We spent years trying for a baby - one internet search changed everything

When Dani and her husband Liam* talked about their future, they always imagined they would have children. What they hadn't factored in was how difficult that would be.

To this day, the pair don't know they can't conceive naturally - but they do know it was incredibly 'challenging' for them when they tried. As their yearning for a family grew stronger and seemed less likely, they each separately took to the internet, searching for a glimmer of hope.

They had both decided to research adoption - something Dani said she was always aware she 'might' do. She had no idea her husband was also actively looking into it. The couple are now parents to Eric*, a two-year-old boy, and Dani spoke to the Manchester Evening News about their journey through the adoption process.

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"I've always had kind of like an underlying feeling that I would adopt at some point in my life, but I didn't realise that it would be my only route to having a child," Dani said. "We tried to conceive, and we don't know that we can't conceive, but we know that for us it was challenging.

"We both inquired about adoption the same time, but separately, so it was really bizarre. It was just kind of the right time, obviously, for us both", she said.

Dani and Liam spoke to a number of different agencies, but eventually settled on Together for Adoption, who serve the Cheshire West and Chester, Halton, St Helens, Warrington and Wigan areas. Around two years ago, in 2022, they attended the agency's information session, and instantly knew they were the 'right' place for them.

"I think there's so many reasons why people don't consider adoption," Dani said. "And I