Surprise, we are adopting a baby boy!
When we embarked on this journey, we figured adoption would be something we accomplished by ourselves. We chose to adopt our second child because we knew there were women looking for loving families to raise their children, and that we didn’t need a child to be ours biologically in order to love it unconditionally. When we made this decision, we didn’t realize how much support and assistance we would need from family, friends, and co-workers - especially when we were paired with a birthmother whose baby was due in less than three days. We are deeply appreciative of everything from adoption reference letters, to the go-bag of newborn clothes and car seat delivered to us right before we headed to Florida to meet the new baby. And we are thankful for the many others who offered support, and are grateful that so many want to be part of our journey.
Private adoption typically costs between $25,000-50,000 USD. A portion of these costs are incurred in the first part of the adoption, in order to get approved as an adoptive family and list your family profile with a licensed adoption agency. However, the bulk of expenses are due after you have been paired with a birthmother and/or up until you finalize the adoption. This includes placement and legal fees, as well as any birthmother living or medical expenses. And as we’ve learned, there are also the expenses of traveling to meet your adoptive baby, often on the other side of the country.
We planned for the financial impact of adoption for many years, but did not expect to be paired with a baby so rapidly or the additional legal requirements for our adoption situation. In lieu of a gifts, we hope you would consider contributing to our adoption fundraiser. We have no expectation of contributions and will be thankful for any amount, no matter how small.
All contributions through AdoptTogether are tax deductible and will be used to pay for the remainder of our legal and birthmother expenses. We also commit that everything raised in excess of our goal will go to the adoption agencies who are helping us through this process. They are doing truly remarkable and selfless work in support of birthmothers, children, and adoptive families. Your contribution would not only support our adoption process, but also their efforts to build extraordinary families.
Thank you so much for being a part of our journey!
Kateri, Drew, Ori, and Baby Rafa
