[motherof3boys]

I am new to the forum but I would like to hear some advise on adopting from China

[kim532]

My advice is to expect everything to take longer than what you expect it to. We had to do every piece of paperwork, at least 2 times and several 3 and 4 times.

Also when selecting an agency. I think it is important to talk to people who have used the agency before. Even if it is on an online forum such as this (through PM please). My opinion is every agency promotes itself very well and it is hard to find out the quirks of an agency unless you talk to people who have used them.

Kim

[specialk4b]

Educate yourself. No one will work as hard for you as you will. Learn as much as you can about the adoption process, attachment, requirements, the timeframe, everythng.

[Shelley]

Most agencies have a referral list of families that have used them, it's a place to start, but remember most agencies are only going to put the happy families out as contacts. Go to diiferent groups and request info good and bad so that you can make an informed decision. WIth our first adoption we received a few negative comments about the agency we were hoping to work with, but in the long run the good outweighed the bad and we went with them. It was nice to have all of the info so we could make a decision. And you know what? We loved them, never had any problems at all.
Just do your research, talk to people.
When you request info from the agency how long does it take them to get back to you? Is it within 24 hours? Or longer? and if it is longer are you ok with that? That doesn't seem like a big deal, or very long, but when you have questions, and you will, regardless of how trivial they might seem to others, they're important you, so are you ok if they take 48 hours or more to get back to you? SOmetimes this will happen when things are busy at the agency, things happen as we all know. I wish you
Good luck, Shelley

[SofiasMom]

take a look at the Families with Children from China website Families with Children from China

[ladybug11]

Everything above and be patient and organized. Keep everything in a file and keep the file in a safe place.

Gather as much information as you can.
Read the book "The Lost Daughters of China" and watch the National Geographic video "China's Lost Girls" and educate yourself about adoption and all that goes along with it (already mentioned above).

Take pictures along the way - when you get an important form, have your picture taken with it - this will be great for the lifebook down the road!

And I recommend journaling, blogging, or some other way of documenting the journey to your child!

Best of luck to you!!!

[chinagirl2006]

Most agencies have information meetings. Go to a few of these to see which agency best fits you. The 1st one we went to, I didnt care for cause they didn't answer our questions, so we basically walked out! The 2nd agency I loved because the lady that did the info meeting had adopted 5 kids & had amazing stories to tell. She answered all of our questions too! You know when you find the 1 for you