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I was twenty-years-old when I found out I was three months pregnant. With my ex-boyfriend's child. We had been together for over five years, and he had broken up with me two months earlier for another girl the day that we were supposed to move into our first apartment together (he had lived with me and my family for the entire previous year). I was living on my own for the first time and trying to support myself. So...I was more than a little emotional. For about a week and a half my mother and myself were the only two who knew. She knew that I was stressing out about what I was going to do, and she came to me with the idea to have my brother and sister-in-law adopt the baby. They have been together for eight years, married for two, and have been trying to have children for five. In all honesty, this was the first thing that popped into my head when I saw those two lines on that stick. So, I approached them about it, and they took about two weeks to think about it before deciding that they could and would adopt the baby. So, she was present at all of my doctor's appointments (they live about an hour away and she only ever missed two, she came to all those five minute appointments), and we found out that it was a boy at thirty-two weeks (he was hiding it all behind his umbilical cord!). I was present at the baby shower, I even helped her open presents and was fully acknowledged by everyone as the birthmother. Everyone in my family was and has been so supportive. I had to go into the hospital when I was a week overdue due to high blood-pressure, and was gently induced until he was born on May fourth, my sister-in-law's birthday. My hospital only allows a certain amount of people in the room during the actual delivery, and so I had my mother, my brother, and my sister-in-law there for the birth. In the hospital, I was fine emotionally. I even said that it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. It was after they brought him to their home (again, an hour away) that I suddenly felt like someone had ripped him away from me. I've seen him three times since then, but two of those times it was for only about thirty minutes and I had to "share" him with everyone else who wanted to hold him. I am still his legal mother, the only right that they have is that I gave them medical power of attorney so that if anything happened over there, they could take him to the hospital with no complications. I am having such a hard time, and I have this thought that I may have made the wrong decision, or that I jumped into that because I was scared. I asked if I could have him for this upcoming weekend- just to see what I felt- and my brother just broke down and kept saying that he's his son and that if I had him for the weekend, I'd never give him back. I know that ALL of this is sooo unique, but am I making a mistake by spending that time with him? I know that adoptions fall through all the time, but I know that this would devastate them to no end. But it's better to make this decision based on what I feel as right, not on trying to avoid stepping on anyone's toes....right?
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You have to do what is right for you and your son. If the baby is still legally yours you have every right to spend more time with the child to be sure that you are making the right decision.
Will it be easy? NO. If you decide to parent will your brother and his wife be hurt? Yes. In the end what matters is that you do what is right for you and the baby.
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You must do what you feel is right for you and your baby. As an adoptive mom(relative adoption as well), I had to know 100% that my son's birthmom wanted the adoption plan. Heck, I even offered her to live with us so she could bond with him and be 100%! Not that I didn't love him and want him, but we had to be sure she was sure! She decided not to stay with us, she knew what she wanted and assured me she was doing the right thing.
YOU MUST KNOW you are doing the right thing. Adoption is permanent. Be certain you are doing what is right for your son. Whether that be letting your brother and SIL adopt him, or raising him yourself.
Take your son for the weekend or for how ever long you need to. Be certain!
Good luck with your decision.
And for the record, my heart breaks for you AND for your brother and sister in law. This is a hard HARD decision. But you can't make your decision based on how they feel or how they will feel. You must base your decision on what you feel is right for your child. And honestly, if you are capable of parenting, if you want to parent him, that is your RIGHT as his MOTHER!
Well, I told them that I was feeling this way, and they totally freaked..are still freaking. His has an appointment in my town tomorrow (Friday), and they're coming over to talk about it with me afterwards. Which is what should happen. The problem I'm having with them is that before he was born, it was very much all about how we could and would get through all of this stuff together and that we would support and love each other no matter what. And this, while I can understand is scary to them, is what I need. And I am not getting that love and understanding back from them. So...this has changed from being that beautiful situation into being the ugliest thing that's ever happened in this family. We're all (four siblings, a mom, and a step-father) so tight and close to each other. But it feels like they've been trying to push me out of the picture ever since he was born, and I just can not and will not let that happen.
And, yes, his biological father has been more than ready to sign his consent to have him adopted. Like I said, he's wanted absolutely nothing to do with any of it. We broke up, he moved in with his new girlfriend, and we haven't communicated since I was four months pregnant.
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I am an adoptive mom and we recently met with our childs birthmom. Her rights have expired and even though they have, my worst fear before her seeing our baby was that she would look at him, spend time with him and then wish she hadn't gone through with the adoption. After our meeting she told me our meeting verified she made the right choice. I was so relieved. Please please please do what is right for you and this baby. Once your rights are gone the adoptive parents have all the say. If you choose to parent it may cause some very hard feelings in your family however, this is your baby right now. If it is in your heart to parent you must be true to yourself and your child. Its not like you did it on purpose. This is why the law gives you time. Family or not this is your baby. If they are not co-operating now will they for years to come? I would have been hurt if our childs birth mom had of changed her mind, however, I would be hurting now if I knew she wished she had of parented instead of going through with the adoption. Neither are pleasant feelings. They will cope with it and be ok eventually. This is your choice and yours only. I am in no way saying to keep your baby. all I am saying is be true to you. If you want your baby it doesn't matter how much money, time, etc the adoptive parents have put out. YOU DO NOT OWE THEM YOUR CHILD. All the best.