Self-Care Tips for CO Birth Mothers Navigating Adoption During May
By Naomi Ruiz
The most important thing that a birth mother needs while navigating adoption in Aurora, Colorado, is self-care. While navigating adoption options can be stressful and time-consuming, remember to take time for yourself, which can even help you settle down during pregnancy so that you will have a healthy mind and body to get through the remainder of the adoption process.
If you need adoption help now, please call or text us at 303-670-4673 (HOPE) or visit us at Adoption Choices of Colorado.
Self-Care During and After an Unplanned Pregnancy
While it may take a lot of time to do self-care, there are many simple ways to practice it and see what works best for you. Here are some self-care tips from Adoption Choices of Colorado that can help birth mothers heal during postpartum.
- Get as much rest as you can.
- Accept help from friends and family that want to support you.
- Eat healthy meals and stay hydrated.
- Create a workout routine.
- Spend quality time with your loved ones.
- Join a birth mother support group.
When picking an environment to practice self-care, make sure you choose positive spaces that will aid in your positive outlook and self-care routine. Joining a support group can help with that by allowing you and other birth mothers to share advice on how to self-care.
Make sure you surround yourself with people who support you and your choice to place your baby for adoption. This can help you set boundaries with people who don’t have your best interest at heart. It is always okay and healthy to limit your time around those who do not approve of your choice, and too much negativity can cause a lot of stress and pain.
You also have to learn to see yourself in a positive light, which requires a lot of work on your part and much-needed support. However, positive self-talk will eventually become easier with time and practice. Think about positive things that you like or love about yourself, and get rid of anything that you feel bad about yourself and your pregnancy.
While pregnancy and navigating adoption options can sound like a wonderful process, many birth mothers experience prenatal depression and anxiety. This is a common thing that happens to birth mothers when managing mental health during the adoption process.
Additional Self-Care Throughout Your Adoption Journey
Negative thoughts can be mentally consuming, but that is not the case for positive thoughts. Practice reassuring yourself of your worth whenever you feel down. Always remember to put yourself first and to stick with your boundaries towards people that don’t have your best interest at heart. Your emotions, feelings, and decisions are valid no matter what anyone might think otherwise.
Lean on your support system with any feelings you want to express. One of the suggested self-care tips is to join a support group, and connecting with other birth mothers can be an immensely positive healing experience. You can still follow your adoption plan while practicing self-care. Take a breather to do some activities, then go back to see what other things you might need for your adoption plan.
Why Self-Care During the Adoption Process is Highly Important
Practicing self-care while navigating adoption can seem like a tricky thing to do. Especially when you are doing everything you can to make sure your baby will be okay with their potential adoptive family.
The adoption process can be stressful, from finding the right agencies in Colorado to picking the best match for your baby. It can be an emotional rollercoaster to the point where you may need to take as many breaks as possible to recoup before resuming the process. Adoption Choices of Colorado wants to make sure that all of the birth mothers we work with prioritize their mental health. Learning to manage your mindset when needing to relieve stress can take time.
There is no trivial way for you to practice self-care, and you can explore all of the possible self-care activities to see what works best for you. Self-care is about how you mentally decompress in the healthiest way possible and using it to put yourself first when you need it.
Giving your baby up for adoption is not easy. If you are facing an unplanned pregnancy and want to learn more about your adoption options, contact Adoption Choices of Colorado by email, phone, or text: Email Us, Text us: 720-371-1099, Call us: 303-670-4673 (HOPE). If you are hoping to adopt, please contact us here.
Stephanie joined the Adoption Choices family in 2014 as the Child Placement Supervisor. Her love for adoption began in first grade when she made friends with twins adopted from Vietnam. Her heart grew strong over the years for adopted children and ultimately led her to graduate school where she continued her focus to her dream of working in the adoption field. Stephanie earned a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Denver in 2001. Over the past 15 years, Stephanie has worked as a pregnancy counselor and as an adoptive parent counselor for foster care, international adoption and domestic adoption, writing hundreds of home studies for families, and helping build their forever families. Stephanie is married and has three boys ages 12, 9, and 5. Together with her family she enjoys riding bike, playing games, watching her three sons compete in their various sporting and musical activities and go on vacations.
Christy Ikeler, is our Executive Director and Birth Parent Director. Christy has been with Adoption Choices Team for 18 years, since opening the doors in 2002! Christy has a true passion for what she does and her true love is working with and helping each birth parent. Whether she is up all night on the phone talking with them, taking them to doctors appointments, out for their favorite treat, providing counseling or at the hospital during labor and delivery, Christy is very involved every step of the way. She has a contagious laugh and a spunky personality that our birth moms all can bond with and relate to. As an adoptive parent herself, adoption holds a very special place in her heart and she can relate on every level with both birth parents and adoptive parents. In her free time Christy loves spending time with her daughter, gardening, baking and taking vacations with her family. Christy is an excellent leader for our team at Adoption Choices and is truly one of a kind!! As Executive Director, Christy spends time with the staff, birth parents and adoptive families in order to ensure that the agency is running smoothly. She has placed a huge emphasis on community outreach and programs for birth parents. Christy loves the opportunity to lead the agency into a brighter future.
Ms. Mackenzie has built a successful counseling career over the past 20 years, supporting mothers and families, people of all ages and genders, students, community professionals and fellow clinicians. Liv values a diverse professional focus, including the entrepreneurial life of a sole proprietor, the evaluative process of certifying foster/adoptive homes, the insightful and mindful one-on-one one work with enthusiastic clients, and serving as an advocate for underserved populations. Liv is a Licensed Professional Counselor and holds a BA in Pre-Law and Economics from American University, an MA in Counseling from Adams University and a certificate in Human Resource Management from Villanova University. Away from work you will find Liv spending time in nature, biking to the farmer’s market and adventuring with her family.
Catherine A. Madsen, joined the Adoption Choices family as legal counsel in 2013. Catherine is responsible for providing legal guidance to the Agency, training and updating staff on developments in adoption law and legislation, and program development. Catherine
Virginia Frank is an adoption attorney accredited since 1991 with the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys. Ms. Frank is a leader in the field of private adoption and has completed over 4,000 adoptions in her career. Ms. Frank has a law degree from Oklahoma City University and a BA in both Political Science and Communications from the University of Oklahoma.
Cassidie has been with Adoption Choices since 2015, she has her bachelors in Interdisciplinary Affairs with concentrations in both Sociology and Business Management. Cassidie has additional training in Victim Advocacy, foster care and has been working in women’s services for over 10 years. Cassidie has always had a heart for adoption and it was her career dream to work in adoption. She started off doing volunteer work for advocacy programs, adoption organizations and worked in High Risk Maternal Fetal Medicine through the University of Colorado Hospital and Children’s Hospital of Colorado. Cassidie is also blessed to have personally experienced an adoption of her own in 2012, completing her family of five! Cassidie loves what she does as a case worker from initial phone calls, meetings, doctor appointments, interaction with the adoptive families to delivery and counseling. Cassidie has a passion for those in need and strives to help make a difference in the lives of the people she meets. She is a firm believer in being kind, compassionate and open minded in all situations. “Unless you’ve walked in their shoes, there’s no place for judgment. A kind word or compliment can go a long way!” The bittersweet moments in adoption reminds Cassidie each and every time, why she loves what she does!