![Christine with her sons Taylor and Payton on adoption day.](/web/20170128205357im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/m/l/y/9/image.related.landscape.380x253.gt0ly9.png/1483599595304.jpg)
Top Resources
![While adoption can be a wonderful option, we must also be aware of the dangers.](/web/20170128205357im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/3/x/7/z/4/image.related.wideLandscape.460x259.ghh4o3.gmwj6a.png/1456981563324.jpg)
Why quick and easy adoptions aren't always best
Imagine for one moment your child went missing. Surely you would expect no stone to be left unturned to find them - even if took six months, a year, two, even more.
![<i></i>](/web/20170128205357im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/3/u/r/5/0/image.related.wideLandscape.460x259.1mptwa.gmwj6a.png/1456981563324.jpg)
Adoptive mums and dads can get new parent depression too
Adopting a child is supposed to be a joyous event, but for some mothers it is far from a Hallmark moment.
![Jackie's son shows no interest in his Cabbage Patch Doll "little brother".](/web/20170128205357im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/3/j/2/g/2/image.related.landscape.120x80.11cu48.gmwj6a.png/1456981563324.jpg)
![Adoption](/web/20170128205357im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/6/y/j/g/image.related.landscape.120x80.6yiy.gmwj6a.png/1456981563324.jpg)
!["From her perspective, I radiated 'LOOK AT ME', while she had spent a lifetime pretending I had never happened" ... ...](/web/20170128205357im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/2/f/1/3/u/image.related.landscape.120x80.2f114.gmwj6a.png/1456981563324.jpg)
![Adoption](/web/20170128205357im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/3/4/6/0/n/image.related.landscape.120x80.3460e.gmwj6a.png/1456981563324.jpg)
Latest
![Adoption laws](/web/20170128205357im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/q/n/v/9/j/image.related.landscape.300x200.gsjsyh.png/1478646568812.jpg)
Australian families still face a long wait for intercountry adoption
As the Dutch government considers halting intercountry adoptions, Australia has signed agreements with three new countries in the past year.
![<i></i>](/web/20170128205357im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/j/r/4/k/image.related.landscape.300x200.gsjq6w.png/1478494057247.jpg)
What most people don't know about adopting a child
I have been through the adoption process twice now and I know that I am indeed one of the more fortunate ones.
![The new parents of four and the judge who made the adoptions official.](/web/20170128205357im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/h/y/l/q/image.related.landscape.300x200.gshuu4.png/1478224206176.jpg)
The couple who adopted four children under two in one day
Kaley Carling and her husband had dreamed of having a family to call their own for many years.
![Katie and Josh Butler with their son Brax and a photo of their late son Dewey.](/web/20170128205357im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/h/5/h/q/image.related.landscape.300x200.gsh5vu.png/1478143765892.jpg)
'It gave purpose to Dewey's short life': couple adopts son from same hospital where their baby died
"We are so grateful for Brax, and if it weren't for Dewey we wouldn't have met. It gave purpose to Dewey's short life."
![A generous mum has allowed the donated items to take over her own living space, but this is not a long-term solution.](/web/20170128205357im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/j/u/s/h/image.related.landscape.300x200.grjupt.png/1474348354625.jpg)
'A singlet and a nappy and that's it': Perth foster mums cry for help
Got a spare shed at your work? It could be heaven-sent for a desperate group of Perth foster mums.
![<i></i>](/web/20170128205357im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/q/v/q/s/w/image.related.landscape.300x200.gqvnko.png/1471500429035.jpg)
I'm a foster parent, but am I a mum?
If being a mum is defined solely on presence, I qualify.
![Chrissie and her kids.](/web/20170128205357im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/q/l/h/0/p/image.related.landscape.300x200.gqlh3t.png/1478493983939.jpg)
It's not your place to judge my children's birth mothers
The word "lucky" is thrown around quite a lot in adoption conversations – lucky children, lucky parents, so lucky to have found each other. And people often tell me my children are "so lucky" to have me as their mother.
![Anne had told the foster parents it was only until she was settled.](/web/20170128205357im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/q/2/4/b/1/image.related.landscape.300x200.gq2466.png/1468111649938.jpg)
'I want my children back': Mum's desperate plea
If Anne can't find a lawyer, she fears her children will be adopted out without her voice being heard.
![Lauren feeding her daughter Arsema with Sarah's breast milk.](/web/20170128205357im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/j/f/w/t/image.related.landscape.300x200.gpjfuo.png/1465959724202.jpg)
My friend fed my daughter when she couldn't feed hers
When everything is broken and mixed up we have to create our own beauty from the pieces.
![Dorien Hammann, 83, and her birth mother Eileen Wagner, 99.](/web/20170128205357im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/2/z/w/v/image.related.landscape.300x200.gp2zsu.png/1464094643244.jpg)
Birth mum and daughter reunite after more than 80 years
For more than 80 years, Eileen Wagner kept a secret from her children.
!["It took 4 years, but she finally found her FOREVER FAMILY"](/web/20170128205357im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/o/h/4/e/p/image.related.landscape.300x200.gog6nt.png/1482316538052.jpg)
Heartwarming photos show the joy of adoption after foster care
Children living in foster care can feel like their future is less than clear. But that uncertainty disappears the day they are adopted by their "forever family"
Search pagination