Ashley Blodgett is twenty-nine years old. Originally from Northfield, Minnesota, she currently lives in Durand, Wisconsin. Ashley is the mother of a nine-year-old son, and a stepmom of three other children, ages fourteen to seventeen. She is also a birth mom to a seven-year-old boy.

 

In the fall of 2009, Ashley found herself facing an unplanned pregnancy from an unfortunate incident. She knew in her heart that she could not parent at that time in her life. She was already a single mom to a one-year-old boy who was sick all of the time and in and out of the hospital. She thought to herself, "How would I be able to be in the hospital with one child and at home with another?" She considered having an abortion, but felt that she could never go through with it. That was when she decided to look into the option of adoption.

 

While researching the option of adoption, Ashley found out about the option of open adoption. She, then, found an adoption agency that would let her directly contact prospective adoptive parents, instead of contacting them only through that agency. After reading the headlines of various waiting adoptive couple profiles, as well as looking at their cover pictures, she finally found a family that she wanted to contact right away! And after the first meeting with this waiting adoptive couple, Ashley knew they were the perfect parents for her unborn baby. 

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The adoptive parents, that Ashley chose to raise her baby, attended Ashley's Doctor's appointments and were there in the delivery room for the birth of her birth son, Isaiah. She and the adoptive couple continued with an open adoption plan after Isaiah's birth, but about a year after Isaiah was born, they all lost contact. However, Isaiah's parents continued to share pictures with Ashley online.

 

On April of 2015, Ashley reached out to the Isaiah's parents and invited them to her wedding. They were able to arrange their schedules to attend her wedding. Ashley and Isaiah's parents, then, continued talking after the wedding. And to this day, they continue to have visits, text and call each other. They love sharing about their adoption story and photos from their adoption journey.

 

One thing Ashley has learned during her adoption journey is that it's important to have open communication within the adoption relationship. She feels that even though people will make mistakes, all that matters is that people learn and grow from them. She further explains she does not regret making an adoption plan for Isaiah, and states, "It [My adoption] was the best decision I could have made. My nine-year-old son, Brock, and Isaiah know they are brothers... Isaiah knows that I am his birth mom and that he grew in my tummy. They have so much love for one another." Ashley believes that there are good days and bad days regarding her decision of adoption, but nonetheless, she feels that she made the perfect decision.