I know crene had an excellent experience with them... anyone else? Anything to watch out for?
I have a couple of attorneys in mind, should I meet with them before we put a profile out there, or could we just call an attorney once we have a situation? TIA
15 treatment cycles: four early m/c
Moving forward with domestic infant adoption!
Home study approved 5/13, now just waiting...
Re: Your experience with ParentProfiles?
Ha yes, I think I've become a bit of a celebrity on this board because of how blessed we were through adoption.
I'd say as soon as you are serious about pursuing adoption and wanting to use parentprofiles, go ahead and start building your profile. You can create an account before paying, having your HS finalized, etc..and it can take some time, so it's good to get started. The main thing to watch out for are of course scams, but in my experience (and my friends' experiences) they have all been super obvious (but still very annoying). Realize that not every match is necessarily the "right" match no matter how desperately you want to start your family. Overall, I think parentprofiles is great! Good luck!
5 Angels
We used Parentprofiles exclusively, and we are currently matched with an expectant mom who found us there. I agree with everything crene said earlier. I liked that we could start building our profile without having to pay first. The profile builder is pretty straightforward and easy to use, but like all profiles, it can take a while to get things just the way you want them. If I remember correctly, you will need to have an attorney (or other adoption professional) fax a note confirming that you are home study approved and are working with them before your profile will be activated (this is how parentprofiles tries to make sure only legit PAPs are advertising on the site). Your attorney can likely get you a discount on the sign-up fee too.
Definitely watch out for scams... they are out there, but the majority are obvious. Some others are creative and convincing. It was a great lesson in trusting our instincts.
Overall, we've had a great experience with parentprofiles. Feel free to PM me if you have specific questions. Happy to help.
Thanks for the replies! Fledge, did you do extreme exposure or just a regular listing?
15 treatment cycles: four early m/c
Moving forward with domestic infant adoption!
Home study approved 5/13, now just waiting...
Sorry to cut in..Fledge will probably tell you the same thing, but you can do extreme exposure on a month by month basis, so it's kind of nice. Depending on how anxious you are, you can either do it for a couple months and hope to match quickly, or wait to do it..see if you're getting any hits. Everyone I know on PP have done Extreme Exposure right away so I don't know how much of a difference it makes. We also did it from the beginning, but actually found our match just simply because DD's BM searched NC couples, so it wouldn't have made a difference.
Crene is right... we did extreme exposure from the beginning. We could decide month to month whether we wanted to continue, so it was nice.
We've been listed with Parent Profiles for close to 2 years... we've been contacted by so many scammers I've lost count. We've also been contacted by a few expectant moms who were still considering their options and it didn't go anywhere. We had a near match with an expectant mom who miscarried.
We are currently matched with an expectant mom who contacted us about 6 weeks ago after finding our profile. So, even with all of the scammers, it's still a great way to get your profile out there!
We decided to finally try Extreme Exposure, and the day we went on the waiting list for it is the day that our match contacted us.
Hi,
I've been kinda lurking for the last few weeks - posted a couple times - feel like I might have something helpful to contribute since I've pretty much "been there, done it all" at this point... so here goes:
We started PP in Oct 2004. I think we were on for the site for 3 months and had a scammer that REALLY sounded legit - so much so that our Atty encouraged us to "Get on the plane!". But we never even laid eyes on the woman - a known scammer in Okla. So we went home and were much more skeptical.
After 5 mos. on the site, we signed up for Extreme Exposure and 2 days later got "The call" and were matched. Our BM "A" was 3 months pg. so we kept our options open and left our profile up (w/o E.E.) until our son was born just in case she changed her mind. Our 1st son was born Oct. 2005, she didn't change her mind and we are very good friends even today! Our second son is 100% biologically related to our first - an "Oops" pregnancy. A. contacted us about 2 mos before he was due to ask if we would take him - of course we said "YES!!"
For our 3rd child we went back to PP (we REALLY wanted a girl this time, and actually specified this in our profile)...Homestudy done 11/30/10, profile active 12/23/10, contacted by BM on 2/12/11 and our daughter was born 3/18/11 - so it was a total of just under 4 months. We decided to do Extreme Exposure right off the bat - IMHO I think it DOES make a positive difference as we saw results both times we used it.
When we first started the adoption circus in 2004 and joined PP, there was one AP who decided to email all the AP's on the Washington state listings - we ended up all getting together and having monthly lunches (wives, mostly). We also kept in touch via email with weekly updates, or whatever new was happening. There were 12 of us and within the year we had all adopted - we all used the E.E. too. So, that is what I tell people when they ask about Parent Profiles and Extreme Exposure as well.
Two things: 1.) Since you haven't already met with an Attorney in your state, you need to find one and at least have a consultation, they are typically free. Be certain to choose a Quad A Attorney (https://www.adoptionattorneys.org/aaaa-page/home) as they are specialized in their field and you don't want ANY mistakes. You can get a good idea of fees and what to expect your adoption will cost as well as the fact that when you retain, they just might be the one to make your match! It doesn't happen as often these days, but it does still happen. Also, ask to look at profiles their clients have made in the past - make notes of what you like and don't like. During our last adoption our Atty told us that most clients are now making adoption books for the office using Snapfish, or the like. We had always made scrapbook type ones - Snapfish is SO much easier and they look really nice!
2.) When you create your profile (in the book AND online) be sure to have your first picture be an up close and good quality picture of you and your spouse - no kids, no dogs, no distractions...I have been told by BM's I have spoken with that they really like to be able to see WHO they are giving their child to before anything else...pictures speak a thousand words.
I'm happy to chat w/ you anytime if you want info, ideas or just somebody to hear your frustration - because those days happen alot when trying to adopt! I remember too well...
Good luck!!