Instant Mom

I love Nia Vardalos, and after reading her book, I love her more. Very informative, heartfelt and humorous, Vardalos describes a painful journey towards motherhood, and the joys and challenges adoptive families face. Her voice is that of a friend talking to you while you munch on snacks in your sweats, just hanging out and sharing life experiences. Vardalos is an excellent spokeswoman for the adoptive process, and the end of the book is full of resources as well as questions people considering adoption might have. I'd recommend it to anyone who is or wants to be a parent, whether you have suffered from infertility or not.Personally, I wanted to reach through the pages and hug Vardalos as a soul sister--and tried to think of how I might send her a letter that didn't sound like a weird stalker or creepy fan. I, too, suffered from infertility, due to stress, a somewhat irregular cycle, and type 1 diabetes. I tried fertility treatments, and the emotional roller-coaster of the hormones had me bawling over greeting cards one minute, and a raging she-devil the next. So...after a couple of years and much discussion, my husband and I decided to stop trying. I was done peeing on sticks and checking my temperature (and my spit) for my most fertile moments, as well as the hormones. We couldn't really afford in vitro, so...we decided we'd have lots of dogs. My sister, AKA "fertile Myrtle", had four kids, and I was like a second mom to them, so I'd be a vicarious mommy. I reduced stress at work, and stopped worrying about it. What happens, happens. Six months later, I couldn't understand why I was having dizzy spells. I mentioned them to my mother-in-law, who told me that dizziness was a sign of pregnancy. Considering that I'd scoured every resource about signs of pregnancy, I didn't remember that as one of them, so I blew her off as being crazy. But then...I started thinking. And looking at the calendar. Yeah, my last period was more like a bit of spotting, but that happens occasionally. So, after a day of consideration, I decided to pee on my last pregnancy detector stick, first one in the morning, when hormones, etc. are more concentrated. And my results were almost immediate. I was stunned. And didn't believe it. I woke up my husband, who was rather dazed at both the information and being suddenly awakened from a deep sleep. I called the doctor, got a blood test, and in the afternoon, got a call back. I was most definitely pregnant...an ultrasound a day or so later showed that I was 7.2 weeks along.29 weeks later, I gave birth prematurely (I had pre-eclampsia, and was on hospital bed rest for several weeks) to a baby girl, who we consider our miracle baby. It's a miracle that she even existed, and when we found out about the unusual birth defects she had, discovered that doctors considered her a miracle just to have survived. All of her defects are internal--heart, kidney, and bladder--and lifelong, but...fast forward 9.33 years later, she's a smart, funny, precocious little nerd who loves Minecraft, Taylor Swift, My Little Pony, and Beanie Boos. She's healthy, and in spite of multiple surgeries and hospitalizations due to complications from her birth defects, a pretty happy-go-lucky kind of kid.So I wish Ms. Vardalos all the joy in the world as a mom...I got lucky. And so did she. And now she's sharing it with you.

Nia Vardalos is so honest in her book, and often times makes you laugh at times when you aren’t sure if you should be laughing out loud or sad. As a fellow adoptive mama through foster care I found her book so relatable. So many books about adoption are often times about international, or domestic infant private adoption not so much about foster care and even more so not about adoption a toddler or older child. Reading about Nia’s infertility and multiple rounds of treatment I found myself feeling like I knew her and could relate to her. Infertility and treatments are hard to understand unless you’ve lived through it, but Nia does a great job describing all that both entail for those who might not have experienced it. She goes into how the adoption process works, how there are so many options it can get overwhelming. She talks about how she becomes a mom in an instant. Which as a foster mom and adoptive mom couldn’t be more true. She says no parents are prepared for parenthood when it comes and that is so true, but starting parenthood with an older child there are no books for that. She does a beautiful job sharing her story, and sharing her family with the reader while still protecting her daughter and her daughters privacy. She makes it clear that her daughters story is her daughters story, and that her daughters privacy is more important than anything. This book is relatable, is funny, and a truthful account of what it is like to be an instant mom.

I downloaded this book because my husband and I are currently going through fertility treatments and are also considering adoption. I've always enjoyed Vardalos' movies, and I'd seen a few clips of her on TV as spokesperson for National Adoption Day, so I figured "let's go ahead and see what she has to say." Well, the book is great! You will snicker, laugh, cry, and nod in agreement as you follow the story of Vardalos' own journey through infertility to foster adoption. I was amazed at how open she is in this book: the emotions, the anger, the embarrassing moments, the sense of "Everywoman" finding her way through the puzzling maze of fertility treatments and adoption options. This isn't a movie star lecturing you on what you "should" do; it's simply a funny, hearfelt, and honest look at how she and husband Ian Gomez came to build their family and meet their daughter. Her humor is contagious, with just enough self-deprecation to show that she hasn't "lost touch" with all the other Everywomen out there. And yes, she does open up about her own family...so all you "Big Fat Greek Wedding" fans out there will have a field day with the trivia and fun facts she tosses around! Hollywood has always seemed to me to be a place full of out-of-touch egomaniacs. Thanks to Vardalos' book, I've learned that there are good, decent people and families with their own struggles everywhere you look. And if I ever get the chance to meet her, I'll thank her for giving lots of us infertile-yet-hopeful-moms-to-be this wonderful account of humor, heartbreak and joy.

I laughed and cried as I was mesmerized by the wisdom couched in the humerus antidotes. This is much like the movie, Instant Family, but even better! I couldn't put the book down. I didn't want it to end.We are so happy we chose to adopt teens. I would hope this book would become mandatory reading at all foster and adoption classes. Now, as a nonprofit EL4KIDS.Org to help unify advocates and bring awareness for the need for foster and adoptive families, encourage, and help in the healing process with our therapeutic book Freddy the Foster Frog. .,And in the future create an EL'S art therapy center for peace as art therapy of many kinds is so helpful. Humor is contagious! Thanks!!!

I'm a single mum and found this book when I was having a particularly tough time being the person who has to do everything / be everything to my gorgeous daughter. This is a perfect mix of humorous anecdotes, heartfelt admissions and above all honest about the realities of adoption. Plenty of bits resonated with me, and I laughed and cried in equal measure. As an adoptive parent I found it reassuring and entertaining. It was good to read about someone else who has gone through the adoption process albeit in a different country to me, and for this to be written from a happy and positive perspective. It's clear from Nia's book that adopting her daughter has brought both her and her daughter great joy. I am immensely lucky I can say the same. This book found me at the perfect time, just when I needed a little positive reminder that whilst parenting is hard it's also a privilege and most of the time a real joy.

We’re considering fostering and found it helpful, especially if you haven’t been a parent before

Loved the book, funny, smart and informative. This is not a how to book, but does have some good tips. Vardalos writes well, entertaining. For a good laugh and a warm heart, I recommend this book. Enjoy.

Loved this book, Nia writes so well and it was as touching as it was funny.

What a great book!Funny, sad and informative all in one.Nia tells a beautiful story of their adoption journey.