January 25, 2016
What Should I Put In My Adoption Profile
Are you getting ready to work on your adoption profile? Are you updating it for an additional adoption and feeling unsure about what to add? Crafting your adoption profile can be difficult, no doubt. But it can also be a lot of fun. This is a time to let you and your family shine. To be confident in who you are, to project the very best parts of yourself — all the loving, compassionate bits that are going to make you an incredible parent — and to take the chance to connect with a birth mother who shares your same values and ideals.
So what should you include?
Why do you want to adopt? Be honest. Be heartfelt. Share your story. Maybe you didn’t always think you were going to adopt. Maybe hardship led you to adoption. Maybe it was clear from the minute you knew you wanted to be a parent that adoption was the only possible way it could go. Your adoption story begins far before the match. It begins with your emotions and feelings about the situation. Let your potential birth mother know where you’re coming from.
Who are you? Such a simple question, but such a big answer! This can be a tough one, but this is where you really have to dig down deep and think about who you are. What do you like to do, what is your personality like, what are your hobbies, your talents, your passions? How would you describe yourself to someone you don’t know? What do they absolutely have to understand about you to know who you are? Every little detail is important! The more your potential birth mother feels like she’s getting to know the real you, the better.
Where do you come from? This can shed so much light. It’s an opportunity for you to talk about your upbringing, your family, the traditions you grew up with, the type of home you lived in, the customs, traits, and quirks that made you who you are. Your siblings, parents, heritage, food customs. All of these things will paint a picture of the type of family you will be creating for a child, and they’re details that really make a difference.
What do you expect from the adoption? Are you looking for an open or closed adoption? Letters and pictures or visits? Something semi-open, or are you open to multiple different kinds of arrangements? Be honest here about what you want. Don’t just try and appease someone. This a very very important part of the adoption process, and your honesty will determine the match you make. You want to find someone who is on the same page as you, and you want to make plans with a birth mother that are within your comfort zone.
Try not to over think it! Be honest. Be yourself. Be true. The more you open yourself up, the more a birth mother will be able to see who you really are, and the better chance you have of matching with someone who’s happily on the same page.
