our genetic/physical failures. I dare to hope that at the end of the day that even if the love that my husband and I will offer our child (ren) will not be “perfect” in the eyes of the world, it will still mean something to our children. No, we will not be as good as biological parents-we can’t be-but there are still ways in which we can be good parents to a child we might be able to call our own. I believe this, and I will not relinquish that belief just to satisfy those who have the privilege of being able to give and enjoy a genetic/biological connection to the children they can call their own.
Greg,
I think you are just trying to stir the pot because you know I am blunt, and have said as much before – but sure, I will say it again. No one should adopt when they hold that type of attitude, because adoption is supposed to be in the best interests of the child. That is why they have classes, and counselling, to find a level of peace with them situation, and openness and knowledge about adoption – before they are approved – that is the job of the social worker.
“As to Holly’s comment – she qualified that was her view and hers alone – she did not generalize to all adoptees…Shannon’s comment wasn’t very nice either but no one said wait a minute to that – did they…”
Along the same lines Tao, I don’t see you having an issue with Holly’s comments you are just defending them. I think both Shannon and Holly’s comments come from a place of hurt. Though different types of hurt for different reasons. If you want to be fair, I think you need to recognize that fact and take their comments with a grain of salt. We shouldn’t just defend the side that we come from which you are doing the exact same thing you are accusing others of.
Interesting post, Dawn, thanks!
As an adoptive parent who came to adoption after an infertility diagnosis, I have to say that Amanda’s comment doesn’t feel like an attack to me. Pointed and passionate, yes, but she’s writing about her life and experiences. That tends to give one a bit of energy.
Anyway, Amanda and Lynn, thanks for sharing your thoughts.
I did, however, feel like Shannon was launching an attack on Amanda. This line in particular really saddens me:
“But I bet they won’t turn that nice hefty inheritance away though when their adopted parents die while they’re licking their wounds looking for their “real mom†like as if the rest of the world doesn’t have pain in their life equal to theirs.”
What a harsh thing to say to anyone! You may be frustrated and angry, but that really was uncalled for and quite rude.
Adoption hinges on the breaking and making of families, and it is terribly complex. Even done ethically and in a fully child-centered manner, as happy as all the members of an adoptive family can be, it still started with a sad circumstance that can have a lifelong impact on everyone in the family.
When I read Amanda’s post, I see her criticizing a system that, rather than helping her adoptive mother grieve and come to resolution about her infertility, encouraged her to put it in a box and adopt a child. As if that were the answer and as if it were some sort of math problem and the negative plus its equivalent positive would make all the pain go away. As a result, it colored the way that her mother interacted with her. It wasn’t fair to her mother or to Amanda that this occurred, right? The pain of infertility is related but separate from the desire and drive to be a parent. One can become a parent, but unless one deals with the pain of infertility and its consequences too, it will lurk there and may well affect the relationship between a parent and child. That’s a problem. Lynn talks about a similar dynamic. Adoption is not a substitute for a biological child, which is the crux of the matter. It’s different! As a prospective adoptive parent it’s a good idea to recognize and embrace the differences and resolve whatever grief lurks re: biological connections before choosing adoption AND be mindful of how it affects your engagement with your child.
As for what my child owes me? Please. Love and trust are earned. No biological child (biologee?) is obligated to be grateful to their parents, and no adoptee should have that obligation placed upon them either.
Anonymous #76/79…I have a challenge for you. Read Amanda’s comment and Shannon’s comment back. Focus on this ending comment “Life is full of enough strife and I will be damned if I will go through all of that and give my heart away to a child and never be really appreciated or loved because they all really feel like Amanda deep inside when the chips are down and they are older. But I bet they won’t turn that nice hefty inheritance away though when their adopted parents die while they’re licking their wounds looking for their “real mom†like as if the rest of the world doesn’t have pain in their life equal to theirs.”
I read Amanda’s as a researched based comment on facts. Yet you eschew Amanda’s and speak of echo chambers (which is what you are seeking here I might add).
The I read Shannon’s response…specifically the last part as I am preparing to go visit my 88 year old mom…you can do the math to get an estimate of the length of our mother/daughter relationship.
Now this point of yours: “We are all vulnerable, and we are all trying to learn how to do things better and differently than they were done in the past so that those hurts and mistakes will not be repeated in the future” – you can not, and never can fix the fundamental fact that to be adopted, means we have another family out there. That adoption severed that link and attached us to another family. That is a loss in the purest form, whether it is the best thing possible, a status quo exchange, or, the worst choice. It is what it is. People are who they are but the desire to have mini-me is strong in many, and parenting a child who is not, can’t be parenting a child to make them like you want them to be – acceptance of their uniqueness, or difference to you, is a very valid requirement that is often, not always, completely different than raising your mini-me would be, because even if they are different, you uncle or cousin is like they are and you accept it with ease that you may find hard to do with grace for an adopted child. There are distinct differences…there are seven core challenges facing adoptees in addition to all the regular stuff – openness helps part but not all.
