Very early in the game - intro
Hello!
I must be a little crazy, because my husband and I are parents of a two year old, have a second child due in March, and we just had a discussion in which we discovered we were both fairly enthusiastic about adoption in a few years. I am really psyched to find my husband on the same page as I am on this--I thought that discussing adoption at 23 weeks pregnant would get me the side eye from him for sure.
We don't feel comfortable sharing our thoughts and hopes for this with our families yet, but we were hoping we might be able to ask a few questions here on the boards so we could at least begin to prepare. If we have the funds, we may start the actual process after our youngest turns one.
At the moment, we're rather enthusiastic about possibly doing a IA from Poland. If anyone has any experience with that, please let us know! My father's side of the family is all of Polish descent, and I have very much enjoyed exploring that side of my heritage.
My husband was born with congenital cataracts, as was our son. Our next child has a 50/50 chance of having them as well. We are thinking that we might be able to adopt a child with similar visual issues, since that is something we have experience with and resources for.
So...how crazy are we?
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Re: Very early in the game - intro
Welcome! Post away.
You are not crazy at all. You are not the first (nor will you be the last) to feel a pull toward adoption with bio kids (or even pregnant). You are not the first (or the last) to want to parent a child with specific special needs. I think it's fantastic that you're already decided on your path, even at this stage of the game.
I have no experience with IA from Poland, though I've seen a listing for an agency every time I open up my Adoptive Families magazine
If you haven't already, you may want to check out the FAQs at the top of the board. They have some good resources and overviews. And of course you are welcome to ask as many questions as you want here. There are other parents who have done IA or are in the process, and they can likely give you some good insights.
GL and congrats!
Dr. Loretta, thank you so much for your kind words! I've been reading the FAQs here and on general adoption sites, and filling my husband in on facts, obstacles, and the many beautiful stories I've found along the way. Today, I requested more information from St. Mary International Adoption.
This board seems so friendly and supportive. I'm happy to find a place to discuss our concerns and plans, and to be able to cheer on others on this amazing journey.
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Emnoahmom, I'm glad to know I'm not alone! I'm so sorry to hear your family will not be supportive. I don't know how my family or his will react, and I think we will wait until our youngest is at least a few months old to tell them. We aren't anywhere near financially ready either, and we know we're really going to have to plan. My husband works full time and is also taking classes toward a history and education degree with plans to be a high school teacher. We already know we have to save up for the semester he will have to work part-time to accomplish his student teaching.
I think it's awesome that you're considering adopting with a larger family! Your son's picture in your profile is beautiful. And high five for having an Isaac!
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Welcome to the board!! You're not crazy at all, it's actually great to have some time to save up money and prepare and research the process ahead of time. I don't have any experience with Poland, but I have heard of people adopting from there.
Congratulations on your pregnancy and your adoption decision, and welcome again!!
You too! The financial part of it is pretty intimidating and I also plan on finishing school before hand too. There are many stepping stones but we are excited to finally be able to really talk about adoption in our five year plan and this board has given me ideas of different avenues to pursue. I am writing down my many questions and look forward to posting here once we have our larger house and this becomes our main focus:) I know from lurking there are many ups and downs to the process and I just want to be as settled in every other aspect of our life as possible before moving forward.
Welcome! We too researched Poland for a while because of family heritage. It was about a year ago for us that we did so, but from what I can remember we saw few agencies and mostly older children. Still something we are considering for future adoptions, so I'm interested to see what your research finds!
Post often and again, welcome!!
TTC since March 2010, BFP #1 11.09.10, ectopic, m/c 12.14.10 (10w)
Clomid + TI=BFN, IUIs 1-6= BFN
Application for domestic adoption submitted 4/18/12, matched 8/12/12, DD born 10/31/12