Saturday, November 26, 2005
Hi & More information about Us
DH and I were married on Jan 2, 1999.
Since I was four, I've known I could have children with a translocated chromosome. My brother was born in 1974 with that condition. He is now 31 . He is severely physically and mentally challenged. Mom said at that time, in their small town, that sonograms were not the norm. Also, they didn't have amnio and CVS.
DH (dear hubby) and I knew it would be a big decision to have our own children because I may have a child with that condition or may have several miscarriages.
When I turned 33 (2003), the biological clock started to tick -- quietly. By 34, it was much louder. A private domestic adoption was out of the question because of the cost and emotional risk involved. We decided to adopt through the state foster system. The agency we went through was great and they were very honest about the challenges we would face. We decided that foster adoption would not be the right fit for us.
In June we decided to have our own children even though we knew the risk. We were devastated to lose the baby in Sept 2005, but we were told the baby was effected by the translocated chromosome. We both said we were willing to try again, but I couldn't go through the emotional rollercoaster again.
A few weeks ago we attending an adoption workshop through Great Wall China Adoption. We know a few people who have adopted through them and they have been very happy with their experience through this agency.
We chose international adoption because a domestic adoption could be slow and also lead to an emotional rollercoaster ride. We have a friend who had a child placed through an open adoption and a few months later the biological mom changed her mind.
We chose Great Wall because the China adoption process is predictable and the children are taken care of. This agency has a really good reputation.
We haven't told any family members about the adoption except my mother.
I did get a call from my mother-in-law wishing me a happy belated birthday. She asked if I got anything special for my birthday. I had to bite my tongue because I wanted to tell her, but I thought it would be best to wait to tell her when she visits over the Christmas holidays. Not that she won't be open to it. I know she'll be very happy and supportive. That way we can have a toast.
We have decided to try for twins even though they are rare. We were told the Chinese government has different requirements than adopting one child. If we don't get twins we will still be extremely happy with one child.
I will mail our application on Monday. We are very excited to start our family.
I know the journey will be exciting, but also I have to prepare myself for everything not going perfect...sort of like a wedding.
We already ran into one hurdle. DH was born in Louisiana. The state vital records archive is closed in New Orleans. I had to call the parish he was born in and see if they could provide any information. They said they could give me a birthcard, but not a birth certificate. Luckily the US gov't will accept the card as proof of citizenship for a passport.
The birthcard for the dossier may be a different story. I hope it doesn't cause a problem.
Since I was four, I've known I could have children with a translocated chromosome. My brother was born in 1974 with that condition. He is now 31 . He is severely physically and mentally challenged. Mom said at that time, in their small town, that sonograms were not the norm. Also, they didn't have amnio and CVS.
DH (dear hubby) and I knew it would be a big decision to have our own children because I may have a child with that condition or may have several miscarriages.
When I turned 33 (2003), the biological clock started to tick -- quietly. By 34, it was much louder. A private domestic adoption was out of the question because of the cost and emotional risk involved. We decided to adopt through the state foster system. The agency we went through was great and they were very honest about the challenges we would face. We decided that foster adoption would not be the right fit for us.
In June we decided to have our own children even though we knew the risk. We were devastated to lose the baby in Sept 2005, but we were told the baby was effected by the translocated chromosome. We both said we were willing to try again, but I couldn't go through the emotional rollercoaster again.
A few weeks ago we attending an adoption workshop through Great Wall China Adoption. We know a few people who have adopted through them and they have been very happy with their experience through this agency.
We chose international adoption because a domestic adoption could be slow and also lead to an emotional rollercoaster ride. We have a friend who had a child placed through an open adoption and a few months later the biological mom changed her mind.
We chose Great Wall because the China adoption process is predictable and the children are taken care of. This agency has a really good reputation.
We haven't told any family members about the adoption except my mother.
I did get a call from my mother-in-law wishing me a happy belated birthday. She asked if I got anything special for my birthday. I had to bite my tongue because I wanted to tell her, but I thought it would be best to wait to tell her when she visits over the Christmas holidays. Not that she won't be open to it. I know she'll be very happy and supportive. That way we can have a toast.
We have decided to try for twins even though they are rare. We were told the Chinese government has different requirements than adopting one child. If we don't get twins we will still be extremely happy with one child.
I will mail our application on Monday. We are very excited to start our family.
I know the journey will be exciting, but also I have to prepare myself for everything not going perfect...sort of like a wedding.
We already ran into one hurdle. DH was born in Louisiana. The state vital records archive is closed in New Orleans. I had to call the parish he was born in and see if they could provide any information. They said they could give me a birthcard, but not a birth certificate. Luckily the US gov't will accept the card as proof of citizenship for a passport.
The birthcard for the dossier may be a different story. I hope it doesn't cause a problem.
