e014-Child by Choice – with Hina Khan and Dina Ottoni-Battistessa

Today we are talking about the concept that love is love and family is not defined by blood. Sabrina’s eldest was a ready-made, he is not “of her blood” however she thinks there is so much power in that. Their relationship is one of choice. She has chosen to see him as her son, and he has chosen to see her,as his mom. We have some incredible guests on the show today to talk about this very topic Hina Khan and Dina Ottoni-Battistessa. Hina is a success coach and a registered psychotherapist, her mission in life is to help people provoke meaningful and lasting change in their lives. She is often called, on various TV and radio outlets as an expert in the field of the mind, human behavior and human potential. Hina currently lives in Toronto with her husband, two boys and a stubborn dachshund. “It can be better than you expected!" ~Hina Khan     Dina has always been interested in child development and Education. After completing a degree in Liberal Arts and Women Studies, Dina went on to complete a Bachelor's Degree in Child Studies and Development. Although she loved her career working in the field, she needed to find a way to bridge her passion for being an entrepreneur with her advocacy and work in early learning and development. In 2014 Dina opened Akidemy Preschool which she co-owns with her best friend and business partner. She is also the mom behind the popular blog move.play.mom and she’s an upcoming co-author in You’ve got This, Boss Mama. When she’s not busy being a teacher, a mompreneur, writing or being a mom to 3 busy boys, you might just find her on site flipping or renovating homes with her hubby, Ben. There are so many ways to be a mom outside of having a blood connection. In this day and age, we see so many veering away from the traditional nuclear family and there truly is a movement towards LOVE first! Hina and her husband always felt a calling to adopt, it was something they knew they would do. Their eldest son is biological, but they started looking internationally to adopt a child. This was not working out for them, so they went to look locally at the Adoption Resource Exchange. There they have all the photos and information of all the children who are with Children’s Aid Society who need homes. She remembers looking through this binder full of children and seeing her younger sons picture and saying to her husband: “That’s him, that’s our son.” She claims as soon as she saw him she knew he was born for her. They were not the ideal candidates for him, but by the grace of God, they got approved. During this process, she would walk with her biological son with one hand, carry the picture of the boy who they wanted to bring home in her wallet and just think “What will it be like to walk with two boys?” Hina says that during this waiting period, she was ‘all-in’, she knew she would be devastated if they didn’t get approved so she didn’t try to hold back an emotional investment in the situation. To her, there was no way to ‘not get her hopes up’. They have kept an open relationship with his foster family and birth mom now because it is just more opportunities to surround him with people who love him. Hina feels that she cannot imagine a child more hers that she had birthed herself than her son who she adopted. It is a powerful concept surrounding love and she was able to manifest the son that was meant for her family. Hina feels: “It was a plan that got acted out but this plan was in place a long long time ago. That he was born for us.” You do not need blood to bind families together, it is love that creates families. You can choose your family too. There are estranged families that don’t talk to each other. And there are non-blood families who are very tight. Love is the secret weapon when it comes to family connection. Dina talks about the challenges she faces when some peop...