Stefanie and Kaveh have been married a year and our expecting their first baby (a little girl) in a couple weeks. I first met Stefanie and Kaveh last year when I had the honor of being their wedding photographer. Now they are on the cusp of becoming parents. When Stefanie and I put together this maternity shoot she asked if she could share another story of hers.
While she is now 22, when she was 17 years old she found herself pregant. She made the selfless act of giving her daughter up for adoption. It is with this that I turn the story over to Stefanie to share in her own words.
My Emma Story:
By Stefanie
From the moment I found out
I was pregnant with Emma I was in complete denial. I couldn’t be pregnant. I
was supposed to be the good daughter and graduate high school and go to college
and then maybe get married and have kids. Being pregnant at 17 was not part of
the plan. Right after that I considered abortion because I just didn’t want to
do that, but when the day of my appointment came I couldn’t do it. I went
months pretending I wasn’t pregnant because I couldn’t face the reality of my
situation.
I knew I pretty much had 2 options at this point. Keep her, or give her
up for adoption.
up for adoption.
I kept thinking about it and then I thought that maybe I wasn’t ready to
be a parent. I was just a kid and I knew I couldn’t really give her the life I
wanted. I called an agency called Kinship Center. They had me come in and talk about adoption as an option. After a
long phone call and what seemed like a forever interview I went home with a
stack of family profiles. I thought I would never get thru them all or even
be able to narrow it down to who I wanted to meet initially.
be a parent. I was just a kid and I knew I couldn’t really give her the life I
wanted. I called an agency called Kinship Center. They had me come in and talk about adoption as an option. After a
long phone call and what seemed like a forever interview I went home with a
stack of family profiles. I thought I would never get thru them all or even
be able to narrow it down to who I wanted to meet initially.
I met some couples and then I asked to meet their
extended family so I could get a feel for their home life. I knew pretty much
from day one that Sandi and Evan were a great fit; I just got a good feeling
about them. They had a great family who was very loving and welcoming to me and
they liked the terms I wanted as far as contact. So not even 24 hours after
meeting their extended family I deiced that is who I wanted to give my daughter
to. They agreed to my terms of pictures and updates a couple times a year. I
needed to know my little girl was growing up happy and healthy. The whole
process went very smoothly.
extended family so I could get a feel for their home life. I knew pretty much
from day one that Sandi and Evan were a great fit; I just got a good feeling
about them. They had a great family who was very loving and welcoming to me and
they liked the terms I wanted as far as contact. So not even 24 hours after
meeting their extended family I deiced that is who I wanted to give my daughter
to. They agreed to my terms of pictures and updates a couple times a year. I
needed to know my little girl was growing up happy and healthy. The whole
process went very smoothly.
After the signing of all the paperwork I held her for the first and only
time. I told her to be a good daughter for these people and that I loved her
very much. I cried the whole way home and pretty much every night for a couple
weeks. I missed her so much, she was a part of me that was now gone. I wanted
her back but I knew that I wasn’t ready to be a parent.
time. I told her to be a good daughter for these people and that I loved her
very much. I cried the whole way home and pretty much every night for a couple
weeks. I missed her so much, she was a part of me that was now gone. I wanted
her back but I knew that I wasn’t ready to be a parent.
A few days after I had
signed the papers I send Sandi an email and asked her for a couple pictures of
her at home just to make me feel a little better and she was more than happy to
do that. It took a while for me to not cry every time I saw a little girl when
I went out places but I eventually got past that. I still miss her every day
and I hope that one day she wants to meet me. She is growing up so fast and it
makes me happy to know that she is happy and healthy.
signed the papers I send Sandi an email and asked her for a couple pictures of
her at home just to make me feel a little better and she was more than happy to
do that. It took a while for me to not cry every time I saw a little girl when
I went out places but I eventually got past that. I still miss her every day
and I hope that one day she wants to meet me. She is growing up so fast and it
makes me happy to know that she is happy and healthy.
I decided to get a tattoo to remind me of her always. It is a forget-me-not and her initials and I love it, it is the perfect way to remind me of her every time I see it. I will never forget my little girl and how I made a couple who couldn’t have their own kids into a family. To this day I don’t regret my decision at all. She is exactly where she was meant to be and she will come back to me one day I hope.
Stefanie, thank you for sharing your story with me and the world. You gave your daughter the most wonderful gift. Now you are able to celebrate the birth of another daughter. You are going to be the best mother ever. Blessings to you.
