Been there. Done that.
Adoptive parents that know the struggle.
What to expect when you’re not expecting.
TLDR: Adoption Profile Books are hard to make so we made it easier.
No one told me the adoption process would be as hard as it was. Ok, so maybe some people did, but it was hard to quantify without actually going through it. I’m good at paperwork, but going on 80 pages of physicals, home floor plans (God knows why), and pet vaccination records, was a lot bigger when it was all on my to-do list.
But it wasn’t just the paperwork that got me- it was the raw, unfiltered look I had to take in the mirror as we wrote our home study autobiographies, which were required to be so in-depth that I found out things I didn't even know about myself.
One thing I was looking forward to was creating our adoption profile book. As a designer, the idea of making this informational book for prospective birth parents seemed like a great way to showcase my special creative skills. I sat down at my computer and opened a blank document, then stared at the blinding white screen.
And it stayed blank. For weeks.
I asked myself: How can I make this Profile book look appealing and concise without overcrowding the pages? Am I seeming too braggy? How do I write about my life in a way that conveys that I would make a great parent, without ever being a parent? What does an expectant parent even really care about when looking through these books? How can I stand out among a sea of other, equally deserving families? My self-doubt and imposter syndrome was at an all time high and starting our Adoption Profile Book scared the crap out of me.
In an effort to speed up the process, I gave up the notion of creating a profile book from scratch and decided to find a template that would fit our style, energy, and personalities. And I couldn’t find it.
[Time for a Rant!] What I did find was an abundance of generic, chaotic designs with too much color and clip art and not nearly enough intention. If I was an expectant mother, I imagine I would feel so overwhelmed by the aggressive, scrapbook-style, personality-less designs that all seemed to look the same.
If you haven’t guessed already, I went back to square one to create our book. And believe it or not, we were chosen to be adoptive parents by the first expectant mother to read our book!
I decided to make it my mission to create inclusive, easy-to-edit, thoughtfully designed adoption profile book templates to save the next wave of expectant mothers from being bombarded with ugly fonts and disruptive design. My goal is to provide straightforward, helpful tools to help you showcase the best version of you and your life, so that you skip the stress of design and can focus on the things that really matter (like figuring out how the car seat goes in.)
My heart is with each and every one of you as you go forward in your journey as Adoptive Parents, and I’m here to make it easier!
Xo Kait
Our family on adoption day!
