"My consultant, Devin, was always there to guide me through it all. His support was invaluable!" Theodora, Illinois
From an early age, I knew I wanted a few children and had always hoped to adopt. I didn’t plan on or think I would go through it as a single parent but at this point in my life, I knew I could do it on my own with support from my family.
About a year prior to starting the process, I broached the topic with my family and they were very supportive—I knew I would have a strong support system set in place.
At first, I considered international adoption through Nigeria. I hoped to gain insight from a few people who had insight into the system, but they said that the process was discouraging and ultimately advised against it.
I didn’t lose hope, but being a private person, it was difficult for me to open up and tell anyone outside of my immediate family about my decision to adopt. Once I finally embarked on this journey, I knew I needed to let a few more friends in and I was truly amazed at how supportive they were.
The first step I took was signing up with a local agency, but after 6 months of no momentum, a colleague recommended RG Adoption Consulting. They had used RGAC’s guidance to build their family and had nothing but good things to say, so I gave Becca a call.
After speaking on the phone for a few minutes, Becca explained their adoption roadmap thoroughly and spoke with such optimism about the process. After that conversation, I took some time to consider my options and re-evaluate my budget. Just about 4 months later, I knew that I wanted to work with RG Adoption Consulting and bring that optimism to my journey.
Working with RGAC gave me the opportunity to work with multiple agencies and see more adoption situations. My consultant, Devin, was always there to guide me through it all, especially when it came to what questions to ask and deciding my comfort levels when presented with potential situations. Devin’s support was invaluable!
I had my doubts throughout—there were times when I considered abandoning the whole process. One of the hardest parts of this journey was all the paperwork. Almost a year had passed since completing my home study, so the pressure was on to restart the process of gathering paperwork. But I couldn’t imagine my luck when I found out I was blessed with a baby born before my initial home study expired!
Nothing compares to the joy I felt when getting the call about my daughter! She was born 3 days prior and was ready to be discharged from the hospital. I had to make arrangements on the fly to get from Chicago to Florida within 24 hours! Luckily, a caseworker in Florida was kind enough to pick my daughter up from the hospital and keep her overnight.
My favorite moment of this entire journey was when my mom and I met my baby girl. She was so tiny and frail—my motherly instincts kicked in I felt the need to protect and nurture her. It was simply magical.
Being in Florida during a global pandemic meant we had to be isolated in our hotel room while waiting for ICPC to clear. We were anxious about flying back and also concerned about possibility of having to quarantine when we got back to Illinois. Despite all this, I felt that nothing could take away from those first memories with my daughter. I couldn’t wait to bring her home to meet the rest of our family and her 4-legged sisters!
Looking back on my journey to single motherhood, I would’ve done some more research before starting and pursued domestic adoption from the get-go. In the end, I am so glad I worked with RG Adoption Consulting. Devin was so knowledgeable about the process and before I knew it I was on my way to meet my daughter. I am forever thankful for their support and guidance along the way!