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After finally realizing my dream of becoming a mother, I found what most new parents find—along with the bliss come days filled with crying, spit-up, and leaking diapers. But when I dared to vent, I was chided: “You wanted to adopt…you asked for this!”
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Babies are demanding little creatures whose needs for food and dry diapers and cuddling and comforting rarely occur only during the day. Here’s how adoptive parents can get ready.
When you're in the process of adopting an infant, there are things you should know about your potential pediatrician. Start with these top queries.
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We asked readers, “Have you found any dolls or other toys that reflect your child’s race and/or birth culture that you would specifically recommend?” Here are the top picks.
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Your preschooler may hit you with surprising questions at the most unexpected times and places!
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Many children in foster care have delays in conscience development. A few have no conscience. It is important that parents understand conscience development and identify ways to facilitate growth in this area.
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As preteens strive to define themselves, they must work adoption into the story.
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Sometimes school brings tough situations, like teasing, tricky assignments, and nosy questions. When should kids handle things on their own, and when should a parent step in?
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How can you help your child answer adoption questions with confidence—and handle any queries that come your way?
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Part of how teens form identity is by finding ways they are alike and different from their family. They may want to search for their genetic relatives to figuring out who they are and how to emotionally put pieces in place.
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Teens don't tend to talk with their friends about their feelings about being adopted, being teased, or other tough topics. But if you have a healthy, trusting relationship, they'll open up to you. An adoption therapist advises on maintaining an empathic connection with your teen.
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The breakup of a family can be especially hard for adopted teens. Here's why.
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 How to navigate the domestic adoption process. MORE eBOOKS |
 Annual how-to-adopt guide. VIEW DIGITAL EDITION or READ ARTICLES ONLINE |
If you traveled domestically to adopt, what's one piece of advice you can give others as they prepare to do the same? See parents' answers.
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Learn about Wyoming adoption laws and find adoption agencies and attorneys who work with families in your state.
Under the World Health Organization’s previous definition, infertility was failure to achieve pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse. Its expanded version will apply to more families.
Each year, Adoptive Families polls newly formed families across the country to get actual information on the cost and length of time it took them to complete their adoptions. We are grateful to every one of you who took our most recent Adoption Cost & Timing Survey.
An accident left the author disabled, but not defeated. Having a physical disability doesn't have to prevent you from adopting.
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If you traveled domestically to adopt, what's one piece of advice you can give others as they prepare to do the same? See parents' answers.
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One foster-turned-adoptive-mother shares how cooking brings her family together.
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In July 2017, China announced updated requirements regarding the composition of the prospective adoptive family and the timing of applications.
Wondering how to adopt from Ecuador? Find statistics, prospective parent requirements, personal stories, and more resources.
“My husband and I are working to adopt from foster care. How do we transition a child from calling us our first names to calling us ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad’?”
After finally realizing my dream of becoming a mother, I found what most new parents find—along with the bliss come days filled with crying, spit-up, and leaking diapers. But when I dared to vent, I was chided: “You wanted to adopt…you asked for this!”
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Readers share their registry experiences—and tell us which companies have adoption-friendly options.
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“My husband and I are working to adopt from foster care. How do we transition a child from calling us our first names to calling us ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad’?”
“My husband and I are working to adopt from foster care. How do we transition a child from calling us our first names to calling us ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad’?”
One foster-turned-adoptive-mother shares how cooking brings her family together.
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Adoption: By the Numbers, the latest report from the National Council For Adoption, shows a slight increase in U.S. infant adoptions from 2007 to 2014.
A new report shows that there were more children in U.S. foster care at the end of 2015 than 2014. This is the third year this number has risen.
If you traveled domestically to adopt, what's one piece of advice you can give others as they prepare to do the same? See parents' answers.
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When you adopt a child from a different state, you’ll need approval under the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children before traveling home. Here’s what you need to know about this process.
We asked our readers: Before your adoption, were you concerned about bonding with your baby? After your newborn came home, what parenting techniques did you practice that enhanced attachment?
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In July 2017, China announced updated requirements regarding the composition of the prospective adoptive family and the timing of applications.
Learn the latest on the Ethiopia suspension of intercountry adoptions.
In its 2016 annual report, the U.S. Department of State released the latest international adoption statistics, which have declined for the twelfth straight year, and outlined other countries’ most widely held concerns.
The family tree project can be a particularly tricky one for kids who are adopted. Here's how one family tackled the assignment.
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Transracial adoptees often grow up knowing that their families love them, but not truly feeling included or close to them. Here’s what would have helped in raising a black child in a white family and a racist world.
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What we record now about our child will help him or her later in the difficult teen task of forging a positive identity.
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The family tree project can be a particularly tricky one for kids who are adopted. Here's how one family tackled the assignment.
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I used to see adoption from only one viewpoint—that of the adoptive parents. But working in the field before becoming an adoptive mother opened my eyes to how complex and bittersweet adoption can be.
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The breakup of a family can be especially hard for adopted teens. Here's why.
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Transracial adoptees often grow up knowing that their families love them, but not truly feeling included or close to them. Here’s what would have helped in raising a black child in a white family and a racist world.
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When you and your child don't look alike, the world wants to know why. Parents who adopted transracially share how they explain strangers' questions and comments to their children.
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Sometimes school brings tough situations, like teasing, tricky assignments, and nosy questions. When should kids handle things on their own, and when should a parent step in?
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Transracial adoptees often grow up knowing that their families love them, but not truly feeling included or close to them. Here’s what would have helped in raising a black child in a white family and a racist world.
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It can be easier for adopted teens to express anger than the emotions that are often behind it: vulnerability, weakness, or uncertainty. Help your adolescent deal with these complex feelings in more effective ways.
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“We are adopting my sister-in-law’s teenage son after fostering him for five years. What can I say to her at family gatherings, to family who still don’t get that we’ll be his legal parents—and to my son, who hears all of this?”
The family tree project can be a particularly tricky one for kids who are adopted. Here's how one family tackled the assignment.
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If your child is the giver or receiver of unkind behavior, read on.
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A cry in the night reminds one mother how much families have changed and how much love stays the same.
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One year after my daughter came to live with me from foster care, the memory was still too bittersweet for her. But today, two years after becoming mother and daughter, we are ready to celebrate.
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