A Tale Of Hope: The Heartbreaking Photo Journal Of A Mum Who Decided To Give Her Baby Up For Adoption

Callie Mitchell, a 25-year-old photographer from Iowa, USA, made the heart-wrenching decision to give her newborn son up for adoption.

She said it was a “surprise” to find out she was pregnant but herself and her boyfriend decided it was fate telling them it was time to start a family together.

However, their relationship didn’t work out, Callie says her “countless lies” were to blame.

She documented her pregnancy and the moment she handed her son over to his new adoptive parents.

Callie’s introduction to her online photo journal reads:

My name is Callie Mitchell. I'm a 25-year-old photographer from Cedar Rapids with a dream to wander the world to capture the minuscule moments of my surroundings. But my dream was momentarily interrupted. A spontaneous moment leading to an unplanned life change. Not a mistake. Definitely a surprise. No matter how in love the father and I were, no matter if we were meant for each other or not, we didn't have a fighting chance after my countless lies.

And so I placed this marvelous creature in the hands of people I knew would love him the way I would and care for him in ways I could not. This sense of sadness that I foster -- it's my fault. I wasn't living right. This is my baby, but he's not my child.

In the photo essay, My Baby, Not My Child, Callie shares photos from the early stages of her pregnancy, from the initial joy to her boyfriend’s departure and from her early decision to keep the child to her choice of adoptive parents.

 

To read Callie's full diary, click here.