Mike and I decided that we wanted to add to our family. Neither one of us was eager to try domestic adoption because of the legal risks. We decided to look into international adoption. We researched various agencies and immediately eliminated the agency that told us one of us would have to stay home for a year and that we needed to be able to finance the adoption without loans. That agency obviously wanted to be able to say that all of its clients are wealthy. We told Jason about our plans to adopt the day before Thanksgiving. He was very excited although he did try to convince us that it would be better to get a brother than a sister. We told our families on Thanksgiving. My mom said it was the best Christmas present she could have gotten.
December 2004
I went to two agency information meetings. Lynn came with me to Wide Horizons for Children and Mike came to MAPS. I liked both agencies but we went with WHFC because it had 3 programs that we were interested in. Korea only allows a few agencies to handle adoptions and WHFC is the only one that operates in MA. We sent in our application fee and received a packet of information to fill out. We had to write our autobiography, get physicals, CORI reports, and ask 3 people who knew both of us but were not related to write references for us. Thank you Lynn, Jamie and Margaret!! Once we got that paperwork together, we sent it in and were assigned a social worker.
January 2005
Mike & I met with our social worker, Karen. She asked us questions about our relationship with each other and with Jason as well as about our childhoods. The meeting lasted about 2 hours but wasn't too bad.
February 2005
We went to our pre-adoptive workshop where the group leader discussed different issues associated with adoption. We talked about prejudices that we may run into both from strangers and family and friends, attachment, the referral process and what the day will be like when we meet our daughter. It was a good meeting but very long (4 hours). Afterward, I met with Karen for our individual interview. She asked more questions about my childhood and how I feel I am as a parent. Mike will be going on his next week. On 2/6, we finally decided on a program. While the Guatemala program has some definite pros, I'm very drawn to China. I think that based on our community and the stability of the China adoption process, this is the best choice. We attended an international adoption medical clinic workshop at the New England Medical Center where the speaker discussed many of the medical issues we may encounter (www.nemc.org/adoption). It was very informative although a bit overwhelming to hear all the things that can go wrong. It did end on a positive note and the doctor showed pictures of children she's seen that are so adorable. We are going to bring the referral information to her when we get it and then bring our daughter into the clinic for a medical and developmental evaluation when we get back from China.
March 2005
We finished getting our physicals. Karen came to our house for our home visit. That went very smoothly. I hired Maid Clean to come in a few days before and do a top to bottom cleaning that was awesome. We're going to have them come monthly. I figure if I don't have the time to get on my hands and knees now to scrub the kitchen, how am I going to have the time when I have a baby in the house? I think it'll be money well spent. Jason talked her ear off and loved showing her around the house. Karen told us that she has been laid off and we'll be getting another social worker. We met the other social worker at our pre-adopt meeting and she was very nice so I'm sure that'll work out fine. I am sorry for Karen though. Karen told us that Boston USCIS where we have to get our I600A and get fingerprinted is way behind schedule so it looks like our dossier won't be ready to go to China for about 3 months. That was disappointing. Right now, we're figuring we'll be going to China early next year. It just seems to take SO long.
April 2005
I went into BCIS on 4/13 (Mike's birthday!) to get fingerprinted. I got there when it opened and was processed very quickly. There was already a line when I got there but the woman telling everyone where to go saw my paperwork specified adoption and moved me to the first group to go in. They had trouble getting a print off one of my fingers but it worked eventually. Mike was fingerprinted on 4/14. I've indulged in a little shopping. I bought a crib and some bedding. I also picked up a couple dresses that were just so cute.
May 2005
Nothing more has happened yet. We're still waiting for our fingerprints to come back. We were told it'll take about 7-8 weeks. I'm making the time pass by shopping, browsing adoption forums and checking out China travel. When we go to China, we're going to go a couple days early so that we get used to the time change before we get the baby. We might even go to Disneyland Hong Kong!
June 2005
We received our 797C on 6/7 - 1 day short of 8 weeks! Now we have to wait for WHFC to send us the notarized copy. Then we can take the next step. 6/26 - We just got back from Niagara Falls (beautiful trip!) and found the notarized copy waiting for us. Next step is to send it to the Secretary of State.
July 2005
We sent our dossier off to the secretary of state and received it back certified within a week. Before we went to NH for a week, we sent it off to the Chinese Consulate in NY. When we got home, I found a brown envelope from the Consulate in Guangzhou with information about applying for the baby's visa. I was surprised to get this as I didn't think the brown envelope usually comes until after DTC. 7/25 - We received our dossier back from the Chinese Consulate in NY authenticated. We went to a photography store downtown and got the 2 passport picture we need to send with it to the agency. Tomorrow we'll send it to WHFC and we should definitely be in the August shipment to China!!
August 2005
8/10 - we are DTC!!!! It is currently taking 7 months for a referral which means next March we should get the good news! We went to a Waiting Families meeting Wednesday night. These are meetings for everyone who has finished their homestudy and been approved to continue the process. There were three families there who had traveled in July - 1 from Guatemala and 2 from China. The kids were absolutely adorable!! One tip I got from one of the moms who went to China was to bring a bathing suit for the baby if we want to go anywhere near the pool (not necessarily in). Having a swim diaper doesn't matter; the baby has to be wearing a bathing suit. One mom said she put a onesie on the child over the swim diaper so the baby would be covered and that wasn't good enough. Another mom had brought and put a bathing suit on her daughter but it was a couple sizes too big and falling off of her - that was fine.
8/30 - We're logged in by the CCAA (Chinese adoption agency).
September 2005
I'm going to the montly Waiting Families meetings at our agency. I've met some really nice people and will miss them when they stop coming. Several families received referrals so we got to look at pictures of the babies and heard about where they're from and the information that was passed onto them. I can't wait until it's our turn! I've been keeping busy taking sewing classes. I was going to start off with a baby blanket for our daughter but Jason wanted the first one so I made him a Star Wars blanket. It came out very nice if I do say so myself*S*
October 2005
No new news. I completed the baby's blanket and am working on a capelet for her. The blanket has a red backing and the top is pink with butterflies, daisies and ladybugs.
January 2006
CCAA has started only sending referrals for 1/2 a month at a time. I've been going to the Waiting Families meetings at WHFC which is sort of like a support group. Lasalette and John brought their baby Emma this month. She's only been home 2 months; what a wonderful little girl! She was so happy at the meeting and smiled at everyone. She wanted to come to until she found out that she couldn't eat my sticker*S* Seeing the babies reminds us that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
April 2006
I haven't updated lately because there isn't much to report and it's a bit depressing. Referrals are consisting of a few days at a time now rather than even 1/2 a month. There are rumors flying everywhere on the internet. Our agency is still saying 8-12 months which I'm crossing my fingers is true. I saw one rumor online where someone said their agency told them (LID 8/5/05) that get a referral in October. If the current trend kept up, that could mean we wouldn't get one until next year. Pray that doesn't happen. I'm making a 100 Good Wishes Quilt to help pass the time. I've joined a yahoo forum specifically geared toward this and joined several quilt square swaps. It's very addictive*S* I love getting the squares in the mail. There's a Waiting Families meeting next week that I'm going to and hopefully will get some new information. I've only missed 2 of the meetings since I started going and those were because Mike was working and they're on school nights.
