Adoption Awareness Month: Mamma Mania: The Making of a Multicultural Family

by Amy Jewett Sampson

I like to say that I have a multicultural family. After years of struggling with infertility, my husband and I traveled to China to adopt our daughter who was 12 months old at the time. Six months prior, our biological daughter was born and one year after returning from China, our biological son was born. Three kids in less than a year and a half. Life was crazy!

Our adoption journey was put on hold during the summer of 2003 because of the SARS epidemic. When the country reopened again four months later, I was 7 months pregnant and could not travel. We put our adoption on hold until after my biological daughter was born. As a result, we were matched with a different baby and traveled the summer of 2004.

The trip to China was very difficult because I was struggling with postpartum depression. Our daughter was healthy physically, but was emotionally scarred from the lack of stability in her life -- moving back and forth from orphanage to foster parents, then to adoptive parents. It took a toll on all of us.

She is now a happy, thriving 1st grader who colors wonderful artwork. We can't imagine life without her. She and her sister are bestfriends -- they are 5 months apart, Audra is 6, Lauren is 5 1/2 and Joshua is 4.

About Amy
Amy Jewett Sampson found herself with three children under two years old in less than a year and a half. Joining the ranks of women in the “mamma mania craze,” Amy was overwhelmed and quickly developed the most effective ways to care for her children while still maintaining her sanity. She shares those tips in Mamma Mania: Managing the Craze of 0-5 year olds (Tate Publishing, June 2009).

Sampson is hosting a 24-hour event on Amazon.com, November 19, to raise awareness about child abuse and neglect issues. She will donate half the proceeds from the sale of Mamma Mania: Managing the Craze of 0-5 year olds (Tate Publishing, June 2009) on this one-day to The Kempe Foundation, a Denver-based organization that advocates for the prevention and provides treatment for neglected and abused children.