Jake's daughters have different birth families to each other but both children have face-to-face contact with their birth parents. Jake talks about how they prepared for this as a family and the challenges and benefits of this fairly uncommon arrangement. He explains how the meetings can be emotionally charged, sometimes awkward but still beneficial for everyone.

Stuart and Bradley return to the podcast to tell us how the first year has been with their son. They talk about attachment, nursery, bonding over time and how thrilled they are to be his parents.

Seren is an asexual, single adopter. She has Complex PTSD due to her abusive childhood. After years of mental health problems, she reached the end of her NHS therapy and tried to take her own life. She was able to access more therapy which is how she realised what happiness could feel like and how she knew she wanted to adopt. Initially, her agency didn't think she was ready but she wasn't deterred and eventually began the journey which led her to adopter a brother and sister. She talks about how parenting her children has made her "the happiest and most fulfilled I've ever been" and how she manages triggers and challenges.

If you need someone to talk to, you can call the Samaritans on 116 123 or visit their webpage Samaritans

Stuart and Simon return, having featured on two previous podcasts. They talk about their kids' additional needs and the laborious process of securing support for them. They also talk about joyful family moments, including taking their Disney princess on a rollercoaster!

Previous episode here

George and Stuart were approved for Early Permanence and picked up a newborn baby less than two weeks later.

They talk about their straightforward assessment, contact with the birth family, and why a super-kingsize bed should be on your must-buy list!

Alex and Peter adopted a six-year-old after being turned down for another child. They talk about their assessment and matching process, the attachment therapy that changed everything, and why they hope others will consider older children.

Vivienne has been a foster carer for eight years. An eight month old baby called Bill was placed with her, initially for just a week, but he ended up staying for nearly two years. In the meantime, in another part of the country, Carlos and his partner were talking about adopting. They had a bad experience with their first agency but changed to another and were approved. Browsing Linkmaker, they saw Bill's profile and hoped he might be the child for them. On this podcast, Vivienne and Carlos talk about how their paths met when Carlos adopted Bill.

Emily and Jude have completed their assessment process and have just seven days until panel. They're hoping to be approved as early permanence carers for a baby under a year old. Emily talks about how they decided on adoption and what they learnt as volunteers at New Family Social's Summer Camp (including mud pie recipes!). Emily talked about how she listened to other episodes of this podcast to help her decide whether she could cope with the uncertainty of early permanence.