Yoder Family Adoption

Hi friends and family!

We've shared with very few that we are pursuing embryo adoption. We started the process in late August, and we are close to entering the matching phase, so the journey has been quicker than expected. That being said, we are so excited that it has gone quickly and smoothly, as we are getting closer to having an adopted baby of our own. We know that the timeline is not our own, but the Lord's, and we're thankful for His hand in our journey. Considering that we are just now about to enter the matching phase, we will have the bulk of our adoption costs due in the near future. We have decided to create an AdoptionBridge account to share with our friends and family. We don't expect anyone to donate, but rather, hope to share our story and provide a way to donate to our adoption cause if anyone feels led to. 

As newlyweds in 2023, we talked about our dreams of having children. Of course, like most couples, we wanted to have biological children first, and desired to pursue adoption later in life if the Lord so led us to do so. From the beginning, we were open to adoption, but we didn't know if it would be part of our story. Fast forward to the beginning of 2025, we found out that we are not able to have biological children. This news was hard for both of us, as one can imagine. We took months to grieve, tell our close friends and family, and pray that the Lord would give us peace and guidance on what He had planned for our family. 

As many know, I (Sidney) was a Mother/Baby nurse at Baptist Health Hospital for three years. Over the three years of serving moms and babies, I remember taking care of three women who had one thing in common- they had just given birth to their adopted baby. I had never heard of embryo adoption until I cared for these women on the postpartum floor. I remember going home after caring for that first mom and her adopted newborn baby and sharing with Noah how amazing it was that she was able to carry, give birth to, and breastfeed her adopted baby. This experience was before we learned that we were infertile, but the Lord was definitely working on our hearts from early on.

In the summer of 2025, we sat down with a fertility specialist who told us that I (Sidney) could carry a healthy pregnancy to term. IVF was never an option for us, but we longed to experience the birth of a child of our own. After much thought, prayer, and conversation, we felt the Lord calling us to embryo adoption. We applied to the Snowflake Nightlight Program in August of 2025. As of this month, we have completed our embryo adoption home study and are awaiting approval to enter the matching phase. 

We noticed as we entered this journey that many aren't aware of what embryo adoption is. Had we not had the experience that we did, we wouldn't either. So briefly, embryo adoption is the adoption of frozen embryos that are a result of an IVF procedure. Many families who pursue IVF have more embryos than they wish to have children, so some decide to choose an adoptive family for their remaining frozen embryos. These embryos are simply tiny humans who are waiting to be adopted, implanted, and grown. The embryo will not have any genetic ties to us, but amazingly, he/she can be implanted into my (Sidney) womb and grow.

We firmly believe that embryo adoption is a beautiful representation of the sanctity of life. God has made each of these embryos unique, and we are so excited and hopeful that we will be able to give some of them a chance at life beyond the freezer. Thank you so much for reading our story and supporting us along the way. We would appreciate prayers for our family during this journey. We love and appreciate every one of you!

-Noah and Sidney