Hello, Hope! @HodaKotb introduces baby daughter No. 2 https://t.co/XcHJ2rHMDr
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) April 16, 2019
I so appreciate Hoda Kotb. She is just so happy and genuinely joyful. In fact she gave her first daughter, little Haley whom she adopted two years ago, the middle name Joy. Hoda has spoken about how much Haley changed her life, and how quickly she’s grown. So it makes me so happy to see that she’s adopted another baby! Hoda and her partner, Joel Schiffman. just adopted a little girl they named Hope Catherine. I got choked up just looking at the photo and am even more teary after listening to Hoda call in to The Today Show with the announcement. Here’s some of what she said and you can watch a clip below.
Hoda [crying] it’s a girl. Her name is Hope. She’s laying on the Boppy pillow right now. I’m feeding her, and I can’t believe it. I’m so happy she’s here!”
This morning at breakfast, (Haley) was trying to feed (Hope) her raspberries, and I was like, Not yet, babe. She was literally marching around saying, ‘I’m a big sister!’ She did try and crawl into her bassinet.
You know what’s funny? You think that you’re full. That’s exactly how I felt with Haley and Joel and everything. Joel and I were standing there when they hand you the baby, and it’s the closest thing to a live birth you’ll ever see, but in that moment, I was like, ‘Oh, my God, my heart just grew.’ It’s amazing. I can’t believe it’s happening.
[Some quotes via People]
Hoda has been open about wanting another baby and I’m happy that this worked out for her. My name is Katie so I’m also glad she gave her baby the middle name Catherine, which she said was in honor of her best friend. Hope is a sweet first name too. Little Hope is going to have a wonderful life with Hoda as her mom, Joel as her dad, and Haley as a big sister. I love stories like this.
Aw I’m so happy for her! Hope Catherine is such a lovely name.
Lovely family.
Adorable! I love adoption stories! My middle name is Katherine – it is a lovely name :-).
Katherine is my middle name too! For my mom’s mom 🙂
I love the kiddie mess in the background of Hoda’s picture. 🙂 She seems truly happy, so good for her.
Me too! Their house looks so normal. I love it
Hoda’s exuberance at everything has always been so infectious but her becoming a Mom has been next level joyous. Sooo happy for her darling family!
Wonderful!
Yayyyyy Hoda!!!
I’m so happy for her. What a great woman.
I love her. Congrats
The more we normalize adoption as a potential option, the better. Now, making it more affordable and accessible is the next step.
Veronica,
Fost-adopt (adoption through the foster care system) is very affordable. There are grants and loans available for special needs adoptions and “special needs” can be very, very manageable. Many companies provide adoption cost assistance for their employees.
(For what it’s worth, I’m a mom through adoption, both domestic and international, and I am very involved with an agency that places kids from overseas and the US).
Yes! And adoption is much better for the environment!
Congratulations! I love good news like this. I’m so happy for Haley. Welcome to the Big Sister Club.
This is so great.
First, congratulations! Those girls are going to have very nice lives, but, I’ll be the first one to say it. She’s 54. Hopefully she will be alive a long time so she can see her girls grow up. Luckily, she has resources to help her with night feedings and everything that goes into raising a baby.
Where did she get those brown children?
I hope the children did not come from a faith-based adoption agency that deals in Latin American children.
https://mavenroundtable.io/theintellectualist/news/migrant-children-are-being-given-to-an-adoption-agency-linked-to-betsy-devos-9j_wI0EkdEuS55b6qnzwsA/
Any little brown children who are adopted right now need the scrutiny given today’s political climate. It’s wonderful that she is happy, and I’m sure that those children will have a wonderful life, but putting one’s head in the sand right now is easy but incorrect.
So, though I have no idea where those children came from, I will say that I do hope that the adoption was ethical and above-board.
I love that Today has treated Hoda’s daughters (and their birth/adoption announcements) no differently than if Hoda gave birth to them. Further normalizing adoption, showing people hey the people you care about, and all these strangers even, will be just as thrilled for you, just as accepting. And listen to this mom and how overjoyed she is. God I just love her.
When so many women have to comb Russian & Eastern orphanages to find tots to adopt its great that Hoda seems to have got her own production line going at home. I just dont understand how a woman can just produce a child out of nowhere & ppl dont ask how. Just look at what goes on in China & even Argentina in the past.
Just because she didn’t put every detail of how/when/where her daughter was born and adopted into the tiny little Today segment doesn’t mean that she “just produce(d) a child out of nowhere.” I’m willing to bet that the wheels were set in motion for this adoption months or years before it was finalized, and that Hoda used a reputable agency to assist. Yes, she has lots of money, which can smooth the way and expedite things somewhat, but there is no evidence that these were international adoptions or done in a shady manner. The US is a diverse place (despite the best efforts of the current idiot in the WH) and it’s entirely likely that her daughters were born and placed for adoption in the US.
Wow – lots of misinformation here.
Babies don’t just pop up out of nowhere – it’s a highly regulated process. To adopt, you must have a home study. To place a child for adoption, you either have to use a licensed agency or an attorney. You can’t just get a baby (brown or otherwise) off of Amazon.com.
Even in today’s climate.
Sure, Jan.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/deported-parents-may-lose-kids-adoption-investigation-finds-n918261
Also, do take a look at my earlier comment. Betsy Devos and her Christian adoption center have been clearly identified as culprits in this scheme.
Here’s another report:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/adoption-diaries/201807/separating-children-immigrants-and-unethical-adoptions
I could go on but I’ll stop and simply say that I do not trust when brown babies are “adopted” in this political climate.
I don’t know, Frida. I understand your concern, but I am a brown person who was adopted. I was born in the U.S.
My husband and I are looking into the adoption process now, and there are MANY, MANY, MANY brown babies who need to be adopted right here in the U.S. — all above board.
Yes, there are many shady options. But for upper-middle-class people who want to do it legally, there are abundant options that don’t involve Devos’ shady options.
Karen2 – well, for starters, you DON’T adopt from Russian orphanages. Most reputable agencies abolished their Russian adoptions years ago because of unethical practices. If someone is “combing” an orphanage in Eastern Europe for children, they are likely doing something very wrong.
Furthermore, there has never been a shortage of American-born, non-Caucasian children who are available for adoption. The problem has never been a lack of available non-white children, the problem is that there are not enough American parents willing to adopt mixed race (particularly African-American) babies.
So the fact that she adopted a “brown” baby is not suspicious at all – those are the children who are placed for adoption and HAVE BEEN for many years prior to the current administration.
This! I was a mixed-race brown baby when I was adopted. I was lucky to get adopted! Since I was mixed race, very few black or white families wanted me (as most people want a child that “fits” into their family). There is no shortage of mixed-race kids up for adoption. It’s great that Hoda and Joel adopted these ladies!
What a freaking mean comment!
Congrats to their family!
Hoda seems like a very nice woman. I’m glad she’s found such happiness.
Congrats to her. I had really hoped perhaps this one would have been an older child. Older children rarely get adopted and end up on the street as soon as they turn 18. Of course everyone wants to adopt a fresh new baby they can shape and mold. These two little girls are very lucky to have been adopted by Hoda…she seems like an amazing mom and just a great all around person.
I’m so happy for her! Hoda just seems like a wonderful person