Allison & Torrey

The Path to Parenthood

After many years of trying to conceive, IVF, IUIs—nothing worked. We have family members who were adopted; that opened up our hearts to the idea of adoption. We decided to take time off from trying and then started really exploring the option to adopt. We spoke with many different agencies, but Angel was the best fit!

A Unique Experience

The baby was born already and even after all of the heartache, this situation just felt right. But there were still reservations. The birth mother, rightfully so, took time to make the best decision and get closure before moving forward.

Meeting the birth father and birth mother was nothing like the previous birth family we had met. It felt nice—very relaxed. What was unique was that we met and held the baby at that same meeting. We stayed in the birth town for a week and had the opportunity to see them again before ICPC was approved. We even met with extended birth family.

Although we did experience previous heartbreak, meeting our baby confirmed why we remained so dedicated to this journey. We kept the faith and trusted in the process, so it was easy to fall in love right away with him.

The Biggest Challenges

The feeling of not being prepared has to be one of the biggest challenges we faced in the process of waiting to adopt. The lack of control over the process was obvious. We had lots of support from Aimee—we built a super strong relationship and it helped us get through the process. We thankfully received much support from family and friends as well.

Staying in Touch

Although it is not in the paperwork, we feel the relationship regarding post-placement communication is open. We're still in touch and have a happy and healthy relationship. We feel so lucky to have the birth family we do for our son. We share photo albums with the birth family.

Advice for Adoptive Parents

Keep going; don't give in to the feelings of wanting to give up. Go into each situation as if it will be the one. You don't want to have regrets. Lean on your support system. Be honest, be open, no matter what.