As to Holly’s comment – she qualified that was her view and hers alone – she did not generalize to all adoptees…Shannon’s comment wasn’t very nice either but no one said wait a minute to that – did they…
Thank you, Dawn for editing and posting my comment. I’m sorry for getting overheated, but when I read Holly’s unfiltered response to Shannon, I guess it triggered me and brought out a side that I’m not proud of. But I still feel that AP’s who want to learn more about the realities of adoption should be able to learn it without being subjected to such cruel responses. Such atttitudes might be okay in blogs such as the Declassified Adoptee, where such words can bounce off echo chambers of similar ideas and attitudes and be affirmed as 100% right, but here where PAP’s and those of us who must turn to ART to build our families don’t need to have abuse heaped upon us just because we are unable to do it on our own through unassisted means. There’s education, and then there is abuse, and Holly’s comment falls under that category for me. From where I stand, she wasn’t trying to educate, she was trying to kick a PAP while they were down. We may be IF, but we are still human, with the same desires and fears as any other person who seeks to become a parent. I want to listen to adoptees and first mothers, but I cannot do so if they do not accept that respect is a two way street. I am finding it harder and harder to find places where such mutual respect is present in conversations about adoption and ART-if you are a first parent or an adoptee, you are pretty much entitled to say whatever you want, without having to care if your words hurt another person, but if you are IF or a PAP or a parent to be through ART, you have to walk on eggshells to keep from offending those on the other side. We are all vulnerable, and we are all trying to learn how to do things better and differently than they were done in the past so that those hurts and mistakes will not be repeated in the future, and when we come together in places where the experiences are diverse, we need to respect one another’s right to be there for their reasons, even if you yourself don’t agree with those reasons. If a PAP or parent to be through ART or 3rd party reproduction is here, they are here to learn, not to be abused or condemned for what has brought to them to this place of education, or to be told that their desire to be a parent is wrong-that is not their place. Thank you
Beautiful letter, Anonymous! What is missing from so many people who were hurt by adoption is compassion. Their anger and hurt seems to be too great.
When people say they loved their parents it doesn’t tell the whole story. Just because they love their parents doesn’t mean they were always supported by them and weren’t hurt by them. At the end of the day be it a biological child or an adopted one when they grow up to become an adult they’ll be their own person. So parents shouldn’t be offended when their kids become adults and have other relationships in their lives especially when they get married.
I wasn’t adopted by as I get older I am finding I have less in common with my parens than I do my in laws. I also haven’t felt supported completely by them in the decisions I’ve made as an adult such as career choices and the decisions my wife and I have made with our infertilty. Does that mean I don’t love them? No, I still love them. Does that mean I don’t appreciate wharf they did for me as a child? Of course I appreciate what they did for me as a child.
My only issue with Amanda’s comment is her saying she had fertility issues so she understands. No she doesn’t. She may understand what it’s like to have fertility issues and eventually be able to have bio children. But she has no idea what it’s like to have fertility issues and never be able to conceive a child. That’s like someone who had a father who abandoned her as a baby and was raised by a single mother saying they understood what it’s like to be adopted.
Dawn-if you choose not to post my response to #72 I will understand but I hope you will
Holly-Since I don’t know your story I won’t presume that your description of your life with your AP’s is anything less than how your described it, but your response to Shannon’s very real fears have all the markings of …[sounding spoiled]! You don’t know Shannon’s story any more than she knows yours, and yet you presume that you are entitled to respond to her in such a self righteous …way. I am getting so tired of hearing from adoptees who respond in such a mean spirited way to those of us who are just trying to learn how to be the best parents that we can be through adoption by learning all of the challenges that could possibly lie ahead.
Just because you feel resentment at having been placed for adoption, that does not give you the right to treat those of us who might become adoptive parents with such abuse and intimidation. Even if you had the worst AP’s on the planet, that does not give you license to lash out at others who say that your hateful words and wrongful blame of those who are still trying to build their families through adoption have given them second thoughts. All such comments show is that you yourself are nothing more than a self-centered child who seriously needs to GROW up, for your sake if no one else’s.
As for me, your [response] towards Shannon and the rest of us who will build our families through adoption and other means (besides GOFI) hasn’t discouraged me one bit. You do not speak for all adoptees, and I would venture a guess that some would even be ashamed by your hateful nature.
I don’t know who my children will be or how they will join our family, but I will learn all I can to do what I can to make a good home and life for them, but how they view those efforts will be up to them. If they turn out to be like you or the nightmare that Shannon described, I will know that no matter what they think, I will have done my best. That’s all that any parent, bio or AP or otherwise, can do.
Shannon-I hope that you will follow your heart and learn all that you can, no matter where your path towards parenthood leads you. Adoption is complex, but the voices of hate towards those of us who create our families in this way are not the only ones for us to listen to-they just sound louder to us because we are afraid. Take Care and have courage.
