“When we adopted our son, his birth mother’s aunt gave me a baby shower. It turned out to be a great show of love for our little boy. There were wonderful gifts and some keepsakes from his birth family that I will take pride in giving my son someday.”
—Stephanie Case

“I had nothing when I came home with Matthew except a diaper bag, a couple of sleepers, and bottles. He slept in a car seat for a few days. My friends and coworkers threw a shower that week. It was quite a welcoming for Matthew!
—Renee Czaplicki

“We ended up having an adoption party rather than a traditional shower. In the invitation, I listed the dates each of the kids arrived in our family, and the dates their adoptions were finalized. Since they were our second and third children, and already toddlers, we didn’t receive typical shower presents. Rather, the kids received many lovely keepsakes.”
—Lori Jacobson

“It was the most wonderful thing to celebrate after the adoption. It turned out to be better than we could have ever imagined. Once everyone met our son, they were more excited and eager to shower him. It just made so much more sense.”
—Marita Collins

“Many people within our circles of family and friends wanted to give us baby showers before our daughter was born. But we didn’t feel comfortable having them before the actual birth and signing of papers. Things worked out beautifully when our daughter came home—and was the guest of honor at many “Welcome Home” parties. We could celebrate her birth and adoption, even as we introduced her to so many who had prayed and waited anxiously for her arrival.”
—Maureen Seidel

“Friends and coworkers arranged a shower for us when our son was about 3 weeks old. We saved our family celebration for after our finalization date, which didn’t occur until four months later.”
—Andrea Brainard

“For all three of our domestic adoptions, I asked the friends who hosted the shower to wait until after we came home. The most recent one was held at a local restaurant, and it also honored the family of my daughter’s classmate and the toddler they had just adopted from Guatemala. Coincidentally, she shares our baby’s ‘Gotcha Day.’ The shower was a wonderful time to celebrate adoption and to educate our friends about both domestic and international adoption.”
—Kerry Yancy Dolan