[leigh32]

my husband and I have been married for almost 10 years and have not had pregnancy success. We have been pregnant 3 times and have had 1 miscarriage, 1 ectopic pregnancy, and 1 partial moular pregnancy. We have decided that rather than go thru the invitro process, we would rather give a child a home. We have not signed up with any agency yet. (still gathering info). We would like some advise on homestudies and agencies if anyone can help! thanks

[hope44]

Are you interested in domestic or foreign?
Are you interested in a particular race?
What age of child are you interested in adopting?

These three elements can play a large role in the type of agency/private attorney you will want to use.

[leigh32]

I am interested in either one. If we go domestic, I would like a caucasian baby and international I would like asian or russian. I have been very disappointed at how much it costs to give a child a home. Any advice?

[tobeafamily]

I think when considering your adoption path, you should ask yourselves questions like these:

1. How important is it that your child share your ethnic heritage?
2. How important is it that your child be a newborn?
3. How much are you willing/able to spend in fees and expenses?
4. How willing/able are you to travel with little or no notice?
5. How prepared do you feel in parenting a child who may have been exposed to abuse, neglect or institutionalization, known or unknown at time of placement?
6. How comfortable are you sharing your lifestyle, values, and interests with strangers?

There is no one 'best way' to adopt, just the best way for you.

It's true that fees and expenses do vary - from little or no expenses in waiting child/foster care, to avg. $10K for domestic parental placement, to well over $30K for international and some domestic parental placement situations.

We adopted through domestic parental placement, our total expenses were $14 K and we were surprised it totaled that high because we were able to cashflow most of it. The single highest payment was to our attorney for finalization at $2300, the rest were all $1000 or less. We had saved $15K for an adoption, almost all of which is now Ryan's college fund.

HTH,

Regina, AMom to Ryan Joshua Thomas

[laraine]

i think your smart to consider adoption vs. fertility processes. Adoption is expensive even if it doesn't cost anything (as in a state adoption) because you will have child expenses i'm sure you'd rather spend your money on.

we are going through the dss adoption. so, far, everything is going well. they walk you through everything and as you do your paperwork you are doing your homestudy.

there are over 126,000 children in the us that need a family. there are all kinds of children from infant to 21 that need to belong to someone. i would contact your state dss foster/adoption agency and ask some questions. both agencies seem to be helpful.

good luck