Anonymous, I’ve chosen to edit ever so slightly your comment because any form of name-calling is not acceptable. I would also add that since your goal is to learn all you can about adoption to be the best mom you can be for your future child, the voices of adult adoptees are an important source of education, even those voices that are strident and seem unreasonable. Their loud and often discordant words have helped to change the way adoptions are done in the US. As George Bernard Shaw said: “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” We need their voices as hard as it is sometimes to listen. 🙂
“Funny how when the babies are young it sounds all peachy keen then they become adults like Amanda on blogs like this, and the truth comes out.”
If you actually read Amanda’s blog, you will see that she has a great deal of love for both her families and that she is a very thoughtful individual. She had expanded her family, not replaced one family with another. I am sure both her mothers are very proud of how she has turned.
As a an adult adoptee and a mother to both an adopted daughter and a biological son, I both agree and disagree with your post. Obviously, I love both my children very much, regardless of how they entered our family. However, the differences are there. One child entered the family with his roots in tact, whereas the other child entered our family with her roots severed. One child has a mom and a dad; the other child has two moms and two dads. Even if your child has never met the other mom or dad, they are there, as ghosts, living alongside you on a daily basis.
My daughter cries for her birth mother because she has never met her. She is fortunate to have a relationship with her birth father. We have incorporated a whole other family into our own for the benefit of our daughter. This was not a consideration or even a thought for our biological son.
What the adopted child gains is obvious — a family who loves him. What the adopted child loses, as Amanda pointed out, is something that mainstream adoption does not like to consider. Although I grew up in an almost idyllic time and place as a closed-era adoptee, I lost so much. I only learned exactly what it is I lost after search and reunion. I carry the pain of a childhood with all those unknowns with me to this day. Every child has a right to know their origins, see people who look like them, and understand the reasons they became adopted. They deserved to be loved for who they are and not because they complete somebody else’s family.
Unlike Amanda’s mother, my mother has never grieved her infertility. She wanted a clone of herself and as you can imagine, it did not go well. I love her anyway; however, I knew I never lived up to her expectations as a biological child may have.
Lynn
Thank you Lynn for sharing.
Shannon,
You and I agree about at least one thing – You should not adopt. I’m an adult adoptee, just like Amanda, and just like Amanda, I can confirm that is painful, sorrowful and traumatic. I’ll also say (for myself only) that I’m not grateful for being adopted – not even the tiniest bit. I don’t give my adoptive parents “accolades” just for adopting. They were pretty awful parents, as a matter of fact. The “pleasure of [being] broke” was mine BECAUSE OF adoption. I spent much of my childhood without any access to health care, was on welfare, and error my few clothes to threads (and was bullied for being poor) because I’m adopted. Adoption is no guarantee of anything… for anyone. Least of all is that “better life” our natural mothers were promised.
One last point, Amanda is a well-known, highly educated, and published author on the subject of adoption. Yo could learn a lot from her if you opened your mind a little.
To conclude: Stay afraid and don’t adopt. You are as wrong for adoption as a person could be… short of a known child abuser.
Amanda’s blog: The Declassified Adoptee
She also blogs (among other adoptees) at Lost Daughters.
Great post! I can relate to the idea that our biological children often develop into people who don’t much resemble their parents. I see that in my 14-year-old son, who unlike his parents is very comfortable speaking in public and on stage. Environment has a great deal to do with how a child turns out. I was adopted in the 1960s and only found out about my adoption 11 years ago. Just recently I learned about my birth mother’s life and connected with a newly discovered half sister. I am learning what I inherited from my birth mom and her family and searching for my father and his family. I like to think my identity is a work in progress.
As an adult adoptee I would agree with everything Amanda has said here. I would like to see more adoptees share their views, so that people like Shannon can get a better grasp of what it is to be an adoptee and the realities of adoption. Once there is more truth about and potential adopters are better prepared, selected, supported and able to parent children who truly need adoption we will see great improvements in the support and care adoptees receive to deal with the loss and trauma of adoption. Like Amanda I loved my parents and am grateful to them for the opportunities they gave me. Most of my achievements have been due to my own efforts and innate abilities. I had the privilege to meet my mother when I was 50, and my father’s other children, he is long dead. I am thankful none of them raised me, but I have and have never had bitterness despite being adopted.
May I suggest The Lost Daughters Anthology for some realism and adult adoptee perspective on adoption? Available through Amazon in paperback or e-book.
Amanda is the #1 reason I am afraid of adoption. It isn’t that I don’t think I could love an adopted child, I just do not think they could really love me the way I love them. I will never hear the end of I want my real mom, whom is my real mom. Let’s face it I will never feel like a real parent. I get the pleasure of going broke on them with none of the accolades. I love genealogy and no one in our family has ever adopted. We would be the odd man out with little to no support, and I know how my mother in law is, she would be disappointed. God knows she resents me enough for not being able to give her a grandchild. Yes, she is a selfish opinionated cow that would love to run my husband and I’s show for all of eternity but honestly I am afraid of the whole miserable process, the enormous cost that we really cannot afford, and the fact that I have always loved the guessing game and that deep inside would bother me. What bothers me the most is people like Amanda. No matter what you do for adoptees, how much you love them, how much you break your neck to create a real family unit, it’s never enough, you are second fiddle just like adoptees think they are second fiddle to IVF, and the elephant in the room never goes away. I have read waaaay too many bitter birth mom stories and even bitter adoptee stories. Funny how when the babies are young it sounds all peachy keen then they become adults like Amanda on blogs like this, and the truth comes out. Life is full of enough strife and I will be damned if I will go through all of that and give my heart away to a child and never be really appreciated or loved because they all really feel like Amanda deep inside when the chips are down and they are older. But I bet they won’t turn that nice hefty inheritance away though when their adopted parents die while they’re licking their wounds looking for their “real mom” like as if the rest of the world doesn’t have pain in their life equal to theirs.
Shannon, I am truly sorry for your pain and your fear. I’m sorry you have an opinionated “cow” for a mother-in-law. Adoption isn’t for everyone, so do not allow anyone to guilt or pressure you into it. However, just for your own education, I strongly encourage you to read “Is There Such a Thing as a Happy Adoptee”. https://creatingafamily.org/blog/happy-adoptee/
What does an adopted child “miss”?
What does a kept, biolgical child “miss”?
Laurel, great questions. No doubt if this blog had been written from an adopted person’s perspective, we would see a similar dichotomy of plusses and minuses on both sides.
Can’t say it better, Dawn. I love this post and will be sharing it on my FB.
Re: What Biological Parents Miss by Adoption?
You went on to state what is missed by not adopting when discussing what biological parents miss by adoption. Respectfully, the biological parents miss raising their own child by virtue of adoption. They miss everything in that child’s life and I don’t believe that God put the baby in another woman’s womb for anyone other than the woman that gives it life. Amanda is right on target when she said that adoption should only be for the child not for infertile adults to satisfy their desire to have children.
Chrystal Ann, to cover what birth parents miss and to describe their pain (which I’m clearly not the one to do) deserves a blog to itself. In an ideal world biological parents raise their biological children. If only wishing and praying made it so. And yes, you are so right that our focus in adoption should be on the child–not on the adults.
There’s one big difference. If I have my OWN child, I am not taking away someone else’s child, or contributing to the worldwide kidnapping and trafficking of children whose circumstances I can never be 100% sure I know.
That’s a wonderful feeling. I would hate to think that I was the cause of anyone else’s heartbreak. To me, anyone willing to contribute to that is not worthy of being any sort of parent. I don’t believe I would so much as sell you a pet rock.
Dana, oh my. Would anyone want to think they are the cause of heartbreak?!? I think the hard part is, as you say–with adoption, especially international adoption, but also to some degree domestic adoption, we can never be 100% certain about the circumstances of how that child came to adoption. And you are right, that it makes it a balancing act for parents (first parents and adopted) and professionals. You are also right that sometimes we don’t balance correctly. Furthermore, there are some in this field with questionable ethics who might tip the balance intentionally to influence those circumstances. However, what we know with almost 100% certainty is the circumstances of the child right then and there. We know that for whatever reason a child is living in an orphanage or foster home. We know that for whatever reason a child is not being raised by their birth family. So while no one would ever want to contribute to heartbreak, I ask you: What about contributing to the heartbreak of a child who will be raised in orphanages or foster homes for life, if not for being adopted?
Drop the emotional nonsense for god’s sake. You’re embarrassing yourselves. Why would anyone want to define themselves by parental status? Now you are debating about adoptive vs biological parentage?? GET A LIFE. It’s all opinion and you’re simply making other people miserable. I don’t see how ANYONE engaging in this petty nonsense could be a good parent. Disgraceful.
Love this article! Thank you so much Dawn. When I learned I was pregnant with our youngest, after having adopted our two oldest children… I was worried that it was not possible to love a biological child as much as my first two children. Sounds crazy to some, but adoption never felt second best – it felt like destiny and so perfectly crafted beyond what we could do ourselves. Well, of course our youngest came and was loved and cherished by all of us instantly. Each are so different and loved so fiercely. Thank you again for this wonderful article.
{smile} Robin, I totally understand!
Love this. I had a hysterectomy when I was eleven years old (yes, I know it’s young). I grew up knowing I would never have biological children. I was told “You can always adopt” so many times that I lost count. I’m now the mother of 2 children adopted out of US foster care, and soon, we will be adopting a little cousin of mine. Adoption is certainly not second best to giving birth. After we adopted our son, I was asked if I was ever going to have my “own” child (person didn’t know my situation). I said, “No, sometimes I forget that I didn’t give birth to him.” She looked perplexed! Thanks again for sharing your thoughts about this subject. This momma appreciates it!
Caroline, beautifully said! Sometimes I forget too.
We adopted 5 month old twins then had a bio kid a year later & then had another all within 5 years. When the twins were babies I remember at one point my husband & I were at dinner talking about who certain traits came from. “No that comes from you. But this is me.” and on & on we went. It was a real “aha” moment when the reality that they were adopted & couldn’t have our genetic traits surfaced. At that point, it was apparent that genetics were no longer relevant. We had moved on. Now with four school-aged kids, we marvel at how so very different they all are. None are mini-mes in personality. Only one looks like one of us and it’s not a resemblance to me. I used to wonder when I went out without hubby, who shares their heritage, about how many people wondered if they were my kids or if I was the nanny or a kidnapper! That continued with the bio kids. The coolest thing ever is my youngest often get comments how much she looks like her oldest sister. Three of my kids share dimples, silver eyes that morphed to hazel eyes & the same hair color. One of the twins is not included in that. He is the odd man out.
As for birth vs adoption, I am not sure which was more nerve racking. Waiting to see if our tumultuous adoption would end with us as parents–or waiting to see if my body would allow baby to be born alive & healthy. Both were ended equally wonderful. One climaxed by meeting the babies then landing in our hometown & realizing the adoption journey was over. The other climax was meeting the newborn babies & realizing the pregnancy journey was over. Having experienced both would I say one was better? No. Would I say pregnancy was cool & I am glad I experienced it? Not really even though I had an easy peasy pregnancy. It was neat, but not life altering. Would have I always wondered what I missed if I never carried a pregnancy to completion? I suppose so, but it was way overrated. I will say if I had never given birth I wouldn’t worry about sneezing/coughing/laughing heartily or have that little belly that will not go away no matter how much I exercise. 🙂
Lymbo4y, thank you for that beautiful comment!
I too have been lucky to be a mom by birth and adoption.
I’ve always told my kids that everyone needs 2 moms. One to bring them into the world (inside mom) and one to care for them forever (outside mom). Some have 1 person who does both jobs and some have 2 people. Both jobs are important and needed.
This is absolutely accurate and I just love the way you articulate the joys of parenting. Having six grandchildren, three of whom are adopted, I can attest to all your claims. Our family is equally blessed by each of the small individuals who joined us in recent years. We are a wonderful mixture of sizes, shapes, and shades. I cannot imagine our lives without any one of them and am so grateful to the mothers who loved their sons enough to share them and to the mothers and fathers of all six who love and nurture our precious grandchildren. One of our kids has two adopted children, one has an adopted and a biological child, and one has two biological children.
Bonnie, Amen!
We have been parenting our son for 16 months and we are very much hoping that we will be able to adopt him and his baby sister. I was really moved by Leslie’s comment. It is very clear to me that he doesn’t belong to me. Until the end of last year he was expected to be returned to his family of birth. He still spends almost half of time in his grandmother’s home. And it is very clear to me that I belong to him. I’m the one he seeks out in a crowd. I’m the one calls out for at night. I’m the one he wants to emulate. My biggest worry around the uncertainty of his permanent placement is not that I will lose him, but that he will lose me.
A privilege I have had as a foster parent was to be able to see my son fall in love with me.
Grace, that brought tears to my eyes!
This is very touching, educative and informative indeed! God bless you and thank you for sharing.
Fatima, thanks. He has!
Excellent and very true
I read somewhere recently something that has really stuck with me. The author was reflecting on the idea of possession, and her conclusion was this: we are our children’s much more than they are ours. I’ve been giving this a good deal of thought lately, and it’s true: I think of my parents as MINE. My father, on the other hand, has, from my earliest memories, told me, “I’m glad you came to live with us.” He’s never once expressed a sense of ownership towards me, but those simple demonstrations of love have naught but increased the sense that my parents belong to me, on some transcendental level. Maybe it is because I am an only child, maybe because I have received such tremendous love, and maybe, just maybe, it is because we really do belong to our children…
This is a lovely post. (here from the creme)
Best post written on this subject–ever! I wish I had written it.
I loved this post when you wrote it and I love it even more now that I am rereading it for the Creme.
Thanks. It is one of my favorites too.
Thank you for the beautiful post. It brought tears to my eyes and a feeling of peace in my heart. We were just recently legally approved to adopt and are in the process of “the search” and “the wait.” We have a blog at http://babyadoption.wordpress.com. Again, Thanks so much for such a beautiful post. Ann
My mom is adopted and I don’t think my grandma would love her anymore if she had come from her body. It doesn’t make a difference. Thanks for writing this and bringing it to everyones attention!
ICLW!(#64)
Thanks so much for a wonderful post! I love thinking that we are able to experience somethings through adoption that bio parents can never understand. But we all understand love for children so it always confounds me that they think our love for our kids would be any different than theirs. And to Amanda, thanks for your insight and perspective. I agree that adoptees points of view are often silenced and/or overlooked and I hope we are able to raise our child to speak as freely and openly (and eloquently) as you have. All the best–
seoulwithlove.blogspot.com
William,
As one of the few “fellas” on here 🙂 please feel free to email me if you have any questions from the male perspective. Good Luck….
gotjaz@att.net
This a beautiful post. The child I carry now and any children I have in the future will not have any genetic tie to me and yet they are my children. The same as the adopted children of friends are very much their children.
I so wish that we were able to adopt in my country – I would have loved to adopt instead of spending all our money on fertility treatments. I think everyone involved in adoptions from the first parents, to the adoptive parents are wonderful people and the very act of taking a child into your own home, makes them a child of your own.
My wife and I’ve been discussing adoption for awhile now. I’m the hold out. She sent me the link to this blog. I think I needed to read it and especially all the comments. the blog and comments really spoke to me. We’re downloading a LOT of your shows onto an iPod and going to have a massive listen on an upcoming 10 hour trip. (got the idea from one of the comments on the radio page. ) I’m not sure where we’ll end up, but at least I’m now ready to listen.
As an Adult Adoptee and someone who once struggled with fertility issues, I do understand this issue. As someone who spends a remarkable amount of time reading research, I understand why couples feel the way that they do.
Foremost, it is indeed an extremely insensitive comment to say to a couple with fertility problems “just adopt!” If they wanted to adopt, they wouldn’t be spending thousands of dollars on invasive treatments that cause stress and violate personal privacy.
Indeed, adoption is not the same as biological birth. Adoptees, even when seperated at infancy, experience trauma and loss. We live in a world that does not understand what it is like to be adopted but seeks daily to tell US how to feel. In all but 6 States, we are a subordinate class of citizens with fewer rights than others. We often grow up our own unique issues and we have two families and a seperate genetic heritage that needs to be embraced and nurtured. Adopting a child presents additional work and acknowledgement that your child has ties to more than just you. If you are not prepared to handle that and will give your child subtle hints throughout his or her life that you fear his ties with another family (closed adoption does NOT eliminate those ties–not should it), or that you are threatened by the things that you could not provide to your child (e.g. biological birth, DNA, facial features, genetic heritage etc.) and those things will not be enjoyed and embraced—as those biologically raised are permitted to, then perhaps adoption is not for you.
Adoption does not substitute biological birth. Not because adoptees are inferior but because the expectations often placed upon adoption to substitute biological birth and the unique issues adoptees face are ignored or pushed to the wayside in an attempt to enjoy having a family “just like everyone else,” To adopt, you have to be willing to admit that your family will not be like everyone else’s–and that’s because allowing your child to embrace their full identity (pre and post adoption) is what is best for your child.
Secondly the idea that an adopted child “makes up” for the pain and losses of infertility or the inadequacy that the couple may feel for not being able to produce a child for one another is an unfair burden to that child. Research has shown that more than 80% of couples adopt due to infertility, often as a second and inferior choice to biological birth (per the hoards of couples in these studies interviewed). Research has also stated that often idealized expectations are placed onto children adopted due to infertility, as to how they will complete the idealized family and home. I have wonderful adoptive parents and a good childhood–but it does not feel good to know that I was a second choice or know that if my mother could have birthed children on her own, I would not be in her life.
25 years after my adoption my adoptive mother has finally sought therapy for her infertility grief. My quest for reunion–which is my right and ability in a search for wholeness for myself, has brought up these issues for her. These are things she deserved to be helped with BEFORE she adopted me–not to suffer in silence with for 25 years. And it wasn’t as “silent” as she thought–I always knew how sad she was. I was a joy to her but I did not “cure” her pain. Research confirms that this is a common experience for many women–no one helped them resolve their pain first. Everyone just said “adopt!” so they did.
Lastly, it bothers me that Child Welfare is always pressumed whenever adoption is being spoken about and that parents are always the focus (confirmed by research as well). Adoption should only take place when in absolute welfare of a child–not to provide parents with children. Unfortunately, an alarming trend since at least the 1930’s was not to keep original families together with support but rather use adoption to manage dependency. Sometimes when it’s best for a child to remain with its natural family (and of course, not all the time) it means that a couple won’t get to parent. The rest of the world needs to become OK with that because it’s what’s best for the child. Loss of original family should become rare for every child because that’s what’s best for children. Not because adoptive parents are inferior but because loss, for anyone, is traumatic. Adoption should seek to bennefit children only–period.
My comments are rarely published on pro-adoption sites because my alternative point of view is rarely appreciated by the general population–despite it being founded in research and a passion for child welfare. I hope this website is different.
Peace,
Amanda
I do appreciate that you have First Mother Forum listed on your list of blogs. I consider its main author a friend and ally for Adoptee Rights. She has fought for decades for the rights and welfare of adopted adults.
http://www.musingsofthelame.com/ is another great First Mother blog.
Could I suggest a section for adoptees too? Our perspective is equally as important 🙂
Amanda, great suggestion! Could you email me dawn @ creatingafamily.org with some suggestions.
After the heartbreak of failed infertility treatments, I reluctantly turned to adoption. At the time, I was feeling that adoption was second best but was my only chance at being a mother. I felt cheated out of the pregnancy and birth experience and knowing my baby from the first moments of life. My daughter is now 3 and I have known about her since she was 4 days old and have had her home since she was 8 months old. She is the BEST thing that has ever happened to me. Adoption is such a blessing! I feel honored to parent this child and would not trade her for any other child in the world.
Excellent article! I really enjoyed the perspective!
Happy ICLW!
As someone who probably would have said that adoption a child is not the same as having one of your own, I really appreciated this post. It actually gave me goosebumps. I think I’m still more in the space of your last post on why I’m not sure I should adopt, but this one really opened my eyes. I never thought about what I might gain by adopting other than a child. DH will be reading it tonight. Thank you again for all you do and thank you for not being judegmental or so sure of what is right for everyone else.
As an adoptee, I thought this was a wonderful story. I enjoyed reading everyone’s comments.
James, I couldn’t have said it better!
Thank you for your article, for addressing an often ‘touchy’ subject. Pregnancy and giving birth is understandably personal for women, its quite literally, part of our being. Growing a child is at the very heart of our person, its natural that we would ache to fill that place. But there is another gift that we have that is less recognizable; the uncanny ability to fill the void we see in a childs life with our whole heart. We forget that a mothers heart is an amazing and powerful force. We forget that in filling the void, we ourselves are healed and strengthened. Our lives are enriched in ways we never thought possible when we “claim” a child that needed a mom and declare that we are that one!
I thought LONG and hard before I decided to comment on this article/post, because I have been asking myself the same question since right before my son was born. Before I get into why I believe the statement “adoption is not the same as having a child of your own” is correct, let me first say why I believe the title of the article is a bit flawed (still love you Dawn ). In my eyes (and those of my Wife) we do have a “child of our own” and by the way, yes he is adopted. Try to tell this family (particularly this Daddy) otherwise and it won’t be pretty. But I am sure Dawn meant having a “biological” child of your own. And to that I say she is spot on, it’s NOT the same; I would argue that it’s better!
I can only speak for myself, but I believe many folks who have never looked into adoption have no clue all that is entailed; it’s no picnic ladies and gentlemen. From research, training, doctors visits, travel, failed placements, more research, sleepless nights, un-returned phone calls, daily arguments over stupid stuff with your spouse, attorneys, more doctors, home studies, early mornings, un-announced social worker visits, birth mothers who change their mind, baby shower…ooppps, another failed placement, need to have a baby shower for a girl now. And don’t get me started on the MOUNDS of paperwork for EACH state and for EACH agency. What? Another failed placement? Does that mean more paperwork since the new agency is in a different state? YES!
I hate to equate a child to a “toy”, but just bare with me for a moment. Remember when we were kids and we were always told to take care of our toys and they would last forever? And remember how you would do extra chores around the house and maybe even odd jobs around the neighborhood in order to save up enough to get that remote control car or doll house you wanted? It may have taken you a year, but YOU do it all by yourself, and cherished that toy more than anything else. Well, I think the very same principle applies to people who go through the adoption process to bring a child into their home. As I have already stated, it’s not an easy journey. In fact, it’s a gut wrenching process that tests not just your faith and your love, but tests your commitment to each other in your marriage, not to mention your relationship with family/friends. But on the flip side I would also argue that because of all the trauma and turmoil that adoptive families go through, the end result is also the most fulfilling and loving experience one could hope for. Would I feel the same way about a biological child? I would hope so, but that is not my reality. My reality is that (especially as a man) it took a lot to get me to the point of actually adopting, and I wouldn’t trade my “adopted” son for a “biological” son EVER!!!!
If the parents of biological children (as well as those who like to say that adoption is not the same as having a child of your own) were to take a hard look into the thought, preparation, time, and emotional stress in the families that pursue adoption (either foster care or private adoption) they may think differently.
So yes, I take this lifelong journey VERY seriously. I enjoy all the ups, downs, and sideways because I know what it took for us to get to this point and I don’t take ANY of the gifts lightly nor for granted. Can others say the same? Just my two cents…
I love this article! I’m looking forward to adpotion. For years my husband and I have tried to conceive and frankly I’m tired of spending money and feeling grief when the procedures fail to work. Finally it clicked for me, and my husband. We can adopt and find a child who needs us as much as we want and need him/her. Lookin forward to my my God-given purpose, to give love to a child that needs to be loved!
I think that a persons attitude and perspective are a huge part of the resulting connections they have with their children. I have 2 daughters, one each by birth and adoption.
A quick story…. I was driving my oldest daughter home from the doctors office where she had been given a second round of antibiotics for strep throat. We were on our way to pick up the prescription and I was thinking, this poor kid, she got my easy susceptibility to strep. It was probably 5 minutes before I realized, ha ha, not very likely she inherited that from me being not biologically related and all!
We have a lot of differences. We have a lot of similarities. That’s all.
Thanks for this wonderful description of family. I am saving it to share with my adopted and biological sons when the time is right. I am not sure I could have described our experiences any better. Thanks.
Hi Dawn,
Well said (I feel like you were speaking my feelings!). Like you I am also a mother by birth and adoption. I can’t imagine my family any other way and I am grateful everyday.
Thank you for posting this!
Judy
Another thing that I love about being a family formed by adoption is discovering my children’s talents. Since I do not expect them to have or lack talents based on my talents I am free to see where they thrive without placing my thoughts on them. My girls are both talented gymnasts, something I was never coordinated enough to be. Watching them as they tumble, flip, and vault always leaves me speechless and with a smile. I look forward to many more years of discovering my daugthers and nuturing their interests and talents as they present themselves.
Shanna, I know exactly what you mean. It’s like opening a Christmas present with no preconceptions of what’s inside.
I love this article! I have five bio children and we are in the process of adopting #6 from Russia. I do want to say there are so many feelings that are similar in both pregnancy and the process of adoption. Several times during this adoption process, my husband and I have felt the excitement, nervousness, love, and anticipation we felt when expecting our other children. It’s simply a blessing either way in “creating your family!”
As a parent of my son that was adopted from Korea…the thrill and magic of referral day, makes it one of the best days of my life. Most people have ultrasounds, but those of us in the club of moms to internationally adopted babies, we have that special, special day.
Wonderfully said. Thank you for reminding us that love has little to do with biological connection and for reminding us that differences are to be celebrated.
It might sound silly but I like playing the “Guess the Gene” game though my husband and I are adopting. I think guessing is even more fun because there are so many options when your gene pool is the world.
This is a great post. Maybe I come at it differently because I’ve never tried to get pregnant. However, I fully agree that pregnancy and adoption are not the same. People who become parents thought pregnancy don’t have to deal with their child’s life before they joined the family. That is both good and bad. Sometimes it’s hard to watch my 9 year old struggle with missing her family in Ethiopia. However, she would not be the person she is today without that family and the 7 years she spent with them. And let me tell you, she’s amazing! I do share her with her family in Ethiopia and always will. However, she is very much my own child and I wouldn’t trade that for anything (except her never to have needed to be adopted.)
(as an adoptive parent) I was all fired up to disagree with you because I hear that comment alot. However, I thought the article was thoughtful and well-written. Of course my kids are not my genetic offspring and were born out of another woman’s uterus, but anyone who says they are not “my own kids” has obviously never been around my familiy. My kids know they are adopted and understand the difference between adoptive and birth parents, but try telling THEM that they are not my “own” or my “real” kids, and you’ll see what I mean.
good stuff, Dawn.
Lovely and wonderful. This point literally can’t be made enough.
It is not the same because you don’t experience the pregnancy, growth of the baby, the bonding, the birth. There are lots of unknowns up until the placement and waiting periods are over. Personally we bonded with our son right away. I tell our little guy that our family is special because God and his birthmom chose us and we feel privileged to be his parents. I think parents who make their family through adoption usually doesn’t take the process of having a child for granted. Our son is loved as much as if we had given birth to him…the biggest difference is that we are different races and some people seem to indirectly try to remind us of that through stares, whispers, and comments. It doesn’t bother us baecause we are a family and it is perfect. We have ups and downs with our son just like parents of biological kids have…we are a Normal family and I would not change it for the world. Never thought I would say that I am glad I couldn’t have babies…but then I wouldn’t have my wonderful son. 🙂
I love your post and am in a similar situation. But I think I have a slightly different perspective (as an adoptive parent).
Most people have a romanticized view of one’s biological connection to others in their genetic family that is simply wishful thinking. I think this comes from people’s natural instinct to want/need to belong to something bigger than themselves.
The fact is that everyone has a unique genetic “footprint” that is not exactly the same as anyone else living past or present. We have similar traits within biological families and races, but not identical.
The advantage of biology is that you have some similar traits (which can be good or bad). But as 75% of what makes up a person (who they are) is related to environment (culture, upbringing, experiences, etc) biology is actually the smallest part of who you are.
So adoption is not the same a having a biological child only because of it lacks the small biological link, but everything else is the same (aside from the actual pregnancy). But I would also add that adoption is a choice to be a parent and love another human being just because you can, not out of an obligation related to a romanticized view of blood connections. Not that all biological parents do this. The point is that once you have a child it’s a choice to love another human being that is much deeper and more lasting than blood connection.
Great post – very insightful and very true!!!
Love this article. Thanks, Dawn