Spotlight Blogger: Meet Amanda

Amanda 9 months pregnant with her son!

Today's featured spotlight is Amanda of "Life After Placing."  Let's find out a little more about Amanda...

First, please tell us a bit more about yourself (name, age, where you live, what led you to making an adoption plan, and anything else you feel comfortable sharing).

I’m Amanda, I just turned 26 in July, I currently live in Hawaii, my husband is an officer in the Army and we are stationed here, but he is currently deployed to Afghanistan.

I made my adoption plan back in 2008 when I found out I was pregnant because I was not in a place to raise a child, and neither was the birth father. The birth father and I were not in a relationship at the time, and he was quite adamant that our son was not his. A month after his birth, I wrote the birth father letting him know and he was still not admitting to being the father, and that helped me make my decision. My family was supportive no matter what I decided, but I just knew that this child would be better off being raised by someone else. I also came to realize that this child was not mine, he was not meant for me, but for his adoptive family. The way he became his adoptive family’s son is truly a miracle from God, and I fully believe God intervened through a few of our mutual friends. Our adoption is semi-open, I get letters and pictures every 6 months, for about another year, and then yearly for who knows how long. The last time I saw him in person, was the day after he was born.

I met my husband 2 months after the adoption took place, and he’s been amazing! We started dating a month later, and were married 7 months later. We’ve been married for 2 years in October. He is currently deployed to Afghanistan for 12 months. He’s super supportive of the adoption and takes such great care of me. We plan on having children of our own one day.

When and why did you begin blogging?

I started blogging beginning of Feb. 2009; my very best friend said I should start one as a place to put my words down. I also wanted to use it as a place to minister to other girls in my situation.

Tell us more about the title of your blog. Why did you choose it?  
Life After Placing is just that, a blog about my life after I placed my son for adoption. The blog title is something that has been able to move with me, and grow with me. It’s not something that is just limited to the adoption, but my life.

Has the response to your posts been mostly positive, mostly negative, or a mix of both?

I think it’s mostly been positive. I know of a few people who are so grateful for my blog, and have told me that I've helped them, and that would more than likely make the negative comments seem like nothing.



What post on your blog do you consider a “must read” for people visiting your blog for the first time? Or what post(s) from your blog is (or are) your favorite(s) and why?

Probably my first post about why I started the blog, and my adoption story (part 1 & part 2), along with the How to Talk to a Birth Mom Series (part 1, part 2, & part 3), and my Birth Story, also a question I got about the triad and how I refer to all sides, another question about Mother's Day, this post about "my son" versus "the baby," and finally, my favorite adoption poem/song.

I could seriously link to ALL my posts, but I won’t haha!

Do you have any advice for someone thinking of starting their own blog?

Go for it! Write about what you know, and what you’re passionate about. And remember, nobody is perfect, so they’re hopefully not expecting you to be. It’s also your space, so do what you want, and be sure to put a disclaimer, that way, if you do offend someone, you can say, hey, I warned you!