[saransp]

Hi everyone,

We are Andy and Saran in northern california and we are just starting out on our adoption journey. We have lost three babies in the last year and now know we are very unlikely to have a successful pregnancy.

It's so great to read the posts here and know that there are so many other people to share experiences with.

We have just come back from a trip and are so excited to get going with the adoption process.

We are hoping to sign up with the AdoptHelp agency in the next few weeks (they are in southern california). Have any of you worked with this agency? Any reviews would be great to hear.

Hugs
Saran

[tinktink]

Saran,
Hi and welcome too. You have had a huge year and I'm sorry about your losses. Good luck on the adoption path, you will really learn lots here, there is so much information.

I have yet to get started, but I'm planning!

[saransp]

Hi Tinktink - I hope your planning goes well. There is so much information out there that sometimes it can get a bit overwhelming. We have kind of decided just to trust our intuition on somethings and to go with the flow. We have been to one information session on open adoption and that was great. It was wondeful to meet other couples who are planning on adopting and to share our hopes and worries with them. I have spent this afternoon reading about writing a strong Dear Birthmom letter. We have had a huge year but we have become stronger as a couple and even more in love if that's possible :-) Look at me going on and on - it's the Irish in me ;-)
Take care
Hugs
Saran

[tinktink]

Tomorrow will be our second info meeting. We're getting married next month so I guess I'm trying to overwhelm him. LOL My reading for today is Adopting and Advocating for the Special Needs Child. My community library has a nice selection, thank goodness, cause I'd go broke at the bookstore!

You can go on as much as you'd like, this is exciting stuff. My girlfriends are already tiring of it, and I don't have an agency or anything but ideas and books!

[hopefulamom]

Saran,

Good Luck with your journey! We are currently working with an open adoption agency and are waiting to be matched with a family!!!
There is so much knowledge and support on these boards, so you definitely came to the right place!

Ask all the questions that you can
take care~~~

[saransp]

Morning,

How exciting to be getting married next month Tinktink! I remember the month before we got married - it seemed to go on for ever but it was worth the wait. I hope your day is everything you hope for.

Ella - thanks for your support. I hope your match comes soon!

Right back to reading about birthmom letters.

Hugs
Saran
x

[StorkWatcher]

Welcome, and good luck! This is such an exciting time! Have fun reading up and dreaming of/planning for your child!

[saransp]

So excited have just partnered up with IAC to have our homestudy done. I guess this starts the endless reams of paperwork. Luckily I am home lots so I hope to be able to get this done quickly.

I'm like a kid in a candy store, I can't stop grinning
Rang my hubby at work and he is over the moon too. Even if it's a small step it's one step closer to beginning a family.

Hugs
Saran

[Alaina27]

Saran,
I actually have no children and thinking of foster care/adoption, my main concern is getting my husband to want this. Years ago I broke down in front of him about wanting to do foster care/adoption, We really have not tried to have a baby, because I feel my want would be to take on the challenge of having a child that nobody seems to want. So your journey will have its ups and downs but in the end when you get the child of your dreams It will all be worth it. Just remind yourself that months down the road. And Goodluck! You are making the steps for your dreams to come true
Alaina

[Yash]

Saran and TinkTink,

Best of luck to the both of you on your new journies.

Yash

[Yash]

Alaina,

Is your husband on board with fost/adopt? I signed adoption placement papers finally 15 1/2 months after my son was placed. Fost/adopt is definitely not for the faint of heart. That's why this second time around, I'm going to try my hand at Int'l adoption.

Best of luck,

Yash

[tinktink]

Yash,
Thank you for the support. I've been reading the forums, especially the fost/adopt and attachment boards, thinking that's where my future family might be, but frankly, I'm getting such cold feet. I'm not so sure I could weather the storms of it all. Tonight after a info meeting I think we've had a change of heart and may go with Int'l too. Thank goodness we're still in the planning stage, especially before laying the $ down.

Saran-
Funny, I bet you never thought a mountain of paperwork could be so thrilling! Good luck in getting it sorted thru.

[Yash]

Tink,

It is a scary process. I was given the wrong time for my agency's info meeting so I missed the scare tatics and talked directly to a SW, who was great. She questioned some of the things I said I thought I could handle. Not to scare, but to enlighten more about what all was involved. It's definitely a world where you have to stick to your guns. And it helps if you have a SW who has your back.

I was dying to be a mother and I wondered and wondered where my daughter was. That was probably my first problem, God wanted me to have a son. So I prayed for patience, which wasn't easy. And then when I least expected, the perfect child came into my life. It hasn't been easy, but when I hear other people's stories, I realize just how easy our journey has been.

I'm glad I went through the fost-adopt world first though. I know the program is "safer" than regular fost-adopt, but if I adopted int'l first then came to this program I would really worry about my fost -adopt child possibly being taken away after my int'l child had grown to love and attached to.

With my son's adoption almost completed, I've really been wondering about that factor. I will have to have a long sit down with my SW about future placements, after I get back from VN. Because it's no longer just me who needs to be considered.

Best of luck with making the right decision for you and your family,

Yash

[saransp]

Hi girlies,

It's great to hear all your advice and stories.

We've had a busy couple of days.

We are about to send in the first round of paperwork for the homestudy. We have our physicals next week. We have started to draft our birthmother letter - gosh that's tough you second guess yourself all the time.

We're going to go to the beach after work on Friday and work on our letter and biographical statements. We have a special beach where we went to say goodbye to our angels so it feels right to go there again and start working towards our family.

We've got our choice of agencies down to two - AdoptHelp and Adoption Network Law Center.

We have to go with a law center rather than an agency as we are UK citizens here in the US on visas. But we are just thankful that we are able to adopt in the US. We hope to stay here but that's up to immigration. We hope to have our greencards in the next few years it takes sooooo long.

Hugs to you all and do keep updating with how your journeys are going.
Saran

[anina]

Hi! I just wanted to say congratulations on starting the adoption journey. It will be hard and overwhelming at times but in the end when you are holding your child it will all be worth it. I too have lost 3 angels and please make sure you have worked through all of this and know this is what you should do. I have adopted two wonderful children and they are the sunshine of my life. If you need someone to chat with feel free to write me.

LOve Anina