Starting Our Adoption Journey
Having a child was something we discussed early in our relationship. After taking all the necessary steps to build a solid foundation and home, we began to consider it more and more. Watching our siblings grow their families and seeing the joy in their lives only solidified our dreams of becoming parents one day.
We began by doing a lot of research, as we wanted to educate ourselves on the adoption process as best we could. We wanted to truly be a part of the process and not work with an agency that would just do everything for us, leaving us feeling disconnected. When we found LifeLong Adoptions we felt they had the most to offer with their true level of care and support for adoptive parents. We immediately felt heard, understood, and overjoyed to be working with an agency that truly took what we said into consideration.
We immersed ourselves in the process as we began creating our profile and doing all the necessary paperwork to be able to adopt. We wanted to learn as much as we could and prepare ourselves for the road ahead. Reading the adoption success stories was always a way for us to gain a sense of hope as we waited for that day when we would get a call that we were chosen. We felt overwhelmed and uncertain as we began our journey, and those feelings continued well into the second year of our contract.
The "Call"
After nearly two years of waiting, we were starting to weigh our options and decide if we wanted to continue on this adoption journey. Two weeks before the end of our contract, we got the call that altered our lives forever. LifeLong Adoptions called to tell us we had been chosen by a birthmother. We were elated to say the least. We couldn't have possibly prepared ourselves for what we heard next. It turned out that this birthmother had already given birth and her child was two weeks old. We were excited but so scared. We didn’t have the luxury of time, so we had to just jump all in and trust that this would all work out.
We talked to the birthmother the next day and there was an immediate connection to her and the birthfather. They sent us pictures of the baby and told us that they named him Roman Patrick. We decided to keep his name as we truly wanted to honor his birthparents. The more we spoke the more natural and easily everything flowed, and we knew in our hearts this was the right opportunity for us. We made arrangements to meet them and we couldn't get there fast enough as this process moved extremely quick. Thankfully LifeLong had taken care of reaching out to the attorneys and lining all that up for us so we could concentrate on getting to our son. We literally had nothing and scrambled to make a quick run to Target to grab the essentials before we left.
When we arrived, we met Roman’s birthparents at a local coffee shop. Meeting them was so surreal and there was an instant connection and bond. They were so incredibly happy for us and overjoyed at the thought of fulfilling our dreams of becoming parents. Seeing Roman for the first time was one of the most overwhelmingly beautiful moments of our entire life. When we left that coffee shop with Roman and got back into our car we immediately let our guard down and the emotions flooded to the surface. We couldn’t believe that he was OURS and this beautiful child was going to be in our lives forever. There are no words to describe that moment.
Life After Adoption
We still feel incredibly blessed for Roman coming into our lives. Looking back at our two-year wait, it was hard and extremely emotional. Each month that went by without a phone call or any hopes of a child being in our arms was incredibly difficult. Knowing that we could be within the small percent that don’t successfully adopt weighed heavily on our hearts as we approached yet another Father’s Day without a child of our own. Looking back, had we known it would all work out in the end, we may have enjoyed those two years a little more.
We would advise adoptive parents to embrace life and enjoy it. Have faith that it will happen. We waited two years to be given the perfect situation. It was all worth it. Meeting Roman for the first time washed away all the heartache we had experienced. Now we have a beautiful child who will turn one this summer. We are still in contact with Roman’s birthparents and share pictures often. We see the value in keeping that line of communication open and we want to honor the amazing people who gave him life. We took all items they passed along to us when we adopted him and saved them for him to have when he is older. We want him to always know the bravery his birthparents showed and the sacrifices they made for him.