As I started writing about in my last post, adoption is an extremely emotional process for all involved. Adoptive parents often find themselves in a surprising range of emotions throughout the adoption process, and the intensity, variety and rapid change of emotions often catches adoptive parents off guard.

The emotions involved with adoption are often complicated and even conflicting, which make them that much more complicated and hard to deal with and figure out.

I hope that by discussing some of the commonly felt emotions among adoptive parents, I can help parents understand why they are feeling the way that they are and to help them know that many other adoptive parents have felt the same way.

First I thought I would start off with some of the happier emotions. Most people expect that adoption is going to be a "happy event", much like having a baby often is, and yet the power of the happier emotions adoptive parents often feel still comes as a surprise to them.

When you first hear that you have a child, that news is just incredible. When you receive that referral you were waiting for, or get assigned to that waiting child you chose or however it comes to be, the knowledge that you are being given a child, and getting to see that child's picture, is usually unbelievably joyful, exciting and happy beyond words. For many, this is when the adoption becomes "real".

And of course finally being united with your child is typically an incredibly joyful time as well (although it can also often be stressful and involve many other emotions at the same time). Finally holding the child in your arms that you have dreamed about, prayed for, waited for and worked through the long, complicated and often challenging adoption process for, is incredible. It is a culmination of many things and many emotions.

Excitement goes along with the joy and happiness. I get excited every time we make progress in the process. When we find out that our homestudy is approved, our dossier is on it's way, our referral is official, our case is approved in court, we can finally travel or any other of the major steps along the way, I get super excited. Each step is a small victory for me, bringing me one step closer to my child.

When we are getting ready to travel, I am often filled with indescribable excitement and joy, at being so close to being with my new child.

Joy, happiness and excitement often come at less expected times, too. Sometimes I will just pass by a picture of Solomon, and I am totally overwhelmed with joy that he is really going to be ours, and that we are being blessed with one more little boy. Sometimes when I am watching my kids play together, I imagine him running around with the rest of them, and my heart swells.

There are many other emotions to consider and experience as adoption is so complex, but adoption is often, largely, a happy event. It is an orphaned child becoming a part of a loving family. It is parents being given a child they have longed for. It is a new beginning. It is love.

So if you have ever felt so much love and happiness that you feel like your heart has grown ten times the size, yes, that is a normal way for adoptive parents to feel.

If you have ever felt so excited that you just want to jump up and down and shriek, yes, that is a normal way for adoptive parents to feel.

If you have ever felt so completely full of joy that you are on this adoption journey and have been so unbelievably happy that it is really happening, yes, that is a normal way for adoptive parents to feel.

Adoptive parents often feel very happy, joyful and excited during the adoption process.

And yet, all of these happy emotions are usually swirled around with many other types of emotions. Read my next few posts for more on the emotions that adoptive parents experience.










*For information/instructions on how to subscribe FREE to your favorite AdoptionBlogs, please visit this link.