the paper chase begins...
So, we decided to use a large non-profit Christian adoption agency we learned about from a friend of a friend. I joined an active online community called ichild as well as a group called Forever Families. Through these resources, I learned that the agency we were referred to is reputable. Their customer service skills have been top notch.
The baby home they work with is located in Kolkata, previously known as Calcutta. Due to social pressure or poverty most of the babies are premature and extremely small. Some women from upper class backgrounds induce early so they will not show and shame their families. Others are malnourished and nature delivers their babies early. We learned that our baby would most likely have been born premature and we would have little information on the birth parents.
Our pediatrician has proven invaluable in giving us insight into prematurity and the other medical issues our daughter, Nikki, will face. We learned that the size of the baby is not as important as the conditions surrounding the labor and delivery. We also learned about the health issues faced due to maternal malnourishment. Our doctor was instrumental in helping us understand the special needs checklist and the implications of various conditions.
We worked our way through writing autobiographies, compiling reference letters, gathering photographs, bank statements, letters of employment, proof of health insurance, life insurance, physicals on both of us as well as on our daughter, our daughter's immunization record, drafting our motivation to adopt statement, compiling certified copies of our marriage, birth and divorce certificates and completing what felt like form after form.
We have officially signed and notarized everything! Now it is off to the agency and we will begin our home study process. Our agency told us the usual time frame is 18-24 months from the time a family begins the process. We filled out our informal application in June of 2005. The waiting time varies depending on how open a family is to accepting a child of either gender or with special needs. A "special need" may be something as minimal as a heart murmur or a recurring ear infection. A child who has survived a premature delivery in a third world country is a fighter.
We learned that our daughter will be about 10-14 months at the time we get our hands on her and bring her home to Texas. Kolkata to San Antonio?! That will definitely be the trip of a lifetime.
The baby home they work with is located in Kolkata, previously known as Calcutta. Due to social pressure or poverty most of the babies are premature and extremely small. Some women from upper class backgrounds induce early so they will not show and shame their families. Others are malnourished and nature delivers their babies early. We learned that our baby would most likely have been born premature and we would have little information on the birth parents.
Our pediatrician has proven invaluable in giving us insight into prematurity and the other medical issues our daughter, Nikki, will face. We learned that the size of the baby is not as important as the conditions surrounding the labor and delivery. We also learned about the health issues faced due to maternal malnourishment. Our doctor was instrumental in helping us understand the special needs checklist and the implications of various conditions.
We worked our way through writing autobiographies, compiling reference letters, gathering photographs, bank statements, letters of employment, proof of health insurance, life insurance, physicals on both of us as well as on our daughter, our daughter's immunization record, drafting our motivation to adopt statement, compiling certified copies of our marriage, birth and divorce certificates and completing what felt like form after form.
We have officially signed and notarized everything! Now it is off to the agency and we will begin our home study process. Our agency told us the usual time frame is 18-24 months from the time a family begins the process. We filled out our informal application in June of 2005. The waiting time varies depending on how open a family is to accepting a child of either gender or with special needs. A "special need" may be something as minimal as a heart murmur or a recurring ear infection. A child who has survived a premature delivery in a third world country is a fighter.
We learned that our daughter will be about 10-14 months at the time we get our hands on her and bring her home to Texas. Kolkata to San Antonio?! That will definitely be the trip of a lifetime.
posted by Mom to brown eyed kids | 4:29 PM
1 Comments:
Love the blog! It's already bookmarked under "favorites"! Squeeze my favorite brown eyed girl for me!
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