The Baldwin von Brunow Bunch

According to Michael, “the options were limited for us; surrogacy was not our style, and we thought about international adoption, but we knew that there are plenty of kids here that need a home.” In the mid 1990’s, Michael and Edward started off by becoming foster parents in California. They fostered over 14 children with the goal of adopting someday. When the Baldwin von Brunows moved to Massachusetts in 2001, they immediately got involved with a local adoption agency to update their homestudy and begin the adoption process. Originally they were looking to adopt an older child and attended the Jordan’s Fenway Park adoption party.

In 2003, while looking on the MARE Web site for a waiting child, they saw a sibling group of four that caught their eye. Sammy, James, Robert and Janessa were then 2, 4, 5 and 6, and living in separate foster homes. “We fell in love with that picture and those kids. That day we called our social worker and within weeks started visits.”

When Janessa, Robert, James and Sammy moved in with the Baldwin von Brunows in January 2004 it was like a big sleepover at first. After the honeymoon period was over, the children had to get use to each other again and learn to be siblings under the same roof. “When they came to us, they were all behind on many levels; emotionally, physically and educationally. As of now, they are all where they should be for their age. It was not easy; it has taken a lot of effort and constant, consistent attention. Each one of them has a unique set of issues, but after four years they come along ways.”

“Some of the greater challenges are dealing with issues related to loss and how do you explain to an 8-year-old how they came to be here and why. It was hard to make them understand it was not their fault and it was nothing that they did, and that it is not that their parents did not love them, but just that they were not able to do what they needed to care for them properly.”

Michael and Edward believe that if you adopt, you are going to be pushed in ways you are not used to so you need to understand your own limitations and have a support group or someone to turn to when you need to talk. The most rewarding part for Michael is “just watching the kids progress and seeing them become successful in things they thought they could not do.” For Edward it is “The full house, the Sunday mornings, the Sunday dinners, the noise of the kids - that is what brings the house alive and what makes it warmer; it fulfills us and it’s what we are doing with our lives.”