[MommyBear]

Read as much as you can about open adoption, particularly on boards like this where you can get the perspective from both the adoptive and birthparents. When we started the adoption process I was SURE that I would want a closed adoption - I am the jealous type and didn't want to "share" my child, or feel like someone was more important than I was in their life. I have come a LONG way from those thoughts and now find myself almost as excited about meeting a potential birthmother and becoming her friend as I am about becoming a mom. What more wonderful gift can we give our child than the truth and complete access to every aspect of their history, including getting to know the people that gave them life? And on a selfish note, how much will it help my own spirit to do everything possible to ease the transition for birthparents who find themselves in the position to place their child in my care?