Angela had given me a brand-new changing bag that she had been given (and hadn’t used) and I was scared that they would think that I hadn’t listened to anything they had said about being very low-key and keeping everything the same.

I wanted the everyday things I saw mums do: finding a high chair in a cafe, putting the pushchair in the car. She really needed us, and she needed us to step up to the mark and be the grown-ups and not let her down. When that began to look too complicated legally and also too expensive, I launched us into adoption, not taking a breath.Thank you Lisa for being so honest with your experience, this book really helped me and I related to everything she went through with ivf. Life can be unexpected; my plan was to be in a happy marriage with a biological child, and look how that turned out.

This was really just a meeting to see how we were all doing now that the care plan had been carried out and Billie was starting to settle in with us.I had to change her nappy in the middle of it and I felt like all eyes were on me as I picked up the changing bag and we headed to the loos. It was after I put in those days and months of being there to listen, hold and comfort that it felt real. Excellent book for anyone thinking about adoption and asking themselves whether they are right for it. There were certain precautions that we needed to take to ensure we didn’t all get too attached and because at this point we were officially foster carers.