After waiting over a year for my adoption to finalize, I’ve accepted that I will never become a mother
through my current adoption program. I’ve learned a lot hard lessons along the way. The only
redeeming feature of my journey? The chance to tell others how to avoid a similar fate. If you are
considering adoption, here is what I've learned:

I am happy to announce the launch of our regional e-guides -- compilations of resources and expert insight coming out of our Choice Mom Networking Events in particular cities. These e-guides will be of great help to women in those communities -- advice from local Choice Mom-friendly doctors, for example -- and some of the insights will certainly be of value to women everywhere, such as understanding what a doula might do for you.

Choice Moms has recently started conversation with Embryo Donation International, which actively works with single women and lesbians who have neither viable eggs or sperm with which to start a family.

At the Philadelphia Choice Mom networking event, estate planner Laura Stegossi offered these 5 steps to a healthy estate plan.

As we develop more (largely FREE!) e-books and other special guides for the Choice Mom community, I thought this would be a good place to list everything so far available. This list will grow, so keep checking back.

This week I learned in conscious conversation with a fellow church member/realtor that maybe I should NOT sell my house after all. I've had this mindset that to simplify my life I need a smaller house. Ultimately, I discovered while sitting down frankly with my 2010 spending habits, that it's NOT the expense that is draining.

It's finally here! The Choice Mom Guide to Donor Sperm. Click here for the e-book, available as a complimentary guidebook for anyone who is choosing or has chosen sperm donation to build their family.

We've got a new partnership with Studio One Networks, which is offering content on two topics that Choice Moms tend to care about: offering our families greener lifestyles, and maintaining our homes. Here's the first in a series.

A woman on the discussion board wondered what to pack for delivery at the hospital. Here's what Lily recommended:

I'm very happy to report that 30 Welcome Kits went out to new Choice Moms last week. This is a special new perk to the Choice Mom community, which includes...

From Janine Sarna-Jones, a Certified Professional Organizer who talked with women at our New York Choice Mom networking event:

Here it is! For a limited time, the special new baby for our Choice Mom community. Our Choice of ChoiceMoms.org tips from 2010, featuring everything from Organization to Building a Support Network, Q&A to Commentary.

Consider supporting the work that goes into this website by using any of these affiliated marketing partners (Legos, Orbitz, Nick Jr., storybook publisher, etc.), who are offering the Choice Mom community these special deals:

At Thanksgiving time, it's easy to remind ourselves and our kids to be thankful and appreciative. But what about all the other days of the year? I recently read several good tips from one book that might help.

As a single working mom, I find myself falling into a bad habit of trying to cram as much 'fun' into the weekend days as humanely possible, which can end up creating more stress rather than relieving it. There are a few things I've done recently to try to combat this.

Some years ago I had the pleasure of meeting Dan Buettner, a noted explorer with a special interest in healthy living and a particular gift for making things happen.

A woman on the Choice Mom Facebook group page wondered which kind of childbirthing class she should consider. Your suggestions?

Many Choice Moms make a firmer commitment to organic living after they become moms. If you want to start by using cloth diapers, here are tips from an expert.

We tend to know how to set and achieve goals. But sometimes we need a nudge, or we're feeling low, and our competence as strong-minded women prevents us from seeking help. I'm always looking for ways to help us find the insights we need.

My favorite connection to see at Choice Mom networking events is when our experienced moms can reassure the pregnant and newborn moms that "everything is going to be all right." I started collecting tips on how to deal with the logistics of newborn days after three women in my local area had babies within a week.

Some time ago on the old Choice Moms blog format, Denise offered these fun and wise thoughts on what she'd learned after 10 months of Choice Motherhood. They were too priceless to disappear, so I've resurrected them here. We invite you to add your own.

A new Choice Mom admitted her exhaustion with the first months of motherhood. Women in the community chimed in with support. Here are two of the responses.

