I see her love on her mom, I see her lean on her dad. I see them love her with all their heart. My choice was not easy, but it was right, and I had to be brave for her. I had to put away my pride for her. I couldn’t be selfish, and I knew I had to let her go.

It took me about a year to understand or have feeling in that hole in my heart. I did not completely start healing until about 10 years later.

"We both desired an open adoption but what that looked like I don't think either of us knew. We both had hopes but could they be a reality?" - Emily, adoptive mom #BraveLove

“You are pregnant.” I heard those three words at age 18 when I was just weeks into my freshman year of college. I was devastated. I was not ready to be a mom. I did not want to be a mom. I was so excited about my new life and future as a college student.

Adoption is beautiful but is it also painful. The process that her birth mom went through was not without thought. Each time we had to have another paper signed, my heart ached for her and what she must be processing. Our joy was causing her immense suffering and loss. Something that I won’t forget.

"I had to let them go so that we could all live." - Aimee, birth mom, #BraveLove

I remember when I first found out I was pregnant, I was only 18 and so scared. I thought about my options and I knew adoption was one of them. A few months before I found out I was pregnant, a lady from my church shared how she adopted a baby boy and her story touched my heart.

"I was not prepared to be a mother, and I wanted so much more for her." - Haven, a birth mom #BraveLove

Is it hard? Yes. Some days it still is. But I know that if I would have parented her things would have been even harder on my girls and that this is giving the baby her best chance.

So a few months after I turned 18 I gave birth to a baby girl. While I was pregnant, I didn't know much. But the one thing I knew was that I didn't want my daughter to feel like a burden just as I felt most of my life.