In Episode 57 of Footprints on our Hearts, I welcome Ruth Hopkins back to the podcast! Ruth was my guest in Episode 4, when we talked about her ectopic pregnancy, her son, Dexter, who was stillborn, and her subsequent miscarriage. Last year, Ruth and Dave decided to apply to become adoptive parents and Ruth kindly agreed to come back onto the podcast to talk about the process their went through and the emotional aspect of deciding to grow their family in a different way. In the interview, we talk about: Ruth’s experience of baby loss and unexplained secondary infertility (05:05) Why they decided to explore adoption (17.33) The process Ruth and Dave went through to become prospective adoptive parents (21:55) How counselling has helped her process her grief and put her in a position to empathise with children who have been through traumatic experiences (31:45) Finding out they’d been approved as p (38:23) De-Dextering Dexter’s room and preparing their home for a new child (47:25) Coming to terms with not being able to involve Dexter in their child’s life in the same way as they would have done had he had a biological sibling (53.05) You can connect with Ruth on Instagram @ruth_and_her_bear and @born_from_the_heart. Thanks to Izzy Syme for editing and producing the show.  If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a rating or review on your podcast app! You can connect with me on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/footprintsonourhearts/), Twitter (https://twitter.com/skyesfootprints) or email alison@footprintsonourhearts.com. You can support the show on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/footprintsonourhearts