Ryan & Kayla M.

Updates

• Update 4

  

  WE GOT A MATCH!!

  September 19, 2025

  We are soo excited to have our baby girl on the way! We were selected by a wonderful birthmother that we are so happy to have along side us in this journey! Baby girl is due January 2026!!! 🥰 💕🎀

• Update 3

  

  Why does Adoption cost so much?

  April 27, 2025

  Why does adoption cost so much? And what does my donation help towards?

  There are many fees associated with adoption. The average domestic (American) adoption costing between $30,000-$70,000. These fees are also influenced by the state in which the birth mom resides in. In some cases, half of the total adoption fee is due as soon as we are match with a birth family. Since we are home study approved, we could be matched at any point now. I wanted to take a moment to break down each area that your donation would help support our adoption:

  - Home study ($1,500) – this is the pre-adoption process of training, safety inspection of the home, interview the adoptive parents to be, as well as a written report that legally documents our readiness and ability to care for a child. This report will go in front of a judge to finalize our adoption. The home study process takes a few months and compensates our caseworker for their time and services rendered.

  - Agency fees ($18,000-$35,000) - we work closely with our local caseworker and agency. These people work tirelessly to take care of facilitating the process. They are working to network and build relationships with other agencies and attorneys to help connect more birth families with adoptive families. Agencies cost money to run. They employ case workers and there is the cost of overhead. An agency is important because they provide the expectant mother with resources during her pregnancy. They work closely with both sides to ensure things run smoothly.

  - Birthmother fees ($5,000-$10,000) - this fee is to help birthmothers with resources she may need during her pregnancy. These could include her living expenses (such as rent) while she's pregnant, as well as assistance for clothing, transportation and groceries. Some birth mother fees could also cover counseling/therapy for the mother as she is working through one of the biggest decisions on placement for her child’s future. These expenses can vary from city to city depending on the cost of living and services. Some states have no cap on the birthmother’s expense during the length of her pregnancy.

  - Legal fees ($5,000-$15,000) – we are responsible for the legal fees associated with the adoption. We are assigned an attorney, and the birth family will have a separate attorney. We are responsible for paying the fees for both attorneys. This fee can vary based on the attorney/state/cost of services.

  - Travel expenses ($2,000-$10,000) - some birth mothers request to meet the adoptive parents before giving birth. We would also travel at the time of birth. During the duration we would be staying in accommodations (hotel/Airbnb) until we are released by the state required time of waiting. Paperwork must be filed and we could have to wait anywhere from 3-10 days to get approve to take baby home/across state lines. This would be under best case scenario. If for some reason the baby is staying in the NICU we would stay for an unknown amount of time. Also, I am self-employed and would not be working and collecting an income during this duration of time while traveling to bring baby home.

  - Medical Fees (unknown) – Most commonly birthmothers are on Medicaid or state coverage but not all of them. We are responsible for covering any remaining medical bills for mother and baby. This includes fees associated with a NICU stay for baby.

  With the of your donation, every penny collected from this site will be sent to our agency directly to help pay for these fees associated with our adoption. We are taking out personal loans, as well as applying for grants to help assist with all the fees associated. Thank you for believing in our mission and helping us reach our dream of becoming parents.

• Update 2

  

  We Are Home Study Approved!!

  April 24, 2025

  So as part of the adoption process, you have to go through the "home study". This is basically a process where the agency takes a fine-tooth comb through your life. This process takes time, patients and a lot of paperwork. I remember the day we received the paperwork packet through our email and immediately rushed out to buy a new printer. 55 pages of paperwork printed later, we got started!

  We had to have clearance from our doctors (health check) and psychologist (mental check). We had to submit our income verification, and taxes for the past few years. Marriage license, birth certificates, drivers' licenses, even our last water bill, LOL. We applied for 4 different background checks and got even got fingerprinted.

  We had to do online training, read books, listen to podcasts, and YouTube videos. Two home visits with our case worker (Michelle - we love her) and interviews. I know it sounds like a lot, and it is, but it's so important. It's a very necessary process to ensure the safety and stability of the family providing a home for an adopted child.

  About 3 months later, we finally now have our home study APPROVAL!!! This is like a license to be able to apply for an adoption legally. We have jumped through all the hoops presented and now we get to move into phase 2. The next step is to have out profile book printed and on file to show birth mothers/fathers who are choosing adoption for their child's future. Very excited to start applying to cases in the next week!

• Update 1

  

  A Little History

  April 24, 2025

  We would like to show a little bit of our profile book with our community. Starting off with a little brief history. Our journey to building a family has been a wild ride. Friends joke that we should write a book because it's quite a tale.

  We've spent a solid 13 years working with doctors, doing treatments, having procedures, a failed twin adoption, a failed embryo adoption, and lots of heart ache. However, we are resilient.

  We've spent a lot of time in therapy, processing challenging emotions, and building stronger a self/team. We are excited to work towards this journey of adoption. So thank you for coming along for the next chapter.