Choose Family

Meinir, 40

Adoption Mid and West Wales

Meinir, 40, and her partner always dreamt of having their own children one day. But Meinir, who suffers from congenital heart disease and wears a pacemaker, was concerned about the effects pregnancy would have on her body. Despite being assured by cardiologists that it was safe to try for a baby, the couple decided to adopt.

Meinir and her partner chose to keep siblings together, giving a loving home to a four-year-old boy and his two-year-old sister through the Mid and West Wales Adoption Service in 2016.

This is her story…

“I always wanted kids of my own, as did my partner, but due to my heart we knew it would always be tough. We had the go-ahead from a cardiologist, but we decided we didn’t want to go down the route of IVF or anything else, we wanted to adopt.

“My father was particularly relieved when he found out we were adopting as he was worried about the effects of pregnancy on my body. I was also getting older – but having a family was something we really wanted.

“Initially, it took a while for us to get placed so we decided to broaden our criteria and chose to adopt siblings. This sped up the process, as there are lots of sibling groups waiting to be adopted.

“Me and my partner both grew up with siblings. We always thought we would adopt one child first, and then adopt again a few years later. However, by adopting siblings, they understand their journey and will be able to support one another which can help the whole process. It really made sense for us to do this.

“You have to understand what you are getting into when you are adopting. It’s heart-breaking to see how many older children are left waiting.

“The first time we met the children at their foster home was so surreal. My daughter ran up to me shouting ‘Mummy’ and it made everything perfect. In that moment, it didn’t matter how daunting or scary it was. The kids have made us complete; they’ve changed our lives for the better.

“Before we had our children, we didn’t have any major responsibilities. And at first, it was really frightening to suddenly have responsibility for two children. For a while, I couldn’t sleep because I wanted to be there for the kids, whenever they might need me.

“Adoption is one of the hardest things you can do – but it’s the most rewarding. The good moments will always outweigh the bad. You can give a child a second chance in life: the chance to be happy.

“There’s so much support available and we wish we’d accessed support a lot earlier than we did. Our social worker was brilliant, the support is out there, you just need to ask.”

Share the moments that made you a family @nas_cymru #ChooseFamily