Long lost Families

I have not seen this weeks yet its sky +, but have watched other episode and found that very moving. Mind I can cry at the drop of a hat, does not take much for me to well up, it is most embarrassing at times, but I have learnt to live with it now, ( till the next time)

We watched it as my husband, who is 64, found his birth mother just 2 years ago. She's a sweety, now 86. We had such a wonderful first meeting and they are in touch now almost every day. The programme was very moving, as we could relate to those families being re-united. And nothing wrong with shedding a few tears "glassortwo", you obviously can deeply empathise with those involved.

I enjoy the programme too but not Davina McCall but I'm sure she has as many fans as detractors. Never liked Nicky Campbell except on the radio where he is superb but do think he is ideal for this show.

Nicky Campbell comes across much better than Davina McCall do you
think that is because he found his own long lost family not so long ago?
I thought this weeks programme very moving as the mother had
walked away from both her girls,but the girls went to her place of rest
to pay their last respects,very sad for them

Back in the early 1970 when I had a 3 year old and a 1 and a half your old I started to foster babies who were to go for adoption . Looking back I must have been mad but I loved it and never had a baby who defeated me. I got them at a week old and the idea was at 6 weeks they could be signed away by their birth mothers. It never worked out like that and we had all of them longer apart from one little boy who was reclaimed by his mum. The point I would like to make is that some of these babies came from very good homes but circumstances were so different then. One girl's mother was a teacher and her parents just would not let her keep her. There was word of her being long term fostered but she was adopted by a lovely couple.This was not uncommon and we lived in Inverness which was a strict kind of place for morals at that time
When the phone rang and I was asked to take a baby when I dithered a bit they just had to mention that the orphanage would take the baby and I could not say no . We met some of the parents who collected the babies and to see their faces was wonderful. My own children seemed to take it all in their stride though it did confuse the creche ladies at our church when they asked how my daughter's little sister was and she replied that she had turned into a little brother.
It was really sad to see the bundle of clothes some babies came with , some were lovely some pathetic.
I have often wondered what became of these babies. The abortion act stopped the flow and I would phone up begging for a baby and there were now. How much worse for the adopting parents.

I was told in confidence that my cousin had fathered a child outside his marriage, it came to light after he died suddenly at the age of 36. His mother, my aunt, longed to see her grand daughter, it was she who confided in me, I kept her confidence for over 20 years.

A few years ago, I decided to build a website in memory of my parents and grand parents, they were ordinary, decent and loving people. I was lucky that I had lots of old family photos, the website just grew and grew. To cut a long story short, my cousin's daughter typed the name of my families home town into google and much to her astonishment up popped my website. She had been trying to trace us for years, there in front of her were pictures of her grand parents, her dad as a littly boy and other members of her family. She did remember her dad, he kept in regular contact with her until he died when she was five years old. I was astonished, tearful, delighted when she emailed me, but the thing which touched me most was when she said that she would understand if I didn't want to know her. She was with us two weeks later for the week-end and we are still in touch.

I had a baby in 1978 she was fostered for 5 weeks until I was so distressed at the thought I would never see her take her first steps or hear her first words and maybe she would never come and find me that I had to have her back I am so glad I made my decision I have never known who looked after my bqby during that time I would love to say thank you and tell them how well she has done

My sister had a baby boy in 1968, my parents forced her to have him adopted.She cared for him in an unmarried mothers home for six weeks until he was given to a childless couple who had waited for ages for a baby.
My sister later married (not to her baby's father, who had abandoned her), and had two daughters.She has never forgotten her baby boy.She has never tried to trace him as she thinks it might not work.She only wishes he is happy and was well cared for by his adoptive parents.
Things were so much differant in those days..

I just can't imagine what it must have been like for these poor girls to have had to give up their babies for adoption. Perhaps it's all swung too far the other way now

I've just found this thread and see it as a wonderful opportunity to say thank you to Eleanorre and all those others who have fostered babies pre-adoption. In 1976 and again in 1978 I was given the precious gift of a 6week-old daughter. I met and thanked the first foster mum but 2nd time, didn't have the chance. First time, the birth mum visited several times over the 5 weeks to reassure herself that she was doing the right thing. This daughter traced her birth family a few years back and it has worked out well. It was lovely for both mums to have the conversation we'd both waited for - some 23 years after the event! She was able to answer questions I had and I was able to fill many of her gaps! Happily she felt she had made the correct decision and went on to marry and have more children. My 2nd daughter has never felt the need to trace her family. Each adoption is unique. Have to add that when my daughters were 10 and 8, I gave birth to a surprise son!! Elder daughter has made me a gran 4 times over ( and she phoned earlier today to say that her 'birth brother' and girlfriend had arrived to take the 2 year-old out for a couple of hours to give her a break!)

My story is similar. I kept my baby in 1967, refused an abortion, refused to go to a home for unmarried mothers and went ahead, albeit with support from my widowed father. He died before my baby was born but I managed. I suppose you would now call it benefits but it was a certain amount of money per week which enabled me to pay the rent and electricity and frugal food.
I later married a man who adopted the baby by then a lively little boy. Other girls I had got to know in similar circumstances, also married, which proved that men will marry and adopt someone else's child.

I often had visits from young women who had gone the other way and had their children adopted. They never got over it and when they saw me and my baby together, happy and contented although poor, it broke their hearts. They had been badly advised and I was so pleased I had the guts to ignore the advice that was given to me. My son has no desire to meet his biological father. He knows who his mother is and that was most important to him.

That's such a lovely story Charlotta, I'm so pleased that it all worked out for you