Our Adoption StoryAmanda & Nick

Our Hallmark Movie

When we set out to have a family, things just didn’t happen for us. We attempted many IVF rounds and did not have any success. Because we always wanted to adopt even if we had biological children, we naturally started to look at adoption as an option to expand our family. When we found Angel Adoption, we immediately felt they were the right partner for us. We loved their success rate, but ultimately we found everyone there to be very supportive throughout our process.

Going into the process, we knew anything could happen, and we expected to deal with ups and downs. Our supportive family and friends really helped to keep our spirits up during some emotionally tough times. Throughout the process, we were conscious of the fact we needed to manage our own emotions to minimize possible disappointments. During some of the more difficult moments, we wished we trusted more and could let our emotions flow freely. But at the same time, managing our emotions allowed us to really appreciate this experience and not put too many expectations on the outcome.

Opening Up

When we were chosen by an expectant mother when she was seven months pregnant, we immediately got in contact with her. We eventually got to know the expectant father as well. We communicated every day throughout the process and enjoyed every moment of getting to know them as a couple. We talked about more than just medical appointments and her pregnancy. We talked about music, TV shows, etc. It was really like getting to know new family members. That’s how we feel even now. They are our family members we gained through this process.

From the beginning, we wanted an open adoption, and we have this ideal scenario where we’ve gained new family members, not just Anthony.

We are very happy to have left everything open and to have genuinely worked on relating to the expectant parents.

The Delivery

Seeing Anthony for the first time was the greatest moment. We were overflowing with emotions. Leaving his birthparents, who we’d grown so close with, behind was not easy for us. We were heartbroken for the birthparents as well as overjoyed at receiving our bundle of joy.

We had the birthparents visit every day while we waited for them to make their decision. Those five days were the hardest on us emotionally. Time passed slowly, but we just kept our focus on Anthony. Getting reassurances every day from the birthparents kept us going.

At one point, the birthparents said, “When we saw you walking away with Anthony, we knew he was walking away with family.” That meant the world to us. As each day passes since then, we are honored and grateful to be given the opportunity to raise Anthony.

Gaining an Extended Family

We know our experience is not the norm. We were exceptionally blessed to have such a smooth journey and to be chosen by birthparents whom we were able to get close with. This process allowed us to gain extended family members. We found out recently Anthony has two aunts not much older than him who live just 30 minutes away from us. They were adopted through Angel by parents from our area. We are thrilled Anthony can grow up knowing his aunts.

We feel blessed to have our perfect “Hallmark movie.” We know what made the difference was being ourselves and connecting at every step of the way. In the words of Anthony’s birthparents, “You guys just felt so real. You are exactly like who you described in your profile. That’s why we chose you.”