Depending on the type(s) of adoption you’re open to, it’s likely you will be communicating with your baby’s birthmother to some extent before, during, and after the baby is born. Relationships between an adoptive family and a potential birthmother can feel awkward at first, but after some time and effort, the relationships often grow to become strong and meaningful for all involved.

When starting the process of adopting a baby, you must be prepared for periods of waiting between the different stages of the process. Wait times vary greatly from family to family and even adoption to adoption, but the longest is almost the time spent waiting for an expectant mother to choose you.

Waiting for your adopted baby to arrive is an exciting time! It’s difficult to wait, but there are a lot of things you can and should do to prepare for bringing your baby home. Taking care of these preparations earlier will help make the wait more manageable too. Here are some suggestions.

Sometimes a planned adoption fails. It could happen for a number of reasons. Maybe the expectant mother changed her mind and decided to parent, she couldn’t go through with the adoption after all, her parents or the birthfather offered to support her, she chose a different family, or some other unforeseen reason.

During your adoption journey, you’ll more than likely attend at least a few social gatherings with friends and family. Here are some things you can do to better prepare for and address them.