An update of a very old story has me reflecting this morning on birth mothers, history, and some very valid reasons for fear and anger. "Butterbox Babies: Baby Sales, Baby Deaths, New Revelations 15 Years Later" is Canadian reporter Bette Cahill's follow-up on her original exposé of the "Ideal Maternity Home" in Nova Scotia, a story she discovered while working on a story about a mysterious burial ground.

In ... more

More from the survey:

We really appreciate all the comments that you left on the survey. It seems like you, the readers, like all our personal stories and the ins and outs of living with young ones the best. You asked for more of the same.

Sandra’s posts got lots of cheers from readers who love her style and emphatic point of view. Since 85% of us are living in the USA, perhaps reading about life is Seychelles gives us an outlet for the exotic life.... more

Wow, 2007 is looming. How can that possibly be? Two thousand seven. That doesn't even sound like a real year, it sounds, so, so futuristic. Ah, but the future is here. I informed our editor a couple of weeks ago that I would be resigning from blogging at the end of 2006. It has been a phenomenal opportunity and I have appreciated and enjoyed it tremendously. Although I am saying goodbye I'm not really going anywhere. Now I will disappear into the twilight and become one of...the lurkers(cue scary laughter here) or even better, I'll become one of the commenters.... more

Looking for projects for 2007? How does a writing group sound?

When people ask me how to become a writer I tell them what my father told me:

There's only one thing you have to do to be writer. You must WRITE.

Talking about writing is not writing. Thinking about writing is not writing. Telling people you write is not writing. Buying a fancy computer and full reference library is not writing.

The only thing that is writing is writing.

Writing a good deal does not make a good writer, but it... more

First, thanks to Michelle for her vote of confidence that I would, indeed, come up with something to write about today. I didn't exactly come up with any smashing new ideas, but I did come across this site, which is a link to an AARP Resource Guide for Older Parents. It is taken from an old online AARP article published in 2005. Somehow, I have overlooked it in previous searches. Still, I think the links and resources are something that most older parents would find useful and if... more

Continued from here ...

Here's a section of a report from 1918 to the US Children's Bureau on conditions at a baby farm in Maryland:

Screens inadequate. Many flies. Most of the babies’ beds were built with screens, however.

One little child was tied in bed.

A filthy rug was noticed by Miss... more

My posts about eating babies lead me to a dark period in the history of adoption in the United States ... the era of Baby Farms. No, as bad as they were, baby farms were not about growing plump little thighs for the stew pot ... plump little thighs being rather rare in those establishments. (And, no, I don't mean rare as opposed to medium-rare.)

The term “baby farming” was common in late nineteenth and early twentieth century... more

Reposted: A reminder:

Click here for survey

The writers of the older parent adoption blog would love for you to take our quick survey so we can find out who you are.

There are a few questions for you to answer, and also a chance to leave comments!

Dr. G., Sandra and Michelle all have access to the comments and responses, but it is anonymous, so please tell us what you really think!

We'll probably all have a take on the results - so stay tuned, we'll post them in a week or so.

Thanks for participating!

Click here... more

Continuing the list of Yahoo Groups ...

As I mentioned, I've not joined and/or checked all these groups out, but simply list the link with the self-decription ... http://groups.yahoo.com/group/honeybeefamilies/ This Yahoo! group is intended to provide support for Black families that have or plan to adopt from Asia. We also support those whom are interested in non-White,... more

In the course of the research I've been doing for the book I'm working on, I've come across some groups that may be of interest to certain older adoptive parents. Thanks to the age we live in and the wonders of the technology that does such a wonderful job of connecting, far-flung like-thinkers, fellow-suffers, idea-sharers and the like can meet up and carry on conversations as often as they like and from the comfort of their own desks.

Yahoo groups have formed for thousands of reasons ... maybe millions by now ... and I belong to... more