Since our adoption announcement, we've received a lot of questions, so I thought I'd compile some basic ones here. If there is anything that I haven't answered, please comment below! We are very open to talking about our adoption and the process, and I love to do so (now that I can, I don't want to stop! Can you tell I've been anxiously waiting to blog about this?).
Q : Where are you adopting from?
A : We are in a domestic program, meaning that the child will be from the United States. As of right now, we have limited our referrals to New York State, but may open it up to other states as time goes on.
Q : Do you know the baby yet?
A : No, we do not know the baby yet. We haven't received any referrals because...
Q : Where in the process are you?
A : ...we are finishing up our paperwork. There are two phases to our adoption. Phase 1 : paperwork/home study. Phase 2 : waiting period. We have completed almost all of our paperwork (including fingerprinting, background checks, document gathering, form filling out, doctor's appointments). Left to do: Col's physical and medical form, medical grid (appointment with our pediatrician this week), home study visits, and our profile book.
[check out our adoption timeline on our home page, next to the "about us" tab]
Q : Boy or girl?
A : We are open to either gender.
Q : What age child are you looking to adopt?
A : We are enrolled in the newborn infant program, meaning we will be bringing our new bundle home at a few days old, most likely from the hospital or agency.
Q : How long will you have to wait?
A : This is the hardest question to answer. There is no estimated wait time, as birth mothers choose the family they would like to place their child with. There are many factors that go into receiving a referral, so I'll give a quick overview. As part of our paperwork, we have filled out grids which list what medical history/exposure, gender, race, and level of openness with the adoption that we are open to. The agency uses these grids to match us with cases. Our adoption advocate will call us with a case, give us the details, and ask if we would like to be profiled. If we say yes, the birth mother will be given our profile book along with others. We are chosen from our book. We could be picked by a birth mother who is 6 months along in her pregnancy, or 8 months along, or who just gave birth. So we could have a few months notice, or we could find out and have to travel to pick up our baby the next day!
Q : What can we do to help?
A : Right now, please pray for us. We need to finish our profile book as soon as we can, and I'm nervous about the home study visit even though everyone who has been through the process says it's nothing to be nervous about. Pray for the birth mother and our future child. And pray that we are able to look into grants for funding ASAP! Lastly, being supportive and interested is help enough as well! Thanks!
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