Alexander and his husband fostered their son from three days old, then adopted him a year later. They've had direct contact with the birth father for the last five years, informal contact with the birth siblings and letterbox contact with the birth mother.

Brandon, a single prospective adopter, was sailing through Stage One of the assessment when suddenly he was told he wouldn't be recommended for Stage Two and should take a year out. During that year, Brandon made various changes. He also gathered all of his courage and volunteered at the New Family Social Summer Camp which he describes as "magic". Hear how Brandon built his support network and found the strength to resume his adoption journey.

Geoff joined us on the podcast when he'd had his sons for just three months. On this episode, he talks about how the last couple of years with kids have been and how he initially struggled to adjust to parenthood but how he's found his feet now.

Jamie talks about the three-and-a-half years he's spent with his son, who arrived when he was 18 months old. He talks about what he learnt about himself as an adopter, how he managed a recurrence of his own anxiety, an ADHD diagnosis and how he sought support for his son's sensory needs.

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Ross used to listen to this podcast and wonder how his own adoption journey might go, especially since his agency was concerned he didn't have enough childcare experience. A year later, he had his one-year-old son and he's loving every minute of it!

Aubrey returns to the podcast. It's three years since he adopted his children who are now five and eleven. He talks about how well they're doing in school, raising kids of a different gender and ethnicity to his own, and his hopes for the future.

Adopting age-gap siblings

Laura and her partner adopted a child after IVF, miscarriages and bereavement. They talk about deciding when it's the right time, supporting their birth daughter, and the resilience their experiences have given them.

Yannick returns to the podcast now his son has been with him for a year. He talks about how assertive he and his husband were with all the agencies involved in their child's adoption. They pushed back against a checklist approach and advocated for their child's individual needs.

Yannick's previous podcast