Have you been dreaming of starting your family through newborn adoption? Or maybe you already have children, but want to make your family complete through the blessing of adoption.

If you're thinking about adopting a newborn in the U.S., you'll want to attend Lifetime's upcoming webinar, "Newborn Adoption Q&A for Hopeful Parents." Bring your questions to our panel of adoption experts and get the clarity and direction you need to move your adoption dream to the next step.

Last year, adoptive couple Casey and Johanna were blessed to adopt a baby boy through Lifetime Adoption.

In this family’s story, we hear from Johanna about receiving "the call," the bond they've established with their son Isaiah's birth mother, and their experience with becoming parents together through an open adoption. Now a forever family, adoptive mom Johanna shares their beautiful story in this special guest blog. 

We love it when adoptive couples share the happy ending to their adoption story after the wait.  It’s a beautiful reminder for Lifetime of why we do what we do and the impact it has on creating families!

Question: My sister just announced her second pregnancy, and my whole family is excited. I’m so happy for her, but it’s also been hard because I had really hoped that I’d have become a mom by now, and it feels a little like I’m getting left behind.

The happy news has even caused some relatives to ask why we’re still waiting to adopt, or when it will happen for us. I’m trying to stay positive, for my sister’s family, and also for our own adoption plans, but if I’m honest, I’m just struggling. Any tips for this adoptive mom in-waiting?

One of the most common reasons we see families turning to a Lifetime Adoption is because of a diagnosis of polycystic ovarian syndrome. Women with PCOS experience plenty of uncertainty about fertility; every month can feel like a roller coaster. They might wonder things like,
"Will this treatment work?"
"How will it affect my PCOS?"
"What will it do to my body?"  
"Am I pregnant, or is this PCOS?"

A new report sheds more light on the causes of polycystic ovarian syndrome. Recent research shows that it may be "triggered before birth, in the womb" according to New Scientist.  Polycystic ovaries are currently the most common cause of fertility issues in women; worldwide, PCOS affects up to one in five women.

Currently, the treatment for PCOS achieves pregnancy in less than 30% of women. However, a polycystic ovarian syndrome diagnosis doesn't have to mean you can never become a mother. Thousands of women diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome turn to adoption every year.

We often see fathers (and men who long to be dads) as the unemotional, strong members of the family who represent a different perspective than their counterparts. But it's important to celebrate these men as fathers and to encourage those who are becoming fathers through adoption. 

If we take the time to see adoption from a hopeful adoptive dad's point of view, we can understand that they'll need just as much support on their journey as a hopeful mom.

Today, we address a question from a hopeful adoptive mom who is concerned that she won't have support from her family during the adoption journey:

"My husband and I are so excited to adopt! We've always known that we wanted to adopt a baby.  But, our parents and grandparents don't seem to understand why we'd want an open adoption.

Yesterday, my dad asked me why we want the birth family to remain in our lives. And my grandma has made it clear that she looks down on birth mothers; she doesn't think they should be able to choose their baby's parents.

How can we get the support of our families during the adoption process? I'm worried about the impact that their negative views of open adoption will have on our future child!"

When adoptive couples come to Lifetime, most are coming from their own journey of months or years of already waiting—waiting through miscarriage, waiting through infertility, waiting, and waiting to be picked by a birth mother. So it makes sense that one of the most-asked questions hopeful parents have when they hear our Adoption Story webinars is "How long did you wait to adopt?"

When it comes to infant adoption, the wait is usually a focus, and at times a challenge, for hopeful adoptive parents.

Lifetime recently welcomed a special webinar guest, Carly, who shares her story about praying to become a mother, moving past years of fertility treatments, and welcoming her son home through open adoption. She describes how she started to see how every step of her story, including the wait, was a significant part of the journey and prepared her for what was to come. As Carly shares, "There's purpose in the wait."

So often on this blog, we share adoption tips about what to do in the process. But since there are many opportunities for hitches along the way, today we're going to share about what NOT to do in adoption, and things to be aware of.

The adoption pointers we provide below may seem like common sense, but they come from Lifetime’s years of experience working with adoptive parents and birth mothers. All of the situations we share are ones we've experienced.

Lifetime wants to make sure that you’re prepared and equipped with accurate information of what not to do. By becoming informed, you can focus on doing the right things to really ensure a safe and successful adoption!

3 things to avoid doing immediately if you want to adopt successfully:

The Saturday before Mother's Day has been traditionally honored as Birth Mother's Day throughout the US. While we think it's totally appropriate to celebrate birth mothers all weekend long, we're taking today to highlight the amazing, brave, loving women behind each adoption story.

One of the most common questions future adoptive parents have to work through, for themselves, is this:

"What would it be like to raise a child who also had another family that loved him first?"

A child's birth mother will always be a special part of his or her story. As most of Lifetime's adoptive parents share, once you get to know the ONE birth mother who has chosen you to become her baby's family, the natural progression is to grow a deep love and care for that amazing woman who made your adoption dreams come true.

So this Mother's Day weekend, as you recognize your own adoption miracle, or pray for the next step in your adoption goals, take a moment to celebrate the brave love that threads between all birth mothers. Here are a few ways you can honor birth mothers today:

Mother’s Day isn’t easy without a child to hold and hug, when more than anything, you want that. It's so hard to have that longing, and not have something that so many other women are experiencing - motherhood. Not having a child can make the second Sunday in May so much more difficult.

If Mother’s Day brings feelings of pain or longing for you, know that you're not alone. Lifetime's Founder Mardie Caldwell is an adoptive mother herself, and shares, "A lot of the time on Mother's Day, I just wanted to curl up in bed and forget the whole day because it can be really painful."

It's hard to wait when you're SO ready to be a mom. Right now, God might be saying, “Not yet. Wait.” While you have no idea what's in store, He does! His plan is more considerable than anything you can envision.