25 Still Waiting...but at least we know why now!
In this episode Mrs M gives a mini-update to explain some of the delays. Get in touch at adoptiondiariespodcast@gmail.com
May 05, 2025•6 min
The Adoption Diaries
Highs, lows and everything in between for Mr and Mrs M as they navigate their journey to start a family through adoption.
Last refreshed: ⓘ
Follow this podcast in the Metacast mobile app to refresh it and see new episodes.
Podcasts are better in Metacast mobile app
Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more
Episodes
24 Birth Family Meeting, CLA Review and an Update
In this episode, Mr and Mrs M share about their first meeting with birth family, unusually before the adoption order has been granted. They also share where they are in the legal process as well as about a CLA review that they hosted in their home. If you would like to get in touch to share your experience, ask questions or simply to say hi, email us at adoptiondiariespodcast@gmail.com
Apr 23, 2025•44 min•Season 1Ep. 24
23 Matching Panel
In this episode, Mr and Mrs M describe the medical advisor meeting that took place before matching panel, as well as all the paperwork that needed to be completed. They also share what happened on the day of matching panel itself, how they felt, and the outcome. We love to hear from our listeners. Get in touch at adoptiondiariespodcast@gmail.com
Apr 23, 2025•42 min•Season 1Ep. 23
22 First Birthday, First Christmas and Contact Ends
In this episode Mr and Mrs M share how Baby M's first birthday went, what they did to celebrate and things they needed to take into consideration. They then move on to share about how Christmas was very different from previous years, and things to consider if you are new adopters during the festive season. Lastly, they discuss the ending of contact between Baby M and his birth family, and what the plans are going forward for both direct and indirect contact. Please get in touch with your own sto...
Jan 14, 2025•44 min•Season 1Ep. 22
21 The Final Court Hearing
In this episode, Mr and Mrs M share about their meeting with the court appointed guardian for Baby M. They also share how they have been getting on during the week of the final court hearing, and the final outcome. Get in touch with us at adoptiondiariespodcast@gmail.com
Dec 17, 2024•35 min•Season 1Ep. 21
20 Interim Court Hearing, Adoption Toddler Group, Cocooning and Meeting the Family
In this episode, Mr and Mrs M share about a recent court hearing for Baby M's case. Due to the court hearing falling on a Tuesday, there was no contact that day which meant that Mrs M and Baby M attended our Local Authority's 'Adoption Toddler Group'. Mr and Mrs M also share about how they found cocooning, what it is, why do it and how it worked out for them. Plus, the lovely post-cocooning joy of introducing Baby M to family. Get in touch at adoptiondiariespodcast@gmail.com...
Nov 25, 2024•36 min•Season 1Ep. 20
19 Settling In, Contact, Back to Work and Mental Load
In this episode, Mr & Mrs M share how it has been to settle into life as a family of 3. This includes: Contact arrangements with birth parents and the intricacies that come with that. Mr M goes back to work Appointments, meetings and admin for EP carers Get in touch at adoptiondiariespodcast@gmail.com
Nov 12, 2024•50 min•Season 1Ep. 19
18 The Judge's Decision
In this episode, Mr and Mrs M share the next part of their adoption journey, including the outcome of the court hearing. Did Baby M arrive home? Listen in and find out! We love hearing from you. Please get in touch at adoptiondiariespodcast@gmail.com
Oct 21, 2024•44 min•Season 1Ep. 18
17 A Quick Update
In this episode, Mr and Mrs M share the outcome of the viability assessment and how they have felt over the past month of waiting. Get in touch at adoptiondiariespodcast@gmail.com Leave us a nice review to spread the word!
Oct 07, 2024•15 min•Season 1Ep. 17
16 An Update On Our Link & Life Story Training
In this episode, Mr and Mrs M give the listeners an update on the progress of their adoption journey. Plus they share about a training morning that Mrs M went on about 'Life Story Work'. Get in touch with us at adoptiondiariespodcast@gmail.com Thanks for listening!
Sep 30, 2024•31 min•Season 1Ep. 16
15 We've Been Linked!
In this episode, Mr and Mrs M discuss a meeting they had the day after their approval panel when their link with a child became official. They also explain what they have been doing to prepare themselves for the imminent arrival of this little child. And there's a plot twist... Get in touch at adoptiondiariespodcast@gmail.com
Sep 16, 2024•26 min•Season 1Ep. 15
14 Approval Panel
In this episode, Mr and Mrs M share their experience of Approval Panel: how they prepared, who was there, what they asked and how it felt. They also reveal the outcome! Get in touch with us at adoptiondiariespodcast@gmail.com
Sep 02, 2024•31 min
13 Bonus Breaking News Episode
In this episode, Mr and Mrs M share about an exciting phone call with their social worker, and the very rapid sequence of meetings they will be having after their approval panel. Please do get in touch with us at adoptiondiariespodcast@gmail.com
Aug 15, 2024•22 min•Season 1Ep. 13
12 Review Of Stage 2, Top Tips & An Exciting Update!
In this episode, Mr and Mrs M reflect back over Stage 2 of the adoption process and discuss what they would recommend for other prospective adopters and their supporters. You'll also get to hear some exciting news! Get in touch at adoptiondiariespodcast@gmail.com
Aug 12, 2024•34 min
11 Matching, Another Network Event & Family Finding Begins!
In this episode of 'The Adoption Diaries', Mr and Mrs M share their experience of the infamous and very long 'Matching Meeting', the last of their home visits with their social worker. They also share about a Network Event, a sibling pair that stole their hearts, and the beginning stages of their Family Finding process. Books (both available on Kindle) mentioned are: Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders: Parenting a child with an invisible disability - Mary Mather, Julia Brown, Liz O'Donnell Therap...
