Hannah,
I respectfully beg to differ. There is research out there, though not as much as in other areas of adoption. These research fiindings all indicate more negative than positive outcomes of the practice of artificial twinning.
Cite:
http://www.adoption.ca/pdfs/artificial_twinning_e.pdf
Snip:
"Ames recommends that parents should be cautioned that the time and energy necessary to rear an orphanage child make it unwise to adopt more than one child at a time, or to bring the child into a family that already has several young children. A pre-adoption program should help both parents decide if they havethe resources to raise an orphanage child (Ames, 116). The Ames report speaks to the need for parents to be educated and better prepared to address behavioural difficulties. This type of preparation can assist parents in making an informed decision regarding family composition. If families are not provided withcounselling and education they may not foresee the challenges surrounding artificial twinning"
(snip)
"The literature notes that the act of artificial twinning usually reflects the parents’ desire to regain control over their family planning and in “getting” a child, far more than it reflects an understanding of the needs of their children or the challengesof parenting and family life (Johnston, 20). Avoiding artificial twinning and promoting the need for a psychological pregnancy are the main reasons that many agencies require that couples end fertility treatments before beginningpreparations for adoption (ibid). Johnston refers to Michael Trout, a child therapist and an expert on attachment issues, who believes that healthy preparation for parenting in adoption cannothappen when adopters’ don’t give themselves the opportunity to experience a psychological pregnancy (Johnston, 22). This psychological pregnancy also benefits the adoptee by providing the child with the opportunity to be the center of the parents’ universe for at least the amount of time nature would take to bring a pregnancy to a live birth (ibid). "
I'd also note that your children were not infants or toddlers when they came to you - they all appear to have been school-age children. If my math is correct, your children were about 7 and 6 when they came. The needs, capabilities, demands and understanding a school-age child brings to the adoption is far different than the needs, understanding, capabilities and demands of a newborn, infant, or toddler. (i.e. a child under age 3-4 at placement).
JMHO
Regina