Our Adoption StoryAshly & Guillermo

Wanting to Grow Our Family Again

Having a family is something we have always wanted. When Ashly was in her mid twenties, she was diagnosed with fertility issues. We thought we were never going to be able to have children the ‘traditional’ way, but we were wrong. We were blessed with what we like to call our miracle child.

Fast forward eleven years and we found ourselves wanting to grow our family again. Knowing the fertility issues we dealt with before, we decided to look at alternative routes. We knew in our hearts we had more love to give. We had a friend who adopted through Angel Adoption and they had such a positive experience, so we knew it was the place we wanted to adopt our next child.

Going into adoption, we had so many fears. Adoption is hard for some people to wrap their heads around because there are so many unknowns. We knew we had no control over when we would be chosen, how many expectant mothers we would talk with, and what our journey would look like. Luckily, our friend who brought us to Angel guided us through this emotional journey.

Preparing for a Long Ride

We, like other adoptive parents, prepared for a long journey. We knew going into this process it could take several months, even a year or more. What we thought and what actually happened ended up being completely different. We were blessed with a fast process. We were connected with our birthmother only a few months after completing our home study.

Adopting Through a Pandemic

We were overjoyed with how smoothly our process was moving. All was going great until Covid-19 broke out and we were living through a pandemic. We were unsure of how the pandemic was going to affect us moving forward with our birthmother and the adoption process. Our emotions were running wild at this point because we were so concerned with how our birthmother and baby were during this time. It is such a scary time because there were so many unknowns about the pandemic. All we prayed for was that everyone remain healthy and safe.

One day, we got a phone call that our birthmother was in labor. Flooded with emotions and our minds traveling a million miles a second, we knew we had to rush there. Since we were still battling life through a pandemic, flying was not an option for us. Shock was filling our bodies as we knew we were not physically prepared to bring our baby home. Everything was happening a lot faster than expected. We did not have a nursery set up, nor had we bought any supplies. Letting those emotions fade, we knew we had to start driving.

When we arrived at the hospital, our daughter, Brielle, was born. We were overjoyed with emotion while tears filled our eyes. We were worried that adopting would not feel the same as when we had our biological daughter. We are here to tell you that because you did not carry your child for nine months, it does not feel any different. Once you lay eyes on your little one, the connection is immediate.

Since we were going through this process during a pandemic, we had stricter guidelines we needed to follow. We were unable to meet our birthmother, which was very hard for us. We wanted to make sure she was doing okay as well as thank her for allowing us to grow our family.

Our Ever-growing Love

When we told our daughter we were growing our family through adoption, she was overjoyed. She always wished for a sister and the team at Angel allowed that dream to come true. Our family and friends were supportive throughout our entire journey. They were the ones by our side through the good and bad times. When we brought Brielle home, we knew she would have troops supporting her throughout her entire life.

To this day we have a great relationship with our birthmother. When she initially came to us, she wanted a closed adoption. We respected her wishes, but really hoped one day she would change her mind. We were so grateful when she did change her mind and wanted to pursue an open adoption. It is so important for us to have an open adoption because we want Brielle to know her background and how she ended up in our arms.

We want everyone to know each adoption experience will be different. You can do all of your research on what adoption will look like, but you will never know your journey until you go through it. We plan to expand our family again in the future and would absolutely choose adoption again.

Know that whatever hand you are dealt through this process is what was meant to be. We may have gone through this process fast, but that does not mean the next time we adopt it will be the same. The end of the journey will always be worth it because you will be holding your little bundle of joy and words cannot express how much you love them.