New here...where to begin?

toriwc

DH and I are currently experiencing our second and final m/c.  I know many women are able to endure this a few more times, but before I even got pregnant this time, we said this was it. So this isn't a heat of the moment decision.

Anyway...adoption is something we've only preliminarily discussed.  And honestly, I don't see it being seriously on the table for at least another month while we heal.  That being said, I am the researcher in the family, and googling "adoption" is overwhelming to say the least, and I don't have the slightest clue of really where to begin.

 My best friend (who is 65 years old) adopted her two children 30+ years ago, and while she's wonderful to talk to about adoption in general, the process is very different today than it was when she was going through it.  Other than her, I know absolutely no one first hand who has adopted.  My local board used to have two women who did international adoptions, but they haven't been around in ages.  For the record, we are potentially interested in domestic adoption, but not opposed to international.

 Thank you in advance for any insight you may have.

slaintexas

I sent you a PM with some domestic agency adoption info.

Dr.Loretta

Hi and welcome.

I'm sorry for your losses. You don't need to justify your path to adoption, we've all gotten here different ways and at different times.

A good start may be a beginner book like Adoption for Dummies, The Idiot's Guide to Adoption, etc. They tend to give good overviews of different types of adoption (foster, domestic, international) and routes to get there (lawyer, agency, facilitator, etc.). I found it to be a good resource to help clarify the route we wanted to take and start finding ways to get details.

There are informational seminars given in person, over the phone, and by web, by a variety of sources. Our first one was a teleseminar through resolve.org. I believe they have adoption podcasts. We also "attended" a webinar and an in-person seminar through an agency near us. These give you the opportunity to ask questions and hear common questions from others in on the talk.

I think after the first information seminar was when I was finally a bit less overwhelmed with surfing the Web. Keep in mind that you don't have to go with someone local, or even in your state. We worked with a regional agency that works in 7 states including our own. I've known people who have used national or regional agencies, facilitators not in their state, agencies in other states, etc. It's all in what works for you. Some may "click" with you better than others.

FWIW, we did domestic infant adoption in PA. If you want any additional info on DIA at any point, you can page me or PM me. There are others here who have done DIA as well, you should get a ton of resources. We also have people who have done international adoption, a few birthmoms, and a few adoptees, so there's a pretty decent representation on this board.

Welcome and good luck.

kgs0505

Just wanted to say hi!  And yes, you are in the right place!  This board has lots of info and support to offer.  As far as where to start Dr. L pretty much covered all the bases 

toriwc

Thank you all so much.  I  feel like I have a starting point now.

Dr.L, I am also in PA (but on the other side of the state I believe), so if you don't mind, if we progress down this road, I may try to contact you.

I don't know what more to say than thank you.