In this story:

• 'Premature' to discuss adoption
• Mom meets switched daughter
• Related stories and sites

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Virginia (CNN) -- The maternal grandparents of a 3-year-old girl who was switched at birth with another baby and then orphaned last month want to adopt the girl.

Genetic tests show that Rebecca Chittum is the biological daughter of Paula Johnson, who discovered last month the child she has been raising, Callie Johnson, was switched with Rebecca in the University of Virginia Medical Center.

The two girls were born a day apart in late June 1995.

Callie's biological parents are believed to be Whitney Rogers, 19, and Kevin Chittum, 25, who died July 4 in a car crash.

DNA tests have not yet determined whether Johnson's ex-boyfriend, Carlton Conley, 34, is Rebecca's biological father.

Rogers, left, and Chittum

'Premature' to discuss adoption

Rebecca has been living with her maternal grandparents -- that is, Whitney Rogers' parents -- since her mother and father were killed.

Until Tuesday, Rogers' family had held out hope that tests would show Rebecca was biologically related to them, but they said they weren't surprised by the results.

Now Rebecca's maternal grandparents want to adopt her, their lawyer said Tuesday.

"The goal is to place in stone the legal status of these children, and we need Rebecca's biological father or mother's consent for that," said the lawyer, W.T. Robey.

Michael Irvine, the attorney representing the Chittum family, said adopting Rebecca would be a logical step. But he said it was premature to discuss adoption until all the DNA tests are complete.

"The next step is that we've got to confirm DNA before we go off and make agreements. But it's not going to be a unilateral or adversarial kind of agreement as far as the Chittums are concerned," Irvine said. "My understanding is that everybody is still planning to work together."

Johnson could not be reached Tuesday night to comment on the adoption proposal.

Both families have said they will not wage a court battle for custody of the girls and planned on keeping the child they have, allowing liberal visitation on both sides.

Mom meets switched daughter

The girls met for the first time on Saturday, when Paula Johnson was reunited with Rebecca, her biological daughter.

The families have said they will not wage a court battle over custody of the girls and instead will forge an extended family in hopes that the girls will grow up as "sisters" knowing both families.

Separate investigations into the apparent switch were being conducted by university and state police and the Virginia Department of Health.

The hospital, which initially said the switch could not have happened accidentally because of identification procedures in place, said it is studying ways of improving its safeguards.

"Someone Else's Son" by Alan A. Winter "Garden of Lies" by Eileen Goudge "Daybreak" by Belva Plain Click here for additional reading on Switched at Birth