Can you BUY a lifebook??

A lifebook is traditionally (in adoption) a "just the facts" version of your adopted child's story. It might include pictures of the bios, copies of paperwork, etc. Just the facts, not family vacations, kindergarten graduation, etc. You can also have a baby book, scrapbook, photo album, etc. Those are things you might show off on the coffee table to friends who come for dinner. A lifebook is personal, it's the good bad and ugly of how the child came to be adopted. It should be private to the child to decide who sees it, if anyone. Always use copies, never originals. And you would keep it age appropriate, so it might have few details for a toddler, just some photos and a few sentences. As the child gets older you can add to it, giving them more info and more facts to help them tell their story. I love lifebooks. My 7yo and I are working on his together now. Good luck! PS. That said, I don't know why the worker would ask for a lifebook for a child you don't have yet? Interesting!

I would call... our agency required an autobiography, which would make more sense in this context.

I'm confused too about exactly what the SW expects you to bring in terms of a life book. Usually it's a photo type book with pics beginning at birth( or placement day) with things like favorite food, birthdays, celebrations, activities they like. That sort of stuff. At least that's what we have to do for our foster kids. So if you don't have a child yet, what exactly are they expecting you to bring in? If you need pages You can buy pre-made scrapbook pages that you insert pics into for all kinds of events. Take a look at Etsy.com and search for children scrapbook pages. You'll find lots of cute things.

I think she wants us to bring like an example of what a Lifebook is to show the emom. It kinda ties in with how we were going to tell the baby that he/she is adopted. But im not sure how i would make even an empty one, cuz i dont know any info, so i dont think i would even beable to make the layout of one. I dont know, i will call her on monday to find out.

I'm confused too about exactly what the SW expects you to bring in terms of a life book. Usually it's a photo type book with pics beginning at birth( or placement day) with things like favorite food, birthdays, celebrations, activities they like. That sort of stuff. At least that's what we have to do for our foster kids. So if you don't have a child yet, what exactly are they expecting you to bring in? If you need pages You can buy pre-made scrapbook pages that you insert pics into for all kinds of events. Take a look at Etsy.com and search for children scrapbook pages. You'll find lots of cute things.

So you're meeting with a mom??!! :cheer: Good luck!!

maybe they mean a "dear birth mother" book that tells about you and your family. i cannot imagine anything for an unborn child.

Due to agency confidentiality- I can neither confirm or deny this!!!! Rach

We are using "Our Chosen Child" which is a baby book geared toward adoption. I like it alright. There is a spot in there for other important people in the babies life and that's where we put birth family pictures.

Its definately worth a call to her. I am hoping there is some sort of miscommunication there. Otherwise that's a really weird request. A lifebook for a domestic privately adopted child tells more of the pre-birth story of your kid. My son's has a page about Why we chose adoption, the wait, the call, his birth (what I could gleen from the medical records), bmom, cradle care, pick up, meeting Dad, finalization. That's all it has. Because its a closed domestic adoption, I don't have much more info anyway that I know for sure to be true. I keep a folder of all the medical records and paper work and I stick information I come across along the way in there (a photo that may be his birthmom, a phone number that may be hers etc. . .). A lifebook for an international adoption would be similar to what I described but probably much longer because it would have country information in it. Many social workers call the book you are required to keep for your foster kids that Caddo is describing a life book also. That book stays with the child though, so unless you had a foster kid in your home right now, you wouldn't have that kind of lifebook and if you did, it would be someone else's private info that you should not be sharing with a pbmom. I suspect she means your detailed family profile. If you can't get a hold of her, that is what I would bring.

When I took foster/adopt classes through the county where I live they talked about a Lifebook for older children going into foster placements. The Lifebook they described had nothing to do with the child's story at all. It was a book about the family they would be placed with. ("We are the Jones family", "Here is our house", "These are things we like to do on a Saturday", "We love to eat at ... restaurant". etc.) This way, the child may feel more comfortable knowing some things about the family beforehand. This wouldn't seem to apply to a domestic infant adoption at all but it's similar to a profile shown to expectant moms so they can learn about you. Could this be what she's calling a Lifebook?

I had a really good idea today. I was over by my MIL's house and her son (3) got a book from a family member that was a recordable book. One the inside cover it said, To: xxx From:xxx and then the title was, How much i love you. And then when you open it up and turn each page, it had recorded this persons voice reading the book. He thought it was the neatest thing hearing his aunt read the book to him. So then i had a really good idea (well, i think its good) that i could buy one and give it to the emom, and she could record herself reading the book and then i could keep it for the baby!! Wouldnt that be a neat thing to have from her for the baby??? What do ya think??

I think it's a great idea. DD1's bmom gave her one of those for her last birthday.

As foster parents, we make life books for our kids that are all about their experiences while they stay with us. The life book travels with the child wherever they go. That way they're able to have a more or less unbroken story about what happened to them. When Queenie left, she left with a little short booklet that contained 5 pictures of her, a list of her favorite things--like food, loveys, stories--and the words to a song that I sang to her. It was hers to know that she was greatly loved while she was with us. When she left, her past here didn't disappear. And the family she went to had a place to start adding. You can google life book and come up with some cute templates or you can scrapbook or photo album or whatever. And I'm thinking the op is probably supposed to bring something about her family--she doesn't know the baby yet! Good luck to you!

We arent suppose to bring a book with all our family info in it. She has already read that at our agency. I got ahold of my SW yesterday and she said that at our agency they have like Templates of Lifebooks for a domestic adoption that she thought we should bring along when we go to our next meeting with mom. (already met her once) She said then we can show her what a lifebook is and what info we would put in there about the birthparents, their family, hobbies, favorites, etc. So now it makes more sense. She doesnt want me to go make one quick, just show her what it would be like WHEN we make one for the baby. I think its a good idea, i hope she agrees. Thanks guys, Rach