Adoption Picture Book

I pulled out a children's adoption book the other day to read to Shiloh for the first time. She wasn't interested but I continued to lay there on the floor and read it to her anyway as she played with her toys. After I finished reading it I realized that, although it's the only adoption book I could find similiar to Shiloh's adoption, it just didn't seem right. It wasn't the message I want to give Shiloh. It was too much. Sure it was a great book. It is about a mother bear and son bear and the son is the mother's "wish come true", which is great, but I guess when I read an "adoption book" to Shiloh I want it to be HER story.

I'm having trouble putting into words what I'm feeling/want to say regarding the above topic...that paragraph is the best I could do....moving on....

I decided today that I am going to make Shiloh her own book about her adoption with her pictures. It's something I've thought of doing since she was born, thanks to a friend of my mom's who adopted. What has always stopped me was the words. First of all, I tend to use way too many words/give too much info when describing something or writing about something. Second, what do I write?! Of course, I want to keep it simple for when Shiloh is first able to understand adoption, but I want it to also be relevent as she gets older.

Well, today on a particular adoption website I frequent the answer was given to me! A picture book! A girl who was adopted wrote about a book her mother made for her with only pictures. Pictures of the hospital she was born in, the flight from the state she was born in to her home state, and pictures with her family. It also included little momentos such as locks of her, lost teethe, etc. It was something that was just all about her! The girl said, it had no words so it was like a different story each time her mom read it to her and as she got older she was able to "read" it herself. It sounds like it became a way for her to express herself at times regarding her adoption. Her mom left a few pages blank at the beginning for pictures of the girl's birth mom. When the girl was older (7, I believe) her mom gave her pictures of her birth mom and she put them in the book and decorated those pages herself as another way to express what she was feeling.

I have pictures Kim had given me during her pregnancy that I can use, but considering that we have an OA I think I'll put the pictures in her book myself. Shiloh can still decorate it if she chooses to do so, but I see no reason to hold back on those pictures since Kim is a part of her life.

Anyway. I just wanted to share. I am kind of excited about the idea!