Lighthouse Thoughts

Birth Mother Support

Most women choose adoption because they want, what they believe is the best option for their child. For most, this is a heart wrenching decision. At Beacon House we respect the choices made by birth families and work diligently to support these choices throughout the adoption process. BHAS’s Domestic Adoption Program is a full service […]

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Adoption Travel Packing List

FOR BABY Formula Bottles (glass or disposable bottles) and nipples (4-6/Sterilized) Bottle brush (drying rack, optional) Burp cloths (washcloths are cheaper) (6) Bibs (3-6) Mylicon for baby gas Pacifier clip (1) Pacifiers (2-4, newborn size/ Sterilized) Disposable diapers (newborn size)8-14 per day Cloth diapers – 3 or 4 Baby wipes (for sensitive skin) Portable changing […]

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Adoption Travel Tips

Most Domestic Adoptive Parents travel to a nearby city or to another state to adopt their baby. Adoption travel is the last leg of the adoption journey. The actualization of a family’s hopes and dreams can be both joyful and stressful. Whether you are already matched, or waiting to be matched, it is always a […]

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Adoption Loss

Adoption involves loss. All members of the adoption triad are affected. Birth parents experience the loss of a biological child. Adoptive parents may experience infertility and the loss having a biological child, while the adopted child may experience loss of birth parents, siblings, extended family, culture or country. Grief is a normal and natural response […]

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Helping Your Child Succeed in Sports

Summer fun includes summer sports, sports camps, and a time for athletes to hone their skills and try new things. Chances are that if you have school age children, they have participated in one or more sports. At my teens high school 54 % of the kids participate on a team sport. That is a […]

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Well Balanced Adoptive Parents

Well balanced adoptive parents acknowledge the differences that adoption brings and can openly discuss issues inherent in adoption within their family unit and with others. Well balanced parents do not blame their child’s or family struggles on adoption, nor do they were blinders where adoption is concerned. They value all members of the adoption tirade […]

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Adoptees May Struggle with Feeling Different

Being adopted can create many feelings of being different. An adopted child may look differently than their adopted parents or they may be a different race or culture. It is important that differences (real or perceived) be addressed by the adoptive family in a positive way. Adopted Children: •Need to be assured that they are […]

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Disrespectful Kids and Teens

We’ve all been there- or will be. Because kid’s brains are still developing, even during the teen years, they sometimes speak or act in a manner that we as parents would approve. “Disrespectful behavior is one of the inappropriate ways kids, especially teenagers, try to solve their problems. Kids can feel powerless in the face […]

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Instant Mom

At the end of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Nia Vardalos character gives birth to a baby. In real life she was struggling with fertility. “Moments after Nia Vardalos finds out she has been nominated for an Oscar for the screenplay for My Big Fat Greek Wedding, she is alone and en route to a […]

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Meeting Your Adopted Baby

Deciding to move forward with an adoption is one of the biggest decisions that a family will ever make. The adoption process can be fraught with emotion: alternating between joyful hope, self-doubt, and giddy anticipation. (sometimes all within an hour’s time) None of which can compare to when you actually meet you baby for the […]

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