Forever Mom: What to Expect When You're Adopting - eBook

We have not adopted yet, but it has been on my heart for five years and we are preparing to begin the process. I love how honest this book was with telling both the ups and downs/bumps you might face.

There was a lot of great just general parenting advice as well. We are entering the tween/teen years with my oldest child and there are some things I plan to use with him.

Like another person wrote it is more geared toward international adoption and we are looking into adopting from foster care so there will be some differences for us which weren't addressed in the book.

This book has some great ideas to keep in mind when we go through tough times of parenting our adoptive kids. I felt like the book focused a lot on international adoption, which is great! but we adopted through foster care so it was a little hard to relate sometimes.

Overall, I didnt seem to realize in requesting this book it was designated for adoptive moms and parents. Yet, I still found it to be very encouraging for moms of all kinds in the challenges and issues you face. I especially liked how the author addressed the challenges of after you bring your children home. I found many of the challenges, though I have not adopted any children, still applicable to bonding and communicating with any child, even if you arent the mother.

The author also has a chapter on Beginning Again and how so often our children will mirror the reactions and communications we give them. I especially enjoyed the specific ideas on what other adoptee mothers have given in how to connect to your child. Children are learning so many things and it is so important to be patient with so many things that they do. I havent read anything else by this mom.

I most appreciated and identified with the author when she admitted her faults and her keep trying attitude as a mother of all ages. All children need patience and love, no matter what. That feeling really comes out in the book, even if you dont have adopted children.

Overall, enjoyable read, and though some didnt apply to me, the ideas were good for all mothers.

Mary Ostyn's latest book takes a look at adoption and many of the twists and turns that adoptive parents face. Some of the topics included:

building heart connections

preparing other children for siblings

addressing attachment issues

special issues with adopting older children

nurturing your marriage in the season of life

There's a variety of topics covered in this book that range from sibling adoptions, older child adoptions, foster care and international adoptions. Woven throughout this book is Ostyn's personal story of adoption. From the high and lows, the author speaks from her heart, sharing how hard adoption is when you're in the middle of the mess. But it's hope that keeps us going to the end.

For someone just looking into adoption, the beginning of this book would be great. It addresses a lot of the emotional issues that parents walk through. The second half of the book is more geared toward special issues such as reactive attachment and adopting older children. So it really does offer a lot for a variety of adoptions. I'm in a weird place in my adoption journey where a lot of this book didn't apply. We're certainly not at the beginning, nor are we dealing with any specialized issues. But it would be a great reference for the future.

Ultimately my biggest takeaway from this book was the emotional journey we moms walk through in adoption. There's nothing like having another mom to tell you that what you're going through is normal. And Ostyn isn't afraid to share the ups and downs of this crazy journey.

*Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own.