12 Families Shared How They Adopted Their Babies and These Love Stories Caught Us Off Guard

On November 18, the United States celebrated National Adoption Day. From the moment of its inception in the year 2000, this awareness date has opened up a space to discuss widespread doubts about adoption processes. For example, it has obliterated the idea that adopting a baby is just a bunch of tedious and complicated paperwork. Have you ever wondered how parents choose their children when adopting them? If so, this article is for you.

Bright Side collected the most moving stories from Reddit users who explained the process of having a child that isn’t conceived in the womb, but in the heart.

• One girl from our child’s adoption center was born without a right arm. Her family picked her because the dad had lost his left arm in an industrial accident, so not only would she feel accepted, but the dad and daughter could walk side by side and hold hands.
  @Rtalbert235

• When my husband’s grandparents were young, they got to the stage where they could literally pick a baby. The nurses brought one out, his grandma took it in her arms and held it for a moment. The nurse then said: Let me bring out another one for you to look at." And his grandma goes: “No, we’re not picking one out like that. You gave us this one, so this is the one we want. It’s who we were meant to have.” And that’s how they adopted my husband’s uncle.
  @Unknown

• My parents got married in 1976, and a few years later, decided they wanted a kid. It didn’t happen. There were no pregnancies whatsoever. So my dad got his bus driving license and started driving a bus for the local daycare/preschool for foster and low-income kids. He met this little 4-year-old in foster care who was pretty sweet. A few months later, he realized that he loved this kid and wanted to adopt him.
  @hallipeno
• My grandparents were unable to conceive children, so naturally they went to an orphanage. My mother was 2 at the time, and had just gotten new shoes. “Look at my new shoes!” she said, and started dancing. My grandmother is spoiled rotten by my grandfather, and she turned to him and said, “I want this one.” The nun then told her that her older brother and sister were also at the orphanage and they were trying to adopt them to the same home. To which she replied: “Well then we’ll be taking all 3.” My grandfather couldn’t argue, so they brought the 3 of them home.
  @scnavi

• We never chose a kid. The birth mom chose us. We had to go through extensive background checks. That took about a year. Then we waited. We were given 24 hours’ notice to travel thousands of miles. Meaning, I got a phone call at 1 p.m. one day and we had to be many states away by 10 a.m. the following day. It’s funny. People say she looks like my husband.
  @thisisallme

• I am a teacher, and started running with our future daughter while she was in foster care when she was in 3rd grade, as a way to help her deal with her stress and anxiety. A couple years later my wife and I adopted her.
  @autoperception

• My sister and I are adopted from Guatemala. My parents always say they didn’t need time to love us, they loved us from the moment they saw our pictures. I can say the same about my sister, she was the apple of my eye from my first glance at her picture.
  @AtsuPink
• My parents waited 4 years in Canada to adopt me (I was 3.5 at the time) — a pretty long time given they had no age/gender/requests and were willing to take children with moderate mental/physical disabilities. A social worker called them and said there was a little girl they could look at. My dad says I was like a puppy in a pet store window... “Look, I can draw a flower! Look, I can build Legos!” The social worker said they could pick me up in 3 days. It was an unusual situation, apparently... I had been adopted to a new family who wanted to return me, so I was adopted straight from that home. It was the first and only call my parents received in 4 years, and they had a child 3 days later.
  @attentionspanofafly

• In Nunavut, Inuit have what’s called “custom adoption” where an Inuk or member of the family can adopt a child without having to go through any agency or fill out any paperwork, really. Me and my now ex adopted our beautiful, most amazing, cutest little girl in the world. We asked around town if anyone was looking to adopt out their unborn child. We met with the mother, she said yes to us. Went to the birth of my daughter, nurse pretty much handed her over as soon as she was born.
  @coolcrushkilla

• I’ve adopted 2 children, both daughters, both from China. Our oldest daughter came home when she was 13 months old, as a non-special needs adoption. She’s healthy as can be, smart, bright, and very attached to us. Our youngest daughter came home at 2.5 years old, with a severe unilateral cleft lip, a hiatal hernia in need of repair, lots of muscle issues, and 5 stitches in her forehead from falling down a week before we met her. She’s healthy as can be, smart, bright, and attached very well to us.
  Some advice? Use your heart to figure what you’re capable of emotionally. Use your mind to know what you can afford financially. Think of the space you’re living in now and what will have to change, the cost of the process, and the next 18+ years.
  @trollitc

• My wife and I tried to have family in many ways, but after going through medication and in-vitro fertilization with no success, we decided to adopt. After almost 2 years, we received a call from an acquaintance who told us about a girl that was planning to give her future baby up for adoption. We got in touch with the woman, and the day the baby was born, we went to pick her up at the hospital (we went in as her relatives). Since then, she’s been with us. They warned us that the mother had 30 days to back down (which were eternal !!!) and that if that happened, as we were on a waiting list, they would veto us to adopt in Nuevo León. The 30 days ended, thank God... and the paperwork began. Everything was fast, and her record is like that of any other person. There is no reference to her adoption.
  @links806

• I witnessed the moment my mother knew we were going to adopt my sister. When we got into the car to take her home for the first time, she looked at my mother and said, “Where we goin’ mommy?” My mom started crying, and we both knew she was the one we were giving a forever home to. We had her as a foster child for 3 years, and officially adopted her the day after my birthday. Best. Present. Ever.
  @LaunchesKayaks

You can call it destiny or love at first sight... These stories show us that paternal and maternal love know no geographical, ethnic, age, or even number limits.

Do you know someone who was part of a beautiful adoption story? Have you considered this option yourself? Tell us in the comment section!