- 1 What is an adoption plan?
- 2 Choose who to involve in the adoption process
- 3 Decide whether to work with an adoption services professional
- 4 Decide what you’re looking for in an adoptive family
- 5 Decide how much communication to have with the adoptive family during the adoption proceedings
- 6 Choose an adoption attorney and an adoption counselor
- 7 Work out the details for your hospital stay
- 8 Contact after adoption
- 9 Remember, you remain in charge of the adoption proceeding
When you think adoption may be right for you and for your baby, you can start to think about creating an adoption plan. An adoption plan can ensure that your adoption goes according to your wishes. It can allow you to plan as much in advance as possible to prevent last minute events that can cause hurt feelings or legal complications. Here’s how to create an adoption plan for your baby:
What is an adoption plan?
An adoption plan is a thorough plan for how you want your adoption to go. An adoption has many steps, and you have lots of decisions to make a long the way. When you make an adoption plan, you think through your preferences ahead of time.
Having an adoption plan ensures that your wishes are honored. It helps the process go as smoothly as possible. Even though unexpected things might happen along the way, thinking through the bigger and smaller points of the adoption process helps you stay in control and ensure that you’re comfortable with the adoption.
Choose who to involve in the adoption process
During your adoption, you’re likely going to rely on family and friends for emotional support. They might also help you make decisions. Family and friends can be wonderful sources of encouragement during the adoption process.
It’s up to you what family and friends you choose to rely on for support. The only person who has to be involved is you. You need to make the right choices only for you and for your baby. It’s important to surround yourself with people who are going to be supportive and offer positive comments. Thinking through who you want to be involved ahead of time can help you avoid unwanted opinions and surround yourself with positive support.
Decide whether to work with an adoption services professional
You may choose to work with an adoption services agency, or you may pursue a direct adoption. If you already know the family you want to adopt your baby, you might consider pursuing a direct adoption. In most cases, working with an adoption agency is a good idea because they can help you learn about the adoptive family in order to make sure that they’re in a position to provide a great life for your baby.
If you choose not to work with an adoption services agency, the adoptive family still has to complete a home study. You get to review the home study. If you find an adoptive family on your own, be sure to really do your research to make sure that the family is a good fit for your child. If you decide to go it alone or if you work with an adoption agency, your North Carolina adoption attorney plays a critical role in helping you ensure the adoption is legally sound and in the best interests of your baby.
If you decide to work with an adoption agency, your adoption plan includes choosing an adoption agency. There are many agencies that you can work with. You can research your options, speak with representatives and choose the right agency for you and for your baby.
Decide what you’re looking for in an adoptive family
As the child’s mother, it’s up to you to decide what’s important to you in an adoptive family. Are you looking for a family where your baby can have siblings, or do you prefer a family that’s hoping for their first child? Do you want your child to live in the city or the country? Is a practicing religion important to you? Is it important for your adoptive family to pay for your living expenses and birth expenses?
It’s up to you to choose an adoptive family for your baby. You can choose according to your preferences for your baby and put your preferences in your adoption plan. Once you decide what your must-haves are and where you can be flexible, you can look at family profiles and narrow down options for your baby’s adoptive family.
Decide how much communication to have with the adoptive family during the adoption proceedings
Your adoption may be open or closed. It’s up to you. If you pursue an open adoption, there’s a range of contact that you might have with the adoptive family during the process. You can decide if you want some communication or a lot of communication. Whether you want an open or closed adoption and how much you want to communicate is an important part of your adoption plan.
Choose an adoption attorney and an adoption counselor
The adoptive family should cover the costs for your adoption attorney and your adoption counselor. Your North Carolina adoption attorney represents you in order to make sure that the adoption proceeds smoothly and according to your wishes. They also answer questions to make sure that you completely understand the adoption process. An adoption counselor can help you process your personal questions and how you’re feeling about the adoption. Having the right professionals with you in the adoption process can help you have confidence in your baby’s adoption.
Work out the details for your hospital stay
It’s up to you whether you want to have your baby’s adoptive family with you in the hospital. It’s also up to you whether to have family members present for your baby’s birth. You can decide whether to spend time with your baby. Some mothers like to take pictures with their baby and the adoptive parents. The details of your hospital stay are important to include in your adoption plan.
Contact after adoption
Your adoption plan should consider what contact you want to have with your child after the adoption is complete. Do you want no contact at all? Do you want to send cards and gifts? Are you hoping for visits? It’s important to think through the type of contact you expect to have with your baby after the adoption so that you can communicate your wishes clearly with potential adoptive families.
Remember, you remain in charge of the adoption proceeding
When you’re pursuing adoption for your baby, you’re in the driver’s seat throughout the process. Even when you create an adoption plan, you can still make changes. You can change your mind about your adoption plan as you go. You can even change your mind about whether to place your baby for adoption.
As the child’s mother, you decide how your baby’s adoption goes. You choose an adoptive family. You make a plan for your hospital stay. Thinking through how you want things to go and creating a plan in advance helps you stay in control and ensure that your wishes stay the top priority throughout the adoption journey.