For too long I've ignored the needs of our moms with growing kids. As you'll notice, this website is robust with articles about the emotional and fertility needs of our community, but less for the woman who is doing the job of single parenting her much-beloved child(ren). No more. Much more content is coming for the Waiting, Becoming and Being sections, thanks to new partners.

Adoptive Families continues to be one of the best sources available for women on the adoption path. Here are some great articles they've just announced about helping to educate your child's classmates and teachers about adoption.

These tips from home organizer Maureen came just as I'm midway through my own decluttering process this fall. I thought they were great ways to simplify our homes.

Thanks to Choice Moms sponsor Sepal Reproductive Devices, which offers products and insight for women using home insemination, for these guidelines on working with a known donor.

It's the nurses who often provide the most important relationship for a woman trying to conceive, because every appointment to the doctor begins or ends with a nurse's check-up of your emotional, physical and mental health. Here is a list compiled by nurses at Laurel Fertility Care (San Francisco) for Choice Moms, about what they encourage women to understand before agreeing to any treatments.

I am happy to announce that Choice Moms® is launching a growing library of regional resource guides for the Choice Mom community. The first guide is now available, with its ongoing collection of insights and tips offered by experts and single women specifically from the New York City area.

My favorite part of Choice Mom networking events this year is our opening large group discussion, when we talk together from all stages about the issues and concerns we have faced. In the D.C. event, we had several Thinkers who wanted to know how women moved comfortably into the Trying stage. The question being, "How did you get to yes?" In response, Tryers and Moms reported:

At the Choice Moms networking event in D.C., Birthing Hands doula Claudia Booker offered many great tips for women about how to build a support network. She reiterated the importance of preparing for this well before the baby arrives. Some of her suggestions:

Whether you are inseminating at home, or with a doctor's care, here are 7 tips to help enhance your fertility, thanks to Dr. Lee Kao of Choice Mom sponsor Laurel Fertility Care:

It is more important to start your donor search with selection of the right sperm bank, before identifying donor characteristics. Arm yourself with this checklist of questions to begin the process.

Stress is natural. No matter how much we might put into place to avoid it, stress comes -- daily. According to Caylie See, of Acupuncture Kitchen (San Francisco), "It’s important to focus not only on what causes us stress, but on how we deal with it." Here are her seven tips, courtesy of her affiliation with Choice Mom sponsor Laurel Fertility Care.

If you need to get creative about finding ways to pay for fertility treatments, here are a few tips from Choice Mom-friendly Laurel Fertility Care (San Fran):

Some Choice Moms embark on this journey because they have high-powered, high-income jobs and can afford to build a family on their own. Others don't earn that much. For those who are trying to pay off debt and keep on top of bills in order to balance single motherhood, here are more tips from author Kara Stefan, author of "Head of Household: Money Management for Single Parents."

In this week's tips from Choice Mom sponsor Laurel Fertility Center (San Francisco) we discuss the importance, and methods, of building a fertility support team for yourself.

It is important for a sleep-deprived mother to know where things are. Because when you and baby are struggling to keep nights and days straight, the last thing you need is to find out at midnight that you are out of baby Tylenol or wipes. And keeping the diaper bag packed with everything you need for three hours of errands is easier when you haven't just spent half hour looking for your keys.

At the San Francisco event, organizational specialist Kim Guay of A Clear Vision Organizing offered these tips for getting ready for parenthood.

May is "Money Matters" month on the website. This month we'll take a look at what we're learning and sharing, from each other and from experts, about financial matters. Starting with this week's Choice Mom query: As parents who might expect more help from our kids, but with one paycheck, how do we handle allowances?

At our recent Choice Moms networking event in Minneapolis, participants brought donations for the many single moms who are served by a local homeless shelter. If you'd like to do something like this in your community of women, or with your family, here's what we collected.

I admit that the idea of 'living in the moment' can sometimes seem laughable to a Choice Mom, who is so busy juggling day-to-day responsibilities that no moment seems to last long enough to live on.

