[Anxious]

Not only did we chose the sex, we were able to chose the child from our agency. We have 3 biological boys and it was time for some estrogen. Our little gilrl is in PGN as we speak we are hoping to have home by Easter or soon after.

Anxious

[JeannineW]

This a fun thread. DH wanted a boy. We had three girls (2 big, 1 little). I wanted the little one to have a sister her age plus I just love little girls. When we found out we were pregnant and adopting, we decided we could have both. Found out I was having a boy and requested a toddler girl. We may go for a boy later so the little guy can have a buddy.

[Ozwald]

Hi,

John and I didn't care what gender our first two would be. We were on a (long!) waiting list and decided that if we wanted to adopt in this century, we would have to switch agencies. The agency we switched to referred us two fabuloso boys in about 5 minutes. We can't wait to bring them home! The three dogs (all boys) also can't wait to meet their new brothers... well, maybe

[Sammi's Mom]

Counter to what I read on this forum and was initially told by my attorney, I had requested a boy and was referred almost immediately to a little girl. Since I really did not have a true preference, I accepted the referral for my little girl. Now I can't wait to bring her home. I visited recently and am hoping to pick her up in the next few weeks (submitted to embassy for pink slip). She is the most beautiful and happy little angel I have ever seen. God works in mysterious ways.

Sammi's mom

[jtmom]

We requested a girl for our first adoption. To be perfectly honest (and shallow) the reason why I wanted a girl is because of all the adorable, pink outfits you can dress them in!!! LOL! DH did not have a preference. For our 2nd adoption we went for a boy. We wanted to have the experience of parenting both.

Diane
Waiting for Nicholas

[linda s]

Our agency made us choose gender from the beginning and then we were placed on that particular waiting list. We have an 8 yr old bio daughter, so we originally requested an infant girl even though the wait was long. Then Hague started causing all the problems, so we decided to switch to the much shorter boy list and decided to consider a toddler. I am so glad we did as we almost immediately received the referral of our son who was 19 months old at the time. We are thrilled with the decision. In fact, we're leaving Sun. for a second visit. I can't wait.

[spidermanteache]

We went on our agency waiting list as "whatever gender". However, we knew that the boy waiting list was shorter, so knew that we would end up with a boy referral which was just fine for us!!! Right now, we can't imagine it any other way!!!

[Mommy2M&B]

Hello! Just a little over a year ago. My 4 year old daughter born in Guatemala came home...then a month later my 6 month old daughter arrived home. We did not choose the sex of our children...I feel God did. We left it all to him. We did however request an older toddler/child and a newborn, we accepted 1st. referrals. It was so amazing how they both fit perfectly into our lives...it is as if they have always been with us. Now, just a little over a year since they came home, I have been contacted and told of one of my daughter's birthmothers being pregant and will deliever in a couple of weeks. They do not know if it is a boy or a girl. The birthmother wants us to adopt this child as well and again God is in control of the sex of our new blessing to be. I know that He knows what is right for my family...He has never let me down. I thank Him for my family and am so glad he made those choices for me!
Denise

[kimberlyfox7]

I didn't care which. I wanted to leave it in God's hands and take the first available referral. I actually couldn't decide between one or the other. They both seemed so wonderful. I lost the referral of 2 brothers, and then received a referral for a 5 yr. old girl. I claimed her!!

[Mommy2M&B]

That is wonderful that you have accepted a 5 year old daughter. My daughter is now 5 years old. She came home at 4. There are a few challenges they arrive home with. Having to catch up to american standards for the school system is just one of them. The challenges just make the rewards greater! Congradulations and God bless you both.
Denise

[marty419]

This is a very interesting thread.........I love reading how you all decided to build your families.

Marc and I requested a boy for our first adoption. We are both "only children" in our families and knew we wanted our children to have at least one sibling to grow up with. Being a female, I always wished I had a big brother to look our for me (and even terrorize me) while I was growing up. So when our agency asked us for our preference and since we didn't have any children yet we immediately said we wanted our daughter to have a big brother. Our agency was tickled knowing we knew from the start we wanted to adopt a boy and a girl. Now we have our Tyler home and he is the joy of our lives. He's been home for a little over a year so we have decided to start our search for our daughter.

[optimisticfor3]

It was very important for me (and somewhat to my husband) to be able to choose the gender of our children. It was the one thing I could choose, whereas moms who have bio children, can't. In the bad-old-days (before our first adoption), so many things were controlled by others, not by us: the infertility, what to do in order to get pregnant (which never happened), what fertility drugs to take, when to take them, etc. etc. And all around me were women who planned on getting pregnant in a certain month, and that's exactly what happened...That made me so furious!!!!!!
So when we finally decided on adoption, this was my sweet revenge. And a way of feeling more in control.
We chose girls, every time. I'll admit I love the little dresses and braiding their hair, and buying them fancy pins for their hair...
Another reason we chose girls is that we thought it would be easier to "manage" (this hasn't been the case, so far!) with girls, not boys. Both my girls (now 12 and 10) were tomboys for a long time.
Monica
mom to 2 daughters born in Guatemala, mom-to-be to 5 month old baby girl, from Guat.

[Heidil87]

We are adopting a baby girl from Guatemala. We have one bio son who is 7 years old. When we decided to get off the secondary infertility roller coaster and look into adoption we asked our son if he had the choice which would he rather, a baby brother or a baby sister? His answer, "We already have one little boy in this family! I would like a sister." I LOVE my little boy and coming from a very close relationship with my mother and only sibling, a sister, I wanted a little girl too. My husband went along with the majority and now he is thrilled to be welcoming a daughter into our family.

[Kate'sMom2B]

We chose a girl this time for "balance". We have 2 boys and 2 girls in our family.

We initially, over a year ago, intended on adopting an infant or toddler boy. But then we unexpectedly got custody of our nephew, who was the same age as the boy we were considering. So we chose a girl.

Well, our nephew was turned over to his mother last May. We lost our referral in December, then got custody again of our nephew on January 10th (yes, just last month). So, another little girl it is, again! Our nephew's situation may turn into an adoption also.

I really have my heart set on another daughter this time though, so no matter what happens with our nephew, we are still getting a girl!

[kelleymac]

This is our first child after a long bout with infertility, and we thought about it long and hard. I agree with someone else on this thread who said that some people are just tempermentally right for one or the other gender. I'm definitely a "boy" mom! I love our little neighbor girls to death, but always envisioned myself raising little boys. I guess maybe it's because I was such a tomboy growing up. We also found out (shortly after we decided to adopt a little boy) that my sister is pregnant with her first child...a BOY! So Jonah will have a little guy cousin to play with too.

Both my husband and I are close with our same-gender siblings (my sister, his brother) and that's why we'll choose a boy for our second adoption.

Best,
Kelley