Jul 29, 2024•45 min•Season 1Ep. 11
10 Home Visits 4-7, Self Care Plan & Early Permanence Workbook
In this episode of the Adoption Diaries, the M's are back from their holiday, and they have finished their Home Visits! They take the listeners on a deep dive into the content of the following visits: Visit 4: Lifestyle, Health and Self-Care (including the Self-Care Plan) Visit 5: Neighbourhood, Community & Finances Visit 6: Journey/Motivation to Adopt & Early Permanence (including the Early Permanence Workbook) Visit 7: Contact In this episode, Mr and Mrs M mention a series of books by ...
Jul 15, 2024•47 min•Season 1Ep. 10
09 APT 3 & 4 and the Sibling Saga
In this week's episode, Mr and Mrs M share their thoughts on APT 3 & 4 (their final 2 full days of training before the "on-the-job" type). They also discuss their uncertainties around whether to adopt one, or two children. This video was mentioned in the podcast, and is highly recommended: PAC UK "The Missing Piece": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIekzgTRpI8 Please get in touch with us to share your adoption story, questions and comments at adoptiondiairiespodcast@gmail.com...
Jul 01, 2024•36 min•Season 1Ep. 9
08 Stage 2 Begins! Home Visits 1-3
In this episode, Mr and Mrs M discuss how they felt and what happened when they first met their Stage 2 social worker. They discuss their first 3 home assessment visits which were: Visit 1: Initial Home Visit Visit 2: Relationships, Support Network & Identity Visit 3: One-To-One Meetings Also, they share the date of their Approval Panel...so get excited!! Get in touch with Mr & Mrs M to share your comments, questions or stories at adoptiondiariespodcast@gmail.com...
Jun 17, 2024•30 min•Season 1Ep. 8
07 Why Adoption? Lite Bite Book Club & Network Event
In this episode, Mr and Mrs M describe two of the training/support events put on by their local authority for prospective adopters. They also share their journey and reason to adopt and answer their first ever listener question! Lite Bite Book Club videos: Drowning in Empathy: The Cost of Vicarious Trauma | Amy Cunningham | TEDxSanAntonio https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsaorjIo1Yc SECONDARY TRAUMA l The difficult parts of adoption l Post placement l UK ADOPTION l mollymamaadopt https://www.yout...
Jun 03, 2024•44 min•Season 1Ep. 7
06 We made it to the end of Stage 1!
In this episode, Mr and Mrs M explain what the Stage 1 Review meeting was like and how they started to share their exciting news more widely with family and friends. In the episode, Mr M mentions a helpful episode of The Adoption Shared Podcast about executive functions which you can find here: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/adoption-shared/id1589808211?i=1000562382965 Please get in touch with us at adoptiondiariespodcast@gmail.com
May 20, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 6
05 APT and Early Permanence Training
Mr and Mrs M share their experience of Adoption Preparation Training (days 1 and 2) and Early Permanence Training. The video that Mr M refers to can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn8j4XRxSck Email questions and comments to adoptiondiariespodcast@gmail.com - we'd love to hear from you!
May 06, 2024•39 min•Season 1Ep. 5
04 Paperwork, Paperwork, Paperwork
In this episode, Mr and Mrs M give you a run through of all the forms and checks that they needed to complete during Stage 1. They also share some of the content from Workbooks 1 and 2 which form the basis of the Stage 1 Report and Prospective Adopters Report further down the line. Plus, some good news! Email comments and questions to adoptiondiariespodcast@gmail.com - we'd love to hear from you!
Apr 22, 2024•35 min•Season 1Ep. 4
03 Foundation Day
We hear Mr and Mrs M's reflections on 'Foundation Day', the final part of the pre-stage process before formally submitting an "Expression of Interest" to adopt. **Disclaimer** - this episode goes into a lot of detail about what we learned on Foundation Day... future episodes will be more concise, we promise! Email comments and questions to adoptiondiariespodcast@gmail.com - we'd love to hear from you!
Apr 09, 2024•51 min
02 Our First Steps
In this episode, Mr and Mrs M discuss their journey to making the decision to go for adoption rather than other more traditional routes to starting a family. Email comments and questions to adoptiondiariespodcast@gmail.com - we'd love to hear from you!
Mar 26, 2024•43 min•Season 1Ep. 2
01 Welcome to the Adoption Diaries
In this episode, we introduce Mr and Mrs M and the reason for starting a podcast (despite being total novices!) We hope that you enjoy joining our journey through the adoption process in the UK. Email comments and questions to adoptiondiariespodcast@gmail.com - we'd love to hear from you!
Mar 12, 2024•14 min•Season 1Ep. 1
Hosted on Buzzsprout
For the best experience, listen in Metacast app for iOS or Android