When we are trying to conceive, or keep up with our children, we often take a closer look at how to improve our health and vitality. Here are tips from Natural Health and Fertility Center, as offered at the first-ever Choice Moms Expo in Minneapolis.

Interestingly, the most popular conversation circle at my upcoming Choice Mom Expo in Minneapolis is "Taming tantrums: yours and child," with parenting educator Denise Konen. Even 11 years into parenting, I didn't realize how important this topic is to our motherhood community. Here's one of the suggestions Denise has.

Choice Moms Expo sponsor Joan Gilles, of Ameriprise Financial Services, offered this important tip about disability insurance. Admittedly, this is a form of insurance I hadn't given much thought to. But as single parents, there are a LOT of ways we need to be smart about protecting our assets, and this is one we need to understand.

I'm into week #2 of my attempt to live an organized life. And, I have to admit, being conscious of being organized makes you quite aware of how unorganized life is. But I think that's a GOOD step. Here's what I've learned about the stresses of single motherhood this week.

I have two primary stresses in my life. NOT my kids. But, 1) the continuous feeling that I can't get everything done that needs my attention, and 2) the fact that my large house takes more money and energy than I'm willing to invest. So I called in professional organizer Kathy Franzen, of Project Partners Organizing, who was a single mother of four for most of their childhood. Here's what I learned in one intense two-hour session.

The kids and I recently had 10 days together for spring break. We did NOT travel this time. And I learned many things about how to successfully juggle. I'm going to try to incorporate it more effectively into daily routine going forward.

A woman wrote to say that her friends were sharing the news of her Choice pregnancy with others, including the fact that she conceived with an anonymous sperm donor, even though she asked them not to. She turned to the community to get advice.

At the Austin Choice Moms event we started to talk about ways to simplify, and add flexibility to our work life, so that we can enjoy more time with our kids. How do we do it?

submitted by Tania Tod, R.N., a blogger on her own fertility journey

If you suffer from polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), obesity and weight gain are common side effects. It can be hard to stabilize your blood sugar and maintain a healthy body weight, because of insulin resistance. But there are natural things you can do in order to control the side effects of PCOS and to lose weight -- both of which will improve your odds when trying to conceive.

It can seem off-putting when your fertility doctor asks you to do a psychological evaluation before embarking on Choice Motherhood. But it's common at many clinics.

A childcare provider who is on the Choice Mom journey offers these tips in finding the right caregiver:

If you are using a known donor, you need to protect yourself emotionally as well as physically. Here are some tips:

One typical question asked on the Choice Mom discussion board is, what do I need to have on hand for my newborn? The responses have been numerous over time, so there are two compilations on this website about product recommendations from the Choice Mom community. This page is actual brand suggestions of certain products and tips that were recommended by Choice Moms. Below are the responses many Choice Moms have made about what was essential, and what was not, for their newborn.

Doria is a Choice Mom, midwife and lactation consultant. She offers this Top 10 list for breastfeeding success:

These methods have helped us get through the agonizing two week wait process:

If you are considering building a transracial family, ask yourself these questions (as prepared by Children's Home Society and Family Services):

submitted by Kenzie
Even before I made the choice to conceive with a known donor, I knew that however I conceived I would be doing it myself with as little medical intervention as possible. After all, it's my body, my fertility, and in the end I'm creating my family. It feels very important to me to take responsibility for and to understand the process, as well as the result.

A common concern of Choice Moms-in-the-making is how the success rate differs when using fresh and frozen sperm. Do you diminish your chances of success when using frozen sperm? I asked two experts, with two perspectives, about their thoughts.

If you are purchasing frozen sperm, how can you be assured of getting the sperm count you need in post-thaw for the best chance at success? Sperm banks are not regulated, so no one but the bank itself is checking their quality control. Some women report that their doctor tests a sample of the sperm before insemination to be sure it has a good count. If the doctor's testing methods are accurate, this can help.

Here's what Choice Moms have to say about breast milk pumps: