[nikkianni]

Can anyone tell me how having bio and adopted kids has affected your family if at all?
DH and I adopted last year but due to DD's health issues, we may try to have a bio child next time around. I'd love to hear from folks who have done both.

[arkansas parent]

Our bio-daugher was 10yo when we brought home our 3yo (almost 4yo) son. I think she had the same reaction she would if I had gave birth to another child. We are now working on finding child #3 (adoption #2). Our bio-daugher's only reaction was "can we get a girl".Our son's reactions was "can we get a baby".

[JeannineW]

We have had our daughter home for 4 years now. Our bio dd was 4 when we brought home her (then 2 year old) sister. After we got past the initial adjustment (about 10 days), they have been the best of siblings. They play beautifully, look out for each other and fight. If they looked alike, you'd never suspect that one was adopted.

We also had an 11 week old baby when we brought her home and added another baby 18 months ago. The four are so cute together. I just love watching my little crew. We are looking into adopting a sibling group and the kids can't wait. They are really excited about adding more kids to the family.

[gottahavehope]

My son, whom we adopted at birth, was only a year old when I gave birth to his sister. He has his share of jealousy, but it has nothing to do with the fact that she is biological. It just has to do with the fact that he is a 21 month old that doesn't want baby sis playing with his toys. My kids are just that, my kids. No difference between them. I'm sure when we get older their will be lots of conversation about the different ways they came to be in our family. We will stress how no one way to make a family is better than the other. We love them equally, treat them equally. I can't imagine that it will really make much difference that one is adopted and the other biological. Family is family. Simple as that.

[jalapeno]

Best of luck to you! We also adopted first and then had a bio child. All three kiddos are still under 2yrs so they hardly noticed when a new baby was added to the mix. It was tough to be pregnant for the first time and yet already be a mom to a toddler (exhausting). But of course I absolutely wouldn't change a thing. I can't wait to watch my kids grow up together!!

[awaitingagirl]

Hi,
We had 2 boys bio when we adopted our little girl. They were 5 and 3 at the time. Although they were young they looked at it like mommy had another baby, their sister. We are getting ready to start again probably mid year at adopting #2 (4th child). When I talked to my oldest about it (now almost 9). He said, can we get a boy? lol I told him we would choose gender this time and just get what God gives us (if its meant to be). Also had to explain to him that the baby and him would be almost 10 yrs apart by the time it happened. So...anyway, they took it great! I dont think kids read into it as much as we think they do!

[dragonfly1234]

Our bio son was 4 when we started the adoption process that brought our wonderful son into our family and is now 4 1/2.

They are two typical brothers who fight, laugh, and are just siblings. I see nothing different than what my sister and I had when we were growing up.

Good luck and can't wait to hear more!

[Lynn Barry]

We had bio sons ages 4 and 9 when we adopted a five year old daughter. Other than the jealousy over her getting so much attention when she came to the family it seemed fine all around. The boys had a sister.
When they were 11, 12, and 16 I got pregnant and we added another bio boy to the family. All seemed equally happy about their little brother.
My daughter was not interested in meeting her birth relatives at all until she was 21 and since then it has been a strain because she pretty much has abandoned all of her adoptive relatives and that has been the hardest situation to deal with. Growing up? Growing pains for all four, but this disconnection has been just plain painful. Her brothers are kind of angry with her for not acting like she wants to be part of their lives. She is part of her half bio siblings' lives, the ones she found when we helped her reunite.
Good luck. Just being honest. HUGS