Of those who are unable to bring life to the world, this mother chooses to nurture a child she was blessed with. She chose to love through adoption.
Written by Ashley Tan | Photos Courtesy of Chew Wei Wei
To many, adoption is not an option. But for Chew Wei Wei, it was her best option.
The 45-year-old business owner has always wanted a family. The couple had tried all available ways, but to no avail. After her late mother-in-law fell gravely ill, she encouraged them to consider adoption. Shortly before her passing in January 2021, the couple promised her that they would look into adoption.
Answering Their Prayer
Married for 17 years, the couple constantly prayed for a miracle to have their own children, but it did not happen. Akin to ‘Pinocchio’, Geppetto, the lonely puppet maker who had prayed for the wooden puppet he had made to be “a real little boy”, the couple, too, had their prayers answered.
Wei Wei and her husband embarked on the adoption journey, keeping true to their greatest desire to start a family.
Inevitable Worries
“I think it is the fear of the unknown, whether we will get a favourable report from the ministry. We were unsure, but we just went through with it,” said Wei Wei of the initial worries they had.
“When we received the report from MSFD, we were delighted and I thought ‘That’s great!’.
Wei Wei and her husband had feared that they, as adoptive parents, would come up short in loving the adopted child as the baby would not be their biological offspring.
She also worried if the adopted child had any impairments or lifelong disabilities. They worried if they would be able to handle the responsibility and duties in caring for the child.
“I think it is that faith in us.”
When the desire to nurture a child of their own greatly outweighed their fears, Wei Wei and her husband were ultimately driven towards a chance to give all the love they had to the child they would meet.
A Clear Road Ahead
Thankfully for Wei Wei and her husband, the Ministry of Social and Family Development’s (MSFD) processes helped them through the adoption process smoothly.
“For us, we decided to parent the first baby that was matched to us’”, said Wei Wei in matching with a baby.
The process took them around nine months to finally bring their baby home on 11 May 2022.
The Truth & Beauty Of It All
“We don’t know what we don’t know.”
Wei Wei compared parenting an adopted child to what she imagines parenting a biological child. She said that if given the chance to birth her own children, she would have the same worries about the infant.
“It’s just as beautiful as having your own biological children.”
Today, Wei Wei and her husband have focused their attention in life towards baby Kai Kai. She has rearranged her daily routine to cater to her baby.
“We are caring and responsible for another life. We have to prioritise our baby boy so we have to factor time into our daily routine to ensure the baby is loved, nurtured and taken care of very well.”
The addition to the family has brought changes to the couple’s life, and they enjoy every moment of it.