Gina Crotts

"I know I made the right choice"

I was only nineteen years old when I started to live my own nightmare. I was single and living away from home when I found out I was pregnant. I had been dating my boyfriend on and off for two years. When he heard I was pregnant he suggested that I get an abortion. Abortion was not the answer and I told him I wouldn't do it.

It took weeks before I started to think about adoption. I felt like my baby deserved a chance to
have a good life, one with a mother and a father. I meet with a local agency and started to look at
profiles. A few months later I found the perfect couple and I was excited for my baby girl to have such great parents.

Time went by so fast and before I knew it I was handing my sweet baby girl to this wonderful couple. So much joy and pain filled my heart and soul that day. At times I could feel every ounce of my body aching to hold her.           

Now, a husband, two kids, and almost six years later my life has gone down a path of transformation. Becoming a birthmother has shaped me into the person I am today. It changed my goals, my dreams, and my reason for living. My baby gave me confidence, love, hope, and a new beginning.

My husband and I started dating while I was pregnant. He held my hand every step of the way. He was there for me when I needed to cry or scream. He suffered threw my outburst of emotions. We were engaged a month after I placed and married three months later. He supported my decision and continues to support me everyday.

I am now dedicated to serving other birthmothers and helping them with their journey of adoption. I started a program called Birthmother Baskets. We fill gift baskets with donated items such as lotions, bath salts, books, candles, magazines, CD's, movies, and jewelry. Then we donate the baskets to local hospitals and adoption agencies. They give the baskets to the birthmothers after placement. It helps them know they are not alone. The basket is a reminder that someone else has felt this great pain and understands how difficult it is to place your baby for adoption. It is also a sign of hope, that the future brings happiness and fulfillment.

Not a day goes by that I don't think about my baby and what she might be doing. Yes, there is still pain, but I know I made the right choice. Every time we fill another basket I think of her and realize this is all for her. Someday she will know I spent countless hours serving others and she was my strength.

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