First Meeting Information

Bryan and I attended our first informational meeting on Friday. The meeting was wonderful and full of information. We met at the Country Inn in Matthews with the Christian Adoption Services (CAS). We arrived at the meeting thinking we already knew exactly what we wanted which was a perfectly healthy caucasian baby but quickly realized that was going to be hard to accomplish. A lot of their babies are of different races and could have minor health problems such as heart murmurs and low birth weight. Being able to accept a child not knowing certain things is part of the process and Bryan and I are now open to more possibilities.

A big part of the meeting was discussing open adoptions which is where we have contact with the birthmother before and after the adoption process. Again, Bryan and I entered that meeting thinking we wanted no contact with our birthmother. Listening to the speaker talk about the birthmothers and their feelings we realized that contact with us could help them move on with their lives. The birthmother is going to go through something very tramatic and emotional. They know they are doing the best thing for their baby by giving it up but it is still hard on them. Keeping contact such as pictures or emails allows them to feel like they made the best decision possible and they know their baby is safe. They need to know that we will keep our word that we are loving and taking care of that child for them. The amount of contact will be discussed with the birthmother and us. Normal contact is pictures once a month until the baby is one and then every six months. We struggled with this in the beginning but we now understand the need for this contact and why it is important. We will keep our birthmother in our prayers when the time comes!

The process is officially underway because we turned in our preliminary paperwork on Friday. We should hear from them by the end of the week with the next step which is more paperwork. Please keep the agency and us in your prayers! It is going to be a long process but worth it in the end.