Adoption Preparation/Waiting

wds

We are currently "waiting" for our child from China.  We still are working to complete our dossier, but it is moving along nicely.  We are doing special needs, so our time is uncertain and may be impacted by many variables.  Our agency bases "wait estimates" and placement order on the date our medical checklist was submitted.  This was 2 months ago.  Our likely wait time will be 1-2 years from that date.  I would like to begin to purchase some items now, so that we can do this gradually during our wait period.  It will help financially (look for deals!) and also will help to not stress to run and buy everything all at once later.  PLUS it is just fun and makes the process a little more exciting and real than just paperwork! Where I am going with this............. What items would you suggest looking for first?  We will be welcoming either a boy or girl age 2 or under.  It is unlikely that the child will be under 1 year by the time he/she arrives home. 

Thank you!

Dr.Loretta

Our Big 4 were a crib, stroller, car seat, and pack n play. You'll likely need most of those, but I'd wait on a car seat until you have more info on your child's size and needs.

And you can always use this time to decorate the nursery

sgb721

I would perhaps take the money and each week start putting it into a seperate account for the first year. By then you might be matched and waiting for travel, thus you may know the gender, height, and weight of your child, so that you can shop for things that will be appropriate for them- also taking into consideration any special needs.

Car seats have expiration dates. You're going to want to look for a convertible seat so that when you bring your child home, S/He can be rear facing as long as possible. (Safest). So you might as well wait a bit before buying on to get the longest life out of it. Also, research as different seats fit better in different cars for different children, etc. Try the Fb page - Car seats for Little's.

nlscroggins

we started first with the car seat/stroller (travel system), since you will need something to bring them home in! then next would be crib for me. definitely depends on the age of the child. it's definitely an exciting time!

sumati

We bought all of the major furniture for the nusery and did most of the decorating as well.  Our adoption was super last minute.  We only had 12 hours notice before taking our baby home.  Having most of the big things really helped out.  

We held off on buying a car seat since they expire.  We had a few bottles and gender neutral things.  We cloth diaper and I had a full cloth diaper stash waiting as well.

I'm all for buying up and nesting!!!  If we didn't have all the stuff we already did, I have no idea how we could have gotten everything in such a short amount of time.

lorifromwi

@sumati Only 12 hours?  I thought I had it bad with 48!  Holy cats!

sumati

@lorifromwi, we finished our home study that morning and got the call that afternoon and met/took home our daughter the next day.  It was crazy pants crazy! LOL

justjinny

We started with furniture for the room - crib, dresser, glider etc. then sort of just let things sit until we were matched.  You could probably also do things like decorations, bedding & collecting kids books before you know the gender.  We bought a lot of our starter stuff gender neutral and would recommend it since the clothing and toys will be useful for other LO's in the future.

I am all on board with finding deals!  We were lucky that there's a Once Upon a Child in our area that is a HUGE second hand store.  We didn't buy a single "new" piece of clothing and also got a bunch of used toys, a pack n' play and a baby hiking carrier there for a fraction of the new price.  If you have the time, you can also watch Craigslist for strollers and other play things (toddler pools, play sets etc.) since people are always getting rid of these items for much much less than new costs.

If you are comfortable with it, you could start a baby registry too.  Babies R Us has an option to register for adoption and the deals on registry items & returns are for a year.  MH & I didn't register for our fist but I do kinda wish I had done that - they give you a list of commonly used items (helpful when you don't know where to start) and I think it's also fun to poke around the store to "window shop" the toys and clothes and get a little more of the fun expectant-parent experience.  You could do some research on car seats or other items you'll want new and see the products in person there, then be ready with a list of "must buys" already for you when you get your match.  For me that list alone would have been helpful since I could have just ordered things online from Target or wherever that I had already decided on and had less of a stressful rush to get everything after our match.

wds

Thanks everyone! Very helpful info. We will like have about 10-12 weeks once we are matched since its international. Now that I have heard 12 hours that seems like a long time! Haha. I know there will still be a lot to do at that point (including preparing for a 3 week trip to China!). We ended up buying a crib (4 in 1 since we may not need a crib very long) and dresser. Baby Depot at Burlington Coat Factory had great prices! It was exciting just to get a couple of things. I never thought of it as nesting, but yes it basically is. After 4 years of TTC with no luck (and many bad test results) it is just great to finally feel in control and like we are making forward progress!!!