[SummerMommy]

Sorry if someone already mentioned this (I didn't read all of the responses) but CCAA usually wants you to wait 12 months after the birth of your child before submitting an application for adoption (being DTC).

That's the information I got from my agency. You might want to check with yours.

As for the homestudy -- it's a breeze. No problem. We were reassured that it's a "screening in" process.

Best of luck!

Summer

[Momof2boysinOH]

Summer,

Thanks for the information. We wouldn't be DTC until February 2006 when my dh turns 30 (I turn 30 this October) so our younger son will be 14 months old then.



:-) Mary

[AmyDenise]

Funny Story about Homestudy Visit...

I, like everyone who posted, cleaned my house from top to bottom for days before the social worker came. The morning she was coming to visit and do our house tour, I was rushing to get my son off to school and on the bus, so I could get to the post office and back before she came. We started to walk around the house and I realized I forgot to make my bed! Of all the easiest things to do to make the house look neat!! I was so embarrassed, she just said, "I didn't make my bed today either." I thought for sure that would be in the final write-up, "good parents, but what slobs!"
Anyway, everything worked out fine and she gave us a wonderful review. We are all human!
Good Luck to all,
Amy

[sak9645]

One thing you have to know about the home visit required for homestudies is that Murphy's Law almost always applies. In other words, if something can go wrong, it will.

The stories about home visit day are legion, and amusing to almost anyone except the people having the homestudy. Here are some examples:

Someone's cat coughs up a hairball at the social worker's feet.

Someone's Great Dane decides to be a lapdog -- on the social worker's lap -- or, worse yet, decides to mount her leg.

The toilet in the powder room overflows, just as the social worker's car pulls into the driveway.

The cookies someone baked to make the house seem more welcoming burn, stinking up the whole place.

The resident toddler decides to show off his new independence skills by taking off all his clothes and dancing around the living room naked.

The resident five-year old boy announces loudly, "I don't WANT a sister. I want a horse."

The good news is that most social workers have seen all this stuff, and know that it is meaningless in terms of how well a person will parent.

In fact, most social workers will feel better about a person who can maintain his/her sense of humor when Murphy's Law strikes, and who can handle a crisis without going to pieces. After all, kids do the darndest things, and a person who can deal with the unexpected is probably an excellent candidate for parenthood.

Sharon

[joyfulme3x]

LOL Sharon, so true!

How about mine?
We scheduled our first visit to be in our home. Unfortunately, we had a miscommunication on the date.
So just as I was getting up and getting ready to take the kids to the park one morning, I got a call: "Hi, it's (social worker); just wanted to let you know I'm almost to your house." AARRRGGHH! She had driven 3 hours so I couldn't turn her away, though I wanted to--the beds were unmade, piles of laundry needed folding, cat had thrown up on the rug, toilet was malfunctioning and causing a sewery smell in the house, I was in sweaty workout clothes, DH was out of town, kids were cranky and anxious to get to the park...you get the picture!

Anyhow we laughed about it and SW was so nice and understanding! And in the end I was glad I hadn't had to spend all the time I'd been planning to spend on cleaning the closets.

Joyfulme3x

[Lissa]

I had a pretty idyllic homestudy...except...I collect monster movie memorabillia. I have LOVED horror movies since I was a little kid. Anyway. We have a spare bedroom with all our Star Trek/Star Wars/Horror movie stuff in it and the SW saw it as she was exiting the bathroom. She went in and immedately picked up my Micheal Myers "Halloween" plush doll that plays the theme to "Halloween" when you hug his belly..cause hugging the psycho stalker is something we are all prone to do ). So anyway...she looked at me and asked...I'm assuming this isn't going to be the baby's room and I'm hoping you don't consider this to be an educational toy? I was sooooo sure at that moment we had blown the homestudy!!! She just laughed and of course we did okay, because we're now waiting for referral. But I have to admit I was a tad embarressed by my toys.

[kikalee]

I'm laughing as I read those. Too bad we all can't make America's Funniest Home Studies videos to help quell the fears of paperchasing families. I'm having my home visit in a couple of weeks, and we currently don't have a bannister on our inside stairs, and the front walk-up porch is covered in peeling paint. That should make for a nice first impression! We live in a 100yr old house, and decided, like idiots to pull down the panelling in our upstairs hallway. It looks like Amityville Horror. Word of advice to anyone that considers a house with panelling -- be ready to invest in drywall. So, our next couple of weekends are pretty busy doing house stuff!

If I can pass this one, anyone can!