[erinp]

I can definitely see your point, Karen. Lucky for China, they're in a position where they can be super picky.

I pray that we won't be affected, however we do have some gray areas that we'll have to confirm with our agency about. I definitely don't plan on lying - sounds like seriously bad karma to me. I'll be even more upset if the new rules affect us negatively. I think about all the people we've told, the caps with "daddy" stitched on them in Chinese that I've bought for gifts, the mandarin storybook that is on order for our future daughter, the additional stocking we hung over the fireplace. To think about having to say, "Oops sorry... never mind" devastates me to the point of tears. There are many many dreams being broken for sure.

At the same time, I try to think of China as one great big birth mom to thousands of new babies. If I were that big birth mom, I would try to shelter my children from anything that MIGHT cause them angst in any way. I would make all kinds of irrational stereotypes and judge others unfairly... simply out of fear and protection for my own - especially knowing there were hoards of people to interview and I had no idea of knowing that person's true character. I would prefer the rich over the poor. I would want college-educated over non. The parents would be young, without kids and financially able to spoil my baby without a care in the world!

The part that frustrates me over anything though is the thought of these babies spending an entire year of their lives in an institution when they could be in a warm home with mommies and daddies to hold them. I still can't grasp the why's of that. It just takes SO long for seemingly NO reason!!!