Adoptive Parents' Stories
You can read what some couples have said about their experience of adopting children below
Sue and Simon’s story
“Are you sitting down?” Those four little words were to change our lives and take us on an exciting, scary and wonderful journey called parenthood. Our social worker had told us previously that if she used that line it would mean someone who was considering placing her child for adoption had selected our profile.
Renata and Tracy’s story
After six years of trying for children of our own with lots of losses including several ectopic pregnancies and two failed IVF attempts, Renata and I decided we wanted to adopt because we had so much to offer children. We both believed we were meant to be parents and that our family unit did not feel complete without children.
Greer and Max’s story
New Zelanders Greer and her husband Max have adopted a boy with Down Syndrome. Greer talks about how this has been a positive experience for them all. She also encourages pregnant women carrying Down Syndrome children to think about adoption if they are unable to parent their child themselves.
Greg and Angela’s story
As a young couple we didn’t think there would be a problem having children but after months of trying we discovered that we were unable to have children and so chose to go down the adoption path. The phone call that changed our lives forever came on the 12 November 2002. Greg was on his way to a school camp and I was in the middle of a maths lesson with 5 year olds and I heard the words you always wanted to hear “There’s a baby for us!”
Sarah’s story
I will never forget the phone call from my GP “Do you still want to adopt a baby?” Oh yes! There was nothing that I wanted more than this! Several years earlier I had gone to him and asked that if ever he had a patient who wanted to adopt her baby out could he remember me and my husband? And now the unbelievable had happened – he had a patient who was considering giving up her baby for adoption, and would like to meet us!
Graeme and Sue’s story
In 1988 and 1989 we had two sons the “natural” way but Sue’s incubator system was not kind to babies so the plan for four kids came to an end. Great we thought…we have two, that will be fine.
By the early 1990’s it was not so fine and after much discussion and soul searching we decided to look into adoption. Just at that time it was really being opened up, – age restrictions disappeared, the fact we already had children was no longer an issue so we did the workshops and put in our profile in 1993…then waited.