Infertility Archives

An Anonymous Letter from An Adoptive Mom to Her Parents

Katie Zimmerman2024-03-13T09:03:29-07:00March 13, 2024|Adoption Education, Adoption is Hard, Adoption Perspectives, Adoption Process, Domestic infant adoption, Hoping to Adopt, Infertility, Learn|

Adoption is hard, and sometimes it is hard in ways you didn't prepare for. Many of the adoptive families we work with at Purl spend countless hours preparing for the adoption process and life after adoption, but sometimes the obstacles post-adoption cannot be predicted no matter the education and preparation. Will your extended family welcome the child through adoption and love the child through adoption as if it were a child to whom you gave birth? In today's heartbreaking post, an anonymous Adoptive Mom shares a poignant letter to her parents after learning post-adoption that her family was not as accepting of their children as they were to other grandchildren who joined the family biologically. We hope this post helps you to analyze your entire support system as you pursue adoption and prepare for this possibility. Click here to read more.

Adoption is NOT Surrogacy

Kelcie Grace Germano2023-09-15T13:02:50-07:00September 14, 2023|Adoption Advisor, Adoption Education, Adoption is Hard, Adoption Perspectives, Adoption Process, Domestic infant adoption, Drug/Alcohol Exposure, Embryo Donation/Adoption, Hoping to Adopt, Infertility, Learn|

In this article, Purl Founder, Katie Zimmerman, aims to shed light on a pervasive misconception: treating adoption as if it were surrogacy. Prospective adoptive parents, particularly those looking into domestic infant adoption, must understand that the two paths are not interchangeable, particularly when it comes to interacting with expectant mothers. This article explores the key distinctions between surrogacy and adoption to equip prospective adoptive parents with the insight they need for a respectful and ethical adoption journey. Click here to read more.

Dear Mom of a Child Through Adoption (Author Unknown)

Katie Zimmerman2023-01-22T11:21:10-07:00December 20, 2022|Adoption is Hard, Adoption Perspectives, Adoption Process, Domestic infant adoption, Infertility, Learn, Open Adoption (Learn)|

I (Katie - Founder/CEO) have seen this circulate a hundred times since adopting, but for some reason it hit me harder today so I thought I would memorialize here on our page. For anyone who needs to hear this and feel the community today.... ---- Dear Mom of a Child ...

Adult Adoptee Shares Her Raw Story

Emily Zerbe2023-04-10T15:55:51-07:00November 10, 2022|Adoption Education, Adoption is Hard, Adoption Perspectives, Domestic infant adoption, Hoping to Adopt, Infertility, Learn, Open Adoption (Learn)|

Today's blog post is written by a guest writer, Cathee Zimmerman Cooper, an adult adoptee from a closed adoption, who shares with us her experience as an adoptee and the advice she has for those who are parenting children through adoption. — About Me Hello, my name is Cathee, and ...

The Basics of Embryo Adoption and Embryo Donation

Katie Zimmerman2022-06-01T14:18:47-07:00June 1, 2022|Adoption Advisor, Adoption Education, Adoption Process, Embryo Donation/Adoption, Hoping to Adopt, Infertility, Learn|

The domestic infant adoption world is crowded and families are taking longer to match and adopt. There really is no need for more prospective adoptive parents, and we have heard statistics there are likely 50-75 waiting prospective adoptive families for every baby being placed for adoption at birth. Because of that reality, many couples and individuals have turned to embryo donation/embryo adoption, another assisted reproduction method to grow a family, but potentially at a lower cost and with different considerations than domestic infant adoption. While we are not assisted reproduction attorneys, we wanted to give you some basic information on embryo donation/adoption to consider before beginning a domestic infant adoption journey or an embryo donation/adoption journey. To learn more about this potential way to grow your family, click here.

