Not many people know this about me. I don’t know anything about my biological mother. I was raised by my biological father and paternal grandparents (I refer to them as mom and dad). My biological mother abandoned me when I was around 18 months old. She simply packed her bags and took off, leaving me in an apartment by myself. Thankfully she called my paternal grandparents to come and get me or who knows if I would be alive today. There was not much my father could do. He was serving in the Army stationed in Japan when all of this happened.
I have never heard from my biological mother. My mom and dad lived in the same home since 1963. If she wanted to find me she easily could have.
As a mother myself I cannot relate to a mom who could just up and abandon a child, never to make contact with them ever again. My 15 year old daughter is currently spending a few days in Pennsylvania with relatives and I can feel her absence and miss her terribly and she hasn’t even been gone 24 hours yet.
I can “feel” for women who put their children up for adoption. It must be the hardest decision of their lives. I’m glad my biological mother didn’t put me up for adoption. I’m glad I was able to be raised by my father and paternal grandparents. She abandoned me which was a foolish decision. Putting a child up for adoption is not foolish at all. I know that there has to be tremendous reasons why someone would put a child up for adoption. It’s a life changing decision that not only effects the mother’s life, but also the life of her child and the family who adopts the child.
The channel Oxygen has a new series premiering on Monday, July 23, 2012 at 11:00 EST (10:00 Central) called I’m Having Their Baby.
Here is a little bit about the show.
This 6 episode docu-series gives viewers an intimate look into the world of adoption by telling the story that doesn’t get told – that of the birth mothers and their experience in making this difficult and emotional choice. Each episode follows 2 pregnant women who have made the choice to place their babies for adoption, and are dealing with the life changing decisions that follow. Each hour-long episode brings viewers into the adoption process by getting to know the birth mothers, and in some episodes the birth fathers and adoptive families.
You can check some clips and the first episode in the video (below). If you are reading this via e-mail you can see the video here, http://bit.ly/Q472l6.
This unique show which is sure to tug at your heart strings. I am sure that many viewers will be able to relate to the women featured in each episode. Even though their stories are different, each of them have something in common – wanting the brightest future for their unborn child and a better life for herself.
Each woman featured in I’m Having Their Baby struggle with an unplanned pregnancy and have to ultimately decide if they want to place their baby in the hands of another family.
All of the birth mothers in this show wanted to share their personal stories openly and honestly with viewers. Oxygen’s goal was to authentic in representing their personal journeys and all the heartfelt emotions that came along with it. They allow viewers to witness the adoptions process and ultimately the heart-wrenching final decision each women and their families must face.
Each of the women featured in I’m Having Their Baby had already sought out adoption agencies and chose to pursue adoption for their unborn child before they were approached to participate in the show.
Two of the young women featured in the series are minors. Both girls have parental consent to participate in the show.
The production company had no part in influencing birth mothers. They did a nationwide casting search to find these birth moms willing to share their stories. Once those individuals were selected, their stories were followed.
Please note that adoption laws vary state to state so if you are considering adoption please be sure to research your state’s laws in regards to adoption.
You can find out more about the show here, http://Im-Having-Their-Baby.Oxygen.com. You can also follow them on the Facebook and Twitter.
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/ImHavingTheirBaby
Twitter: @IHTBonOxygen
One July 23, 2012 Oxygen will be holding a special live chat 11:00 PM (EST). This is the same night the series premieres.
The live chat conversation will be led and moderated by Liz Zack, iVillage’s Editorial Director for Pregnancy and Parenting. Participants can discuss their personal reactions to the show and share their viewpoints with others.
The chat will be happening at www.OxygenLive.com.
In honor of the premiere of the new show, and the live chat, I have a $100.00 Visa Gift Card to give away.
This giveaway is going to be run differently than other giveaways since we’d like to encourage people to watch the show and participate in the live chat.
To enter: Tweet and/or post on Facebook about the new series and the live chat.
- On Twitter please include @She_Scribes in the tweet (if you can include @IHTBonOxygen and #IHTB in your tweet that would be great too) so that I can see it. You can also use this pre-made tweet to make it easier. Simply copy and paste this into your Twitter.
#Win a $100 Visa #giftcard #IHTB and check out the new show from @IHTBonOxygen http://bit.ly/NWzONk @She_Scribes
- On Facebook please tag me in any and all posts you make about the show and live chat. My Facebook page is www.Facebook.com/SheScribes. You will need to follow my Facebook page first. Then when you write your post be sure to type in @SheScribes to tag me. If that doesn’t work simply copy and paste the post URL in the comment section of this post.
- If you participate in the live chat and include @SheScribes in your posts I will look for them and give you 2 extra entries.
You can tweet and share on Facebook and other social networking sites as often as you like. Just make sure you add me to your tweet or Facebook post, or other social networking sites. Just be sure to tag me or post the URL here so that I can give you credit for it.
The person who tweets and posts the most will win the $100.00 Visa Gift Card. In the event of a tie the names will be put on a spreadsheet so that they are numbered and I’ll use the random number generator found at Random.org to select the winner.
If you promote the show and/or the live chat in any other way aside from Twitter, Facebook and participating in the chat please leave a comment and let me know what you did and please provide a URL so I can check it out (Stumble, Digg, Technorati…).
Kimberly
*I will be compensated for my participation in this campaign, however all opinions expressed are my own and are not influenced in any way.
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