Wait time from match to placement questions....

Bosanquet · February 2011

Hey ladies,

DH and I have now finished our application and are waiting to be matched with a social worker through our agency so that we can really get the ball rolling. It'll be a few months before we are officially "on the list."

I was wondering how long those of you who did domestic adoption waited before you were matched? Then, how long before you brought your LO home?

Any info would be awesome!! Thanks!

katiejo11 · February 2011

how exciting!

we were officially waiting on Dec 23 2008, mathched March 5, 2009 and LO was born May 12, 2009, we brought him home from the hospital on the 14th.

such an exciting time, good luck to you!

Temp206787500007404 · February 2011

We started the process in August 2008.

We were matched in June 2009.

DD was born in November 2009.

FinallyMrs.G · February 2011

Congratulations!! That's very exciting.

We went active in Oct 09 and were matched Oct. 2010.

Placement took place three weeks later.

Good luck to you!

slaintexas · February 2011

We were approved in January 2008. We matched 10 months later in November 2008. DD was born 8 weeks later (in January 2009). We were in the delivery room and spent the first 48 hours with her in the hospital, but because the birth father wouldn't return any calls or sign any paperwork, she went in transition care until his rights could be terminated by the court. She came home to us 31 days after her birth.

Dr.Loretta · February 2011

Our profile went active 12/15/2009.

We were matched 3/4/2010 with a baby who had already been born.

We took her home 3/5/2010.

Bosanquet · February 2011

Thanks for all the replies ladies! Our agency says that they typically match within 12 months.

Dr. Loretta, did you have a nursery set-up prior to finding out, or did you do it after? To find out and have a baby the next day must have been unreal!

DH and I have talked about how much we want to have set-up beforehand since there's always the chance of getting a call to head down to the hospital.....

Amy720 · February 2011

We started the process in January 2006. We went active April 2006. We were matched May 2006 (the baby was due in November). This match didn't work out. After taking some time off and exploring some other options, we went active again in May 2007 and we got the call June 4th, 2007 about a baby who was a day old. Ben was placed with us on June 5th, 2007 from the hospital.

Good luck!! I hope it's a short wait.

PS I know you had a question directed at Dr. Loretta, but I just wanted to say that we didn't have anything except a few onesies when we got the call about Ben. We stopped at Walmart on the way out of town. We had to travel 12 hours and stay for 10 days in a hotel. Everything was fine. We did our nursery and created our registry and had baby showers when Ben was about 6 weeks old. It's also fine to go ahead and be completely ready. It just depends on you.

jacksjerseygirl · February 2011

As you'll see everyone is different.

November 2008: Agency application

End of March 2009: home study and all background checks complete/submitted/approved

Expected to go active for awaiting match: 5/15/2009

Received a phone call for baby boy born: 4/30/2009

So in our case, we were parents in about 5 months from application until baby in our arms. We had not officially started 'waiting' for a match, we hadn't planned to go 'active' until about a month after our home study was approved.

ETA: At the time we lived in NJ and our son was born in NY. We were in NY (on the border) about 20 minutes from our HOME in a hotel for about 1.5 weeks. It would have been sooner but NY lost the package from NJ. I think in general they say 2 weeks but I know some states are much slower.

Good luck!!

Dr.Loretta · February 2011

Bosanquet:

Dr. Loretta, did you have a nursery set-up prior to finding out, or did you do it after? To find out and have a baby the next day must have been unreal!

DH and I have talked about how much we want to have set-up beforehand since there's always the chance of getting a call to head down to the hospital.....

I'm glad Amy chimed in, because there have been a lot of different situations just on this board.

when I was on this board getting our homestudy done, people suggested getting some things ahead of time just in case. An acquaintance who had a super quick match strongly encouraged having at least some basics. We got the Big 4 during the homestudy--stroller, carseat, PacknPlay, and crib. We had a few other things--bottles, some onesies, some cloth diapers, that sort of thing.

The night we brought DD home, we had no crib mattress. DH went to WalMart and bought a crib mattress, bedding set, and every.single.item of clothing that said "newborn" on it. He did good

Bosanquet · February 2011

Thanks for the replies from everyone!

I think it's hilarious that you guys go to Walmart and pick everything up! I can't imagine walking in there and grabbing all the things that you think you need....

We have talked about finding a bassinet, car seat and some clothes. But for now, we start the homestudy processs!!!

silliestbunny · February 2011

Our wait was long.
Our file was active Jan 2009. We had three failed matches--

Matched in March 2010 for an Aug 2010 baby

Matched in September 2010 for a October 2010 and a Nov 2010 baby

And then finally we were matched on Dec 2 and our daughter was born Dec 7th. We welcomed a short wait after several heartbreaks.

Since we thought we were having a baby 3x prior, our nursery was set and ready to go (thank goodness for cute gender neutral themes!). BUT I totally agree that one quick Walmart or Target run (or one night online w/overnight shipping) can set you up if needed.

My suggestion which works for some... take your time and use your waiting time to enjoy creating a nursery. Don't rush it... since the timeline is unknown.