November is a special month for my family because that is the month my son was born. Recently I learned that November is also National Adoption Month which makes the month even more special because my son is adopted.
My husband and I dealt with fertility issues for many years before we had the opportunity to adopt.
We had spoken about trying for one more year and if we still could not conceive, we would start looking into adoption. About a month after that conversation, I received a call about a lady who was looking for someone to adopt the baby she was carrying.
It took a total of a 10-minute conversation with my husband for us to decide we wanted to adopt the baby.
She was roughly 6-7 months pregnant and already knew she was having a boy. We met with her and the family and decided we could adopt the baby. Our next step was contacting a lawyer to figure out what we needed to do. Our lawyer even had to do some research because it had been 20+ years since he had a case like ours.
Our little Thomas was born and our experience with the birth mom and the hospital was exceptional.
We became his legal guardians and were able to bring him home from the hospital.
Five months later we went to court and the judge signed the papers for Thomas to officially become a Hayes!
Even though we did not go through an adoption agency, the process was still long and tough. The emotional toll of the unknown was the scariest.
Happy National Adoption Month to those who have been adopted, those who adopted, and those looking to adopt!
Want to read more about adoption? Check out our Gulf Coast Dad Jonathan Brannan’s adoption story.
