Interview with Stephanna B: Adoption from a Child's Viewpoint

Stephanna, what does the word adoption mean to you?

It means that I was born from someone else and they couldn't raise me. Then my Mommy came along and picked me. It means I have people who love me. Mommy hung a sign in my room when I was a baby and I still have it. It says ,"You are a blessing."

How does that make you feel that she picked you?

It makes me feel happy, VERY happy. She always tells me this story that I like a lot. She says if she lined up ALLLL the little girls in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD, side by side, she would always pick me first. I like that. She used to say little boys too, but now I have a little step brother , so that's o.k. that she doesn't say little boys too 'cause I love Rico, and Mommy has lots of love to share.

Where were you born and how old were you when you were adopted?

I was born in Kaliningrad, Russia. I was 7 months old when I was adopted. Mommy says I was very small and weak. She worked with me every day to strengthen my muscles and I got lots of good food. She said that I gained 12 ounces the very first week she started feeding me. I couldn't even roll over or move very much, but I learned fast when she worked with me. I got a lot stronger. I learned to walk when I was 10 ½ months old.

Do you talk about being adopted to your friends and if so what do you say to them?

I tell them and they don't ask me any questions except maybe where I was born. All my friends know what adoption means. It isn't any big deal. Sometimes adults are surprised because I look a lot like my Mommy. I say I was adopted. YAY!

Do you think adoption is a good thing ?

Yes because kids can have a good home.

Do you know anybody else that is adopted?

I was adopted at the same time as two other baby girls from the same place and one of them has a big brother who was adopted from another part of Russia, but I don't see them anymore since we moved.

Do you know anything about your birth parents?

Not very much. They didn't tell my mom much information. I know where they were from. I know how tall they were and what they did for work and that they didn't do drugs. I know they didn't have jobs anymore. I know I was brought into the orphanage a few days after I was born and that I wasn't born in a hospital. (The orphanage was in actuality an orphan wing of a local children's hospital.)

Do you ever want to meet your birthparents?

If I ever went to Russia again, yes.

Why do you want to meet them?

'Cause they were my birthparents.

What would you ask them?

Nothing, I just want to say hi to them and spend a few days with them.

Do you have some favourite stories about you and your mom?

I have a lot of them. I like when she tells me stories about me when I was littler.

Would you share one with me?

O.K. When I was a baby and I first came home, Mommy would come to get me up every day. She said that I watched and watched her like I wasn't sure who she was, but that she seemed nice. Then one day after some weeks had gone by she came in to get me and I smiled all over and laughed and got excited to see her. She said that it was almost like I had suddenly realized that she was my mommy and that she was here to stay. After that she said I smiled like that every morning to her. Now I'm kind of a morning grump, though like my step-daddy, and Mommy says she wants to put the two of us in a room until our morning grumpiness wears off and we come out being nice. We think that is funny.

We play this game too about who loves who more, but she has a story she wrote about that . She wants to get a book published about it, so I won't tell that one, but we do it all the time.

How did everyone react when you came here from Russia?

Mommy says that I was welcomed by everyone. She said that presents came for me for months and one wall was completely covered with cards she had stuck up. All the bigger kids she knew made me like a little sister to them.

What else do you think about adoption?

I don't really know anything about adoption because this is all I remember. It is just part of me. I'm lucky 'cause I have people who love me. I have a Mommy . I have two daddies. A daddy and a step-daddy who both love me. I have a little stepbrother, Rico, two big girls Nana and Kiki I call my sisters who love me. I have a dog Kira, lizards, and a neighborhood cat I named Snowflake, that wants to adopt me but I can't since Mommy is allergic, so I made a home for her in my fort and she hangs out in my backyard. I have two Godmother's who are twins and a Godfather too, so I am pretty lucky.

What would you tell someone thinking about adopting?

JUST DO IT!

There are children across the globe in need of a home. It is not an easy or inexpensive process to go through, but the results can be life-changing not only for the child, but for the parent or parents. Like any parent child relationship, some work and some do not. Both the author and Stephanna wanted to share a positive adoption experience.