Are you getting ready to adopt or have just adopted? Do you wonder what the experience will really be like and what you can do to prepare? Join our conversation with Dr. Jennifer Bliss, LCSW and Director of Adoptions and Foster Care at Vista Del Mar and Family Services in Los Angeles; and Molly Berger, MSW and Adoption Social Worker at Adoption Center of Illinois.In this episode, we cover:Domestic Infant Adoption:ProcessTypical stresses adoptive parents feelLack of sleepNot deserving to complainFeeling like a babysitterNot feeling love at first siteImpact of infertility struggles on transitioning into parenthoodStresses with parenting a child with neonatal abstinence syndromeStresses with open adoptionOlder child adoption through foster care or international adoption:ProcessTypical stresses adoptive parents feelUnrealistic expectations of the child and of yourselfLove at first siteFeeling like a babysitterLanguage issuesCultural issuesParental attachment styles-How the way we were parented influences how we parent.Challenging behaviorsSibling issuesChange is stressful and adding a child to your family is a huge change regardless of how the child joins the family. What can newly adoptive parents do to prepare in advance and to cope in those first few months?How has the idea of cocooning impacted stress?Additional Resources: Doc McStuffins, "Baby McStuffins" (Season 3)Sesame Street, "Gina Adopts a Baby"Suggested Book List on Preparing Children for Adoption of a SiblingSuggested Book List on Explaining Adoption To Birth Siblings of Adopted ChildrenCreating a Family resources on Disrupting Birth OrderCreating a Family courses on Combining Kids by Birth and AdoptionThis podcast is produced  by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:Weekly podcastsWeekly articles/blog postsResource pages on all aspects of family buildingPlease leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamilySupport the show