Pregnant Woman who Already has a Family
Tell us a bit about yourself.
My name is Nancy Vegas. I grew up in southern Georgia, and lived there until I met my husband Will. We moved to Missouri for work, and settled down in Kansas City. We had our first child 17 years ago, and our second child followed two years later. We enjoy hiking, mountain climbing, and outdoor photography.
Are you a mother facing an unplanned pregnancy?
Yes. I am. My husband and I took our second honeymoon about 6 weeks ago. It was so romantic to see Venice in all of its splendor. We couldn’t help ourselves. A little bit of red wine, an evening alone without the kids, and viola, caution went out the window. I was a bit surprised to be pregnant at this age, but it is what it is.
Can you afford to take care of another child?
No. We can’t. We are about to send our oldest son, Dylan, off to college. He is attending Dartmouth and, even with some financial support, we are going knee deep in debt to support his education. Meanwhile, our second child, Elizabeth, is a special needs child who requires a lot of at home supervision. I actually stopped working several years ago to take care of her.
Are you considering adoption?
Yes. We are. We thought about terminating the pregnancy, but decided that adoption was the better option. We hope that by placing our unborn daughter for adoption, we will be able to make another family happy. Besides, we would like to have a relationship with our daughter. It’s just that we can’t afford to raise her ourselves.
What type of adoption are you considering?
After talking to an adoption counselor at Adoption Choices, we decided to have an open adoption. We are currently looking for adoptive parents, and hope that whatever adoptive parents we choose will allow our daughter to visit us from time to time. We understand that open adoptions allow for direct contact between the families, and even provide for some visitation opportunities depending on the nature of the agreement.
What do you hope to achieve by placing your daughter for adoption?
We hope to give our daughter the best life possible. If we raised her, we wouldn’t be able to give her the time and financial support she deserves. I’m also slowing down a bit at 46, and can’t imagine taking care of a teenager in my early 60s. However, by placing our daughter for adoption, we are sure to find a family or individual who is able to give her the time, care, and financial support she deserves.
Do you have any prospective adoptive parents in mind?
Yes. We met a nice couple through our Adoption Choices counselor. Their names are John and Mark. They live close to us, share our basic values, and are agreeable to having an open adoption. We are in preliminary discussions with them to create an open adoption agreement that allows us to visit our daughter from time to time.
Do you have anything else you would like to add?
Yes. We highly recommend considering adoption if you find yourself facing an unplanned pregnancy. Our counselor at Adoption Choices has been very considerate and helpful throughout the process. Meeting all of the families and individuals who are interested in raising our daughter has also opened our eyes to the true benefits of adoption. We never knew that adoption could be this rewarding.
Birth mothers come from every background – they are married, single, very young, middle-aged, older – incredibly diverse. All types of women choose adoption for various different reasons. Some, like Nancy, simply cannot afford another child. For more information, visit Adoption Choices of Missouri or call or text us at 1-877-903-4488.