The Benefits of Adoption-Informed Therapy

BPetersonDesign2022-03-30T10:47:47-07:00November 29, 2021|Adoption Education, Adoption is Hard, Adoption Perspectives, Adoption Process, Domestic infant adoption, Hoping to Adopt, Infertility|

Creating a family through adoption comes with many complexities. Too often, these complexities are minimized or overlooked, and the impact can be catastrophic. Despite well-meaning adoptive parents, if there is not intentionality behind seeking ongoing education and support, children may be emotionally isolated and silenced, no matter how much love a family has to offer. Whether in the pre-adoptive phase or deep into the chapters of post adoption parenting, adoption focused therapy can be a transformative process for children and adoptive families and caregivers. To read more of this guest blog post, written by a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, MSW, and international, transracial adoptee, Amy Wilkerson, click here.

Donor Conception and its Impact on Future Generations

BPetersonDesign2022-06-08T13:51:10-07:00October 2, 2021|Adoption Education, Embryo Donation/Adoption, Infertility, Open Adoption (Learn)|

Purl’s Director of Graphic Design, Ali Alvidrez, has been helping families adopt through profile and outreach material design for Purl for over four years. Ali is the only member of the Purl Team who is not a member of the adoption triad. However, Ali’s family experience with assisted reproduction is relevant to the impact of embryo donation/adoption on future generations. As Purl expands into guidance in embryo donation/adoption, Ali felt compelled to share her personal experience on the impact of donor conception on her definition of “family'“ today. In this blog post, Ali shares her relationship to a biological half-sister through assisted reproduction.

It’s not about you…and you will likely be uncomfortable

BPetersonDesign2022-03-31T10:02:00-07:00June 10, 2021|Adoption Disruption, Adoption Education, Adoption is Hard, Adoption Perspectives, Adoption Process, Domestic infant adoption, Hoping to Adopt, Infertility, Transracial Adoption (Learn)|

If you’re starting the adoption journey you might not realize that the rest of this journey WILL NOT be about you. You might have endured a lot of pain to get here, infertility, failed IUI or IVF cycles, failed embryo adoption or surrogacy. Really, really tough stuff. But I’m going to tell you something difficult to hear, most likely if you are here now and pursuing domestic infant adoption: your mindset will now have to immediately shift and all your decisions from here need to be about your future child through adoption (the adoptee) and what is best for them. You need to be able to justify every decision you make, and feel comfortable telling your future child the decisions you made and steps you took to adopt. To read more, click here.

Who Should Consider Embryo Adoption?

BPetersonDesign2022-04-05T14:32:37-07:00June 1, 2021|Adoption Advisor, Adoption Education, Adoption is Hard, Adoption Process, Embryo Donation/Adoption, Hoping to Adopt, Infertility|

The domestic infant adoption world has changed significantly in the last few years, but particularly since the pandemic began. There are less domestic adoption opportunities and many more prospective adoptive families waiting to adopt than usual. In many ways that is positive, if it means that pregnant moms are able to parent their children. But it can be very difficult for families looking to grow their families through adoption. Because of that, many families have turned to embryo donation/adoption, another assisted reproduction method to grow a family, but potentially at lower cost and with different risks than traditional infant adoption. There are hundreds of thousands of frozen embryos nationwide, with many available immediately for closed to open donation/adoption for families able to carry a pregnancy to term. So the question is, who can potentially find success with embryo donation/adoption? This article will give you some factors to consider when deciding if embryo donation/adoption is right for you.

What about Embryo Adoption?

BPetersonDesign2022-06-08T13:54:04-07:00April 16, 2021|Adoption Advisor, Adoption is Hard, Adoption Process, Domestic infant adoption, Embryo Donation/Adoption, Hoping to Adopt, Infertility|

Today, we are sharing our own experience researching and pursuing embryo adoption after our first adoption opportunity disrupted. We are sharing this in part to educate you on embryo adoption as a potential option to grow your family, which can work for many families who have experienced infertility. But we are also considering offering a limited coaching package to guide families through their options associated with embryo adoption and then help them navigate the embryo adoption process, assuming domestic infant adoption is not the right route for them. Click here to read more and to share your thoughts on whether this service is currently needed in this space.

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