Hi, I’m Stephie!

Owner, Adoption Advisor

As an adoptive parent, I know that the path to adoption is not easy. Simply deciding whether to pursue adoption as a way to grow your family is a monumental decision, and that’s just the beginning.

When we started on our adoption journey in December of 2017 after 2+ years of infertility, we definitely had on some rose-colored glasses. After we went through our first disruption just a few months after becoming a waiting family, it became really clear to me that our required home study education wasn’t going to cut it. There was so much we didn’t know.

So I stepped out of my comfort zone, listening to other sides of the triad and digging into education, knowing that was how I would grow and prepare to be the best parent I could for our future child.

In the process, I learned how to love expectant mamas well. I learned how to see them as human beings, not as the vessel through which we might be parents. I learned how to gracefully walk through two more disruptions and support those mamas who chose to parent before it was really our time, just 17 days after our third disruption.

We now have an amazing open adoption with our daughter’s birth family. We see them as much as possible and share pictures and texts with them every day. But as beautiful as our family is, we don’t mistake it for a fairy-tale ending – in reality, our story is just beginning, and it’ll only truly get going when our daughter is old enough to have her own voice and opinions about her adoption. 

As she grows, we can never stop educating ourselves. We can never stop learning about how to be better parents to our adoptee, how to acknowledge her trauma, and how to help her process her big feelings. 

I know from experience how helpful it can be to talk to someone who has been there as we as adoptive parents and prospective adoptive parents process our own grief and juggle all of the often conflicting emotions that come with doing adoption ethically. It’s why I started adoption advising – whether you’re still considering adoption to grow your family, you’re a waiting family, or are learning how to navigate an open adoption, I’m here to help you figure out what’s next and I look forward to sharing a piece of your journey with you.