"Carly was experienced, supportive, and kind of like a new bestie to walk me through this process. She was always responsive, knowledgeable, and resourceful."

Andrea, Maryland

 

Andrea’s Story

I always knew I wanted to adopt, and eventually, I got to the point where I knew I was ready. It’s no secret that adopting as a single parent, during the pandemic, is a daunting task. Each learning session or agency I connected with shared costs beyond my already healthy budget or an estimated wait timeline of 5 years for a match, but I knew it didn’t have to take that long. So, I lurked. 

I jumped on Facebook and YouTube and sought out all of the information I could about organizations that were handling this process differently. Andrea holding her babyI joined Facebook groups and asked about experiences, including seeing how RG Adoption Consulting interacted with their clients, and how often they noted their success. 

I also had friends who’d adopted recently, so in my desire to learn more about their experience, I reached out. After learning about my friends’ adoption experience, it became clear that they were BIG fans of RG Adoption Consulting, and they highly recommended I look deeper into their work to charge my adoption process.

I took their advice, and after a couple of days, scheduled an inquiry call with RG Adoption Consulting. The call was informational, and I left feeling warm, connected, and encouraged to take the leap into the active waiting part of my journey. 

Little did I know that the introduction call was with a consultant, Carly. She was (hands down) the best resource during this process. Carly was experienced, supportive, and kind of like a new bestie to walk me through this process. She was always responsive, knowledgeable, and resourceful. She was also my advocate— incredibly proactive in her work to get me in with the right agencies, matched, and placed smoothly in record time. I can’t sing her praises enough. 

But please know that when I say record time, I mean it. Within a month of starting with RG Adoption Consulting, I was matched and placed! I received a call late one Saturday night, completed the match paperwork the next day, and was notified that the expectant mother had gone into labor the next day. 

After a midnight, 300-mile drive, I blinked and found myself looking into the face of the person who would give me the greatest gift anyone could give—and I was meeting her in the delivery room. The whole event felt surreal. I hadn’t even had time to process it all, but my favorite moment of it all was meeting my son. He’s a beautiful, easy-going, perfect little baby and I’m so blessed to have him.

Baby and his passyI spent time with his birth mother in the hospital. I found my adoption education helpful—noting when I needed to advocate for her, recognizing when and how she would be leading the process, and making space for any and all of her emotions in the process. I took diligent notes on what was important to her, the pieces of her story that she was willing to share so that I could preserve them for my son later, and offered space for her to think about and communicate her hopes for what this process would look like. 

We did not have time to set formal plans for contact, but it helped to realize the importance of remaining open for my son’s sake…allowing space for the relationship with his birth mother and others on her side of the adoption constellation to evolve. For his birth mom, it wasn’t easy, and while she originally wanted a closed adoption, the space has been helpful in allowing the degree of openness to shift— even now. 

If I could offer myself advice, knowing what I know now, I would say to remember to give yourself grace. Leave space for each and every one of the feelings you experience and live in each one of them. 

Seek experiential knowledge from folks who know and have lived adoption. This process is unpredictable but beautiful, and beyond worth it in the end. I’m so grateful that RG Adoption Consulting was a part of my journey!

 

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