“He is the fruit of my heart”, the love story between Astrid Fontenelle and her adopted son proves that being a mother goes beyond giving birth

In the dictionary, adopt is a transitive verb that means “to welcome, to take as a child, to choose and follow”. But in real life, the concept goes far beyond that. For many people, it’s a way to achieve the dream of motherhood; for others, personal fulfillment and love for others. Now, regardless of motivations, one thing seems to be unanimous among all: the decision to adopt is, above all, a great act of love.

It was with this in mind that the incredible.club Today I bring you the story of Astrid Fontenelle and her son Gabriel, which proves how adoption is capable of completely transforming people’s lives. Check it out below and get excited with us!

It wasn’t overnight that the idea of ​​adopting appeared in Astrid’s life, the desire was something present since she was very young, and it came true in 2008, when she managed to finalize the process and finally became Gabriel’s mother: “ I had a very strong desire to be a mother. I didn’t have belly envy, I didn’t want to have a belly, none of that. I wanted to be a mother. And I always thought I would adopt, ever since I was a kid.”

In an interview, the presenter says that at the time (December 2007), she had prepared everything necessary to get an interview with the Vara da Infância e Juventude, but was startled when she found out that it would only be scheduled in June 2008, more than After 6 months. However, the game was about to “turn” for the girl, in an unexpected, but very opportune occasion.

In the same period, Astrid traveled to Bahia in order to attend João Gilberto’s show. And, seizing the opportunity, she took the documents for adoption and also handed them over to the State Court. At the time, she reports that one of the local employees asked her to wait to talk to the judge, which took an average of an hour and a half.

“In the conversation, the judge told me that he had a child to be adopted. I was in the right place at the right time. The judge even told me that he kept me waiting to test my patience. Imagine, little did he know that he had been waiting a long time to have a child. On the same day, I met Gabriel🇧🇷 I believe it was the universe conspiring in favor of people (…)”

Although she did not generate Gabriel, Fontenelle explains that her feelings would not have been different if he had been conceived in her womb: “I don’t even know how to describe the moment we looked at each other. I think it is very comparable to the moment when you receive the baby you just gave birth to.” She also reports that the crying stopped at the exact moment her son stopped in her arms. “I understood in his calm that he was my son. Made for me. We were meant to be together.”

“Every day you fall more in love. I didn’t have a baby in my belly, but I can assure you that there is no difference between feelings. It didn’t come out of the belly, it came out of the heart.” As for the changes that motherhood brought to her, she is quite sincere and summarizes the dimension of this process in a few, but significant words: “(It changed) Everything. I discovered the real meaning of the word love. I lived intense love stories, but the day you have a child, you realize the unconditional and growing love, and how the rest becomes small.”

When, at the age of 47, she decided that it would be time to adopt a child, Astrid didn’t expect that it would stop being a single experience and become a duo. And even though she filed the adoption papers alone, over time it became a two-person project. But anyone who believes it took too long is wrong. Fausto, Fontenelle’s then-new boyfriend, also adopted Gabriel when he was only 40 days old.

“Fausto had to adopt Gabriel, because until then he was Gabriel Fontenelle de Brito, my son. On the identity card, only the mother’s name. Then, to have Fausto’s name, I’m not the one who will go to the registry office and ask to add it, it’s another adoption process.” She has already said that he is an important male presence for the boy and that, regardless of anything, he believes that a family does not need to be ‘square’, what is needed is attention. “I would have had Gabriel alone or accompanied. I always wanted and knew that I would be the mother of an adopted child ”, she adds.

On more than one occasion, Astrid commented that being a mother was one of the best things that ever happened in her life. However, it is not new that parenting is one of the great challenges of motherhood — and, even though it may not have been different with Gabriel, on social media, the family shows that he has become a responsible boy full of personality! “The creation of a new man is super important for this new society that we want: egalitarian and happy for everyone. I try to prepare Gabriel to know how to live in it without suffering and without making him suffer”, says Astrid.

About the routine, he says that he is present in all the recordings, both those that take place at the Airport and those that take place in the Saia Justa studio. And, if there’s still something to do at home, he doesn’t stop helping and giving tips on what’s being done. And, of course, music is also part of their daily lives, but at times they seem to differ in taste: “We listen to a lot of music. I think that’s what we like the most. Gabriel is more pop, I am more R&B and MPB”, he adds.

It is common for many people to think that telling the child about the adoption is a delicate moment. But this process does not always happen this way — sometimes, parents have been working on the subject since their children’s early years, and thus a taboo is not created about it. What happened to Astrid and Gabriel. “In the adoption process, one of the first things you’re asked is, ‘Are you going to tell your child?’ Because there was a time when this was hidden and it didn’t work. Of course you count. And I tell him whenever there is a need, ”she reports.

And he also claims that they ‘talked’ the first time he picked him up: “You’re going with me, you’re my son from now on”. The presenter complements by saying that he was crying, but stopped when she had him in her arms, because “they need affection”. And, with the visible happiness of belonging to a loving family full of good stories to tell, we have no doubt that affection, love and companionship made all the difference in Gabriel’s (and also Astrid’s) life. Proving that being a mother goes beyond generating. And how would she say: “He is the fruit of my heart”, where the origin of all kinds of love happens, right?

Do you know any other exciting stories involving adoption? Have you ever had or want to adopt? Tell us in the comments! We’d love to know!