Episode 26: Adopting a child: Interview with mother of five Anastasia Stone.
Episode Description
Adopting a child can be challenging and requires a lot of courage and love. Soul Mamma Anastasia Stone, is a birth doula and “adoption doula” and can mentor anyone who might be considering going down the path of adopting a child. Like all soul mammas, Anastasia believes in supporting other mommies along their journey. She herself has chosen the road less travelled and adopted three babies in addition to her older two, saying that she had “two babies that grew in her tummy and three that grew in her heart.”
Fostering and Adopting A Child
Her adopted kids Trevor, Luke and Ava are biological siblings and her kids range from five to twelve. As a birth doula for the past ten years, with a heart of gold, she is often called the “adoption doula” by her co-workers and friends. She is an advocate for the Foster Care system, having Fostered Trevor for two years until adoption, and believes in only holding her adopted kids families in the most positive regards.
She maintains a relationship with her adopted children’s families, which meant facing many naysayers along the way, but her loving and “glass half full” attitude has made it work. She even was able to bond with her adopted children’s birth mother, by taking her to doctors appointments when pregnant. Through her and her husband’s wide open hearts and connection to their spirituality they have gracefully created an incredible and loving family for their kids. In fact, her older kids often help out with the little ones and have all bonded with one another instantly. She is a natural with mothers and babies which is why her chosen path as a doula is so in line with her purpose.
Mothers, First and Foremost
Being a soul mamma can take on many different forms. Whether we are step-parents, have gone through in vitro fertilization, had babies in a “traditional” manner, or who are adopting a child, we are all mothers first and foremost. We know what it feels like to be the caregiver to these little beings, born with pure wisdom and love and it is our job to guide them towards their greatest dreams. As we all know, being a mommy is not for the faint of heart, and requires us to give everything we’ve got and crack open our hearts wider than we every knew was possible.
Because we don’t know what another mother or soon to be mother might be going through- miscarriage, infertility, dealing with ex’s, custody, a child with special needs for instance, we should always hold one another as a community that bands together so no one feels that they’re in it “alone.”
Take-aways on Adopting a Child:
03:47: Anastasia reflects on how she always knew she wanted to adopt a child, but that doesn’t need to be the case for everyone.
05:29 There are certainly unknowns that come along with newly fostering a child, but her family.
11:48: Her first meeting with Trevor whom she would be fostering, was in the NICU when he was only 2 days old. What she didn’t know was that he would become her adopted son forever.
17:27: A pivotal moment involving Trevor’s sibling’s adoptive mom.
19:52: Her biological children reaction to Trevor and how she told them he may not stay forever, and how they prepared themselves for this.
21:58: Her experience with intentionally keeping Trevor’s biological parents in her life with open communication.
26:35: How the refer to biological kids as “tummy” mommy and daddy, but there is nothing else that divides them from being their parents.
28:09: A huge life event/ two unexpected miracles
36:22: How her faith plays a role in her relationship with her husband and how they negotiate open communication.
38:37: How adopting a child has changed her life in so many amazing ways.