[marriedgal]

Hey folks,

When DH and I were adopting our two little guys from Guatemala, we thought about adopting a ten-year-old who was having trouble finding a family. Our homestudy agency strongly discouraged us against the idea citing that preschoolers and pre-teens have very different issues going on, and it would be too much to handle. That little girl THOUGHT she was going to have a family and then they changed their minds, Guatemala shut down and I deeply regret not adopting her as I have NO IDEA where she is to this day.

We're getting ready to start with Ethiopia and I would like to adopt a baby since this would be our only baby experience as our other children came later and we aren't having biological children. BUT, part of me would like to adopt an infant AND an older sibling group. I don't even know if we're allowed to do this, but I thought I would ask you guys what you think. I just don't want to leave those older children behind if we can do something about it, you know?
Thanks for all your imput.

[ocracoke]

Kelli,

You can adopt a sibling group that has an infant and older child from Ethiopia. However, keep in mind specific agency requirements. Some agencies will not allow you to adopt out of birth order while others will. Some agencies will allow you to adopt unrelated children at the same time while others will not. Also a sibling group (versus unrelated children) with an infant may be harder to find and therefor mean a much longer wait for you (but this too can vary from agency to agency). My suggestion would be to contact some agencies directly, explain what you are looking at doing, and ask them the pitfalls they foresee. Also find a homestudy agency that will allow for what you are asking of the placing agency. Best of luck.

Samantha

[Rapids]

We also wanted an infant for the same reason. But when we recently traveled to ET to meet our infant referral, we fell in love with an older sibling group of 2 sisters, about 5 years old and 9 years old (probably more like 12). A lot changed inside me regarding my views and motivations to adopt. Now I wish we were able to take those 2 older girls home as well.

I think there are definitely agencies that would let you adopt an infant AND an older sibling group. If they were all at the same orphanage they would already know each other, and instead of rivalry, you might find that the older siblings try to take care of the baby.

PM me if you would like any agency info. I have an idea of one for you.

[kerriv]

I had a 22 month old from Guatemala at home when I brought home my 7 year old from Ethiopia last July. Medina has done amazingly well. You can read about her transition on my blog (link is below) - just scroll back through the archives. In many ways, I think her transition was much easier than that of my younger daughter who came to me at 8 months of age.