Graceful Adoptions

Wow. Where to start? The team at Graceful Adoptions made our dream of becoming parents come true. From the research stage to the day we brought our baby girl home from the hospital, we knew we had the support of Karen, Rachel, and Farrah (the unbelievably compassionate dream team!). Karen, the director and founder, was available to us via phone, text, and email to answer even the smallest of questions. As first time parents who weren’t super familiar with the domestic adoption process, we had TONS of questions and some concerns too. We loved that Karen never made us feel silly or needy; she’s been through the adoption process to grow her family too, so she gets it! I believe that’s the difference with Graceful—they don’t just have a heart for adoption, they KNOW adoption because they have lived through it themselves.

Domestic adoption newbies, please read this next part because this was our biggest trepidation and I hope it gives you peace of mind! One of the major pleasant surprises for us was the relationship we shared with our daughter’s first family. At first, we were skeptical about open and semi-open adoption. We have many friends that have adopted, but all of those families pursued international (closed) adoptions. We had no idea what to expect and were super nervous about a birth mother selecting us, then interviewing with her, and finally, meeting her in-person. But after we did our research and realized how beneficial open communication is for the child, we were onboard. When we first met our daughter’s mother on Zoom, we knew this was the moment Karen had been talking about when she said it would “feel right.” We had Karen on the call with us to make sure we felt comfortable, but within minutes the three of us—our birth mother, my husband, and I—were gabbing like friends. We loved her and couldn’t wait to spend time with her and her partner in person. What’s so beautiful about adoption is the unexpected love and admiration we have developed for that incredible couple. We spent a full weekend together getting good food, laughing, and talking about our dreams for Baby Girl. At the hospital, we were honored to be in the room for the birth. It was an experience we’ll never forget. The entire stay was memorable as we got to meet our daughter and share this joyous moment with her “tummy mummy” as well. When it was time to leave the hospital and say goodbye, it was honestly bittersweet! We love our daughter’s first mom so much and will miss the time we spent together.

To say that we recommend Graceful Adoptions is an understatement. The wait was short (just about 8 months from going live to getting matched) and the staff was genuinely kind. Not only is Graceful devoted to making your dream as adoptive parents coming true, but they are devoted to the care and empowerment of birth families, which was very important to us. If you’re thinking of adopting in the US, save your time calling and researching…just reach out to Graceful! They will take care of you! :)

My husband and I spent two years waiting with another agency before we signed up with Graceful Adoptions. Our experiences with the two agencies could not have been more different.

The first agency we worked with took our money, wrote up a home study and then told us to get in line and wait our turn. Throughout the entire process they were completely unsupportive, and we ended up finding out several years into the waiting process that they hadn’t even followed up on all our home study paperwork. After signing up with them, we also found out that they had four times more waiting families than placements each year and quite a few of their families had been waiting 4-5 years.

When we reached out to Graceful Adoptions, it was such a relief to feel like we were finally seen and heard! Karen and her team worked closely with us to craft a profile that would allow us to put our best foot forward. (We didn’t have this happen personally, but I know that they also let prospective adoptive families know if they receive any constructive feedback on their profile from prospective birth moms so that they can further improve it.) It was SO helpful and made us feel confident going forward with them. They also provided a lot of help and support in preparing for being interviewed by our daughter’s birth mom and later, in beginning our open relationship with her and other members of our daughter’s birth family. And they have been there with support and advice every time we have needed it in the two years since our daughter was placed with us!

We love the fact that our daughter’s amazing birth mom and other members of her birth family have also been seen, cared for, and supported by Graceful Adoptions! That is SO important to us!

We are currently waiting for a second placement with Graceful Adoptions, and we are so grateful to have found them!

Karen is great and will provide you with clear and realistic steps as she guides you through the process.

From our initial email to our most recent conversations, the ladies at Graceful Adoptions have been a true joy — and comfort — to work with! They're always happy to answers any questions we have. We are so grateful to have found them.

1st call to look into a possibility of adoption. And asked questions to understand what they offer. I literally got nowhere each response took a min to reply. And in the end I was told to call someone else. So literally got nowhere.