Olivia Dunn

Adoption has been on my heart for a long time, but it started as a whisper years ago in a hospital delivery room.

I spent the early part of my career as a labor and delivery nurse. I held babies in the first minutes of their lives. I stood beside mothers in their bravest and most vulnerable moments. And sometimes, I watched a baby enter the world needing someone to fight for them. Those babies never left me.

Last year, that whisper became my whole life. I became a foster parent and brought a baby girl home straight from the hospital after a hard start to life. For the first time in my career, the nurse in me and the mom in me were the same person. I understood every monitor and every number, and none of it made watching her fight any easier. For ten months, she was mine to love. I fed her in the middle of the night. I rocked her back to sleep. I celebrated every milestone like it was a national holiday. And when she was reunified with her birth family, my heart broke and grew at the same time. Loving her and letting her go did not scare me away from this. It gave me the clearest certainty of my life: I am meant to be a mom, and I want permanency. I want to be someone’s forever.

I chose private adoption because it centers a birth mother making a brave, loving choice for her child. I have stood beside women like her. I have held their hands. And I will spend my child’s whole life honoring the woman who chose this path for them. My child will grow up knowing their story began with love, twice over.

Here’s where I am today: my home study is complete, I’m working with an adoption consultant, and I can say yes the moment a match happens, even if that call comes with only hours of notice. I’m doing everything in my power to fund this adoption myself. I work full time, and I’m applying for every grant I can find.

Here’s the honest math: the cost of a private adoption like mine runs roughly $55,000 to $70,000, and that doesn’t include a potential NICU stay, travel, the home study, or post-placement requirements. I’m funding this through my work, savings, and grant applications. My goal here covers the gap that remains on a single income.

That’s where you come in. Every donation, no matter the size, goes directly toward bringing my baby home. AdoptTogether is a 501(c)(3), so your gift is tax deductible, and if your employer offers a matching gift program, your donation could be doubled at no extra cost to you. It takes two minutes to check, and it’s one of the easiest ways to make your gift go further. And if giving isn’t possible right now, sharing this page means just as much. Truly. One day I’ll tell my child about this season. About the people who showed up before they were even born. You could be part of that story.

With love and gratitude, Olivia