[AmyAmom]

Hello,

Just wanted to say hello to the other "older" parents out there! My dh and I both were over the age of 35 when we adopted our children ages 5 and 4. We feel that being older has it's advantages and disadvantages. Some of the advantages are that we are now financially set to enjoy the children and not have to worry about finances in any way. We have a lot of family values and traditions built that have been in our families and we would like to continue to share these with our children. I am not saying that the younger parents won't but like all things times have changed and many are away from family due to jobs etc. so it's hard to get involved with grandparents etc on the holiday! The traditions can still be set in all though!

I am happy we adopted later in life rather than earlier. But and this is a BIG but, we hope there our energy level stays with us for the duration of childhood . The younger group .....you have it made! ! So, as you can see being older has it's pro's and cons!

talk to you soon!

Amy

[Guatmom]

Hi there

My name is tricia and we adopted our son from guatemala last june 2001. We too are older i'll be 39 in a few days and hubby just turned 52. I thinks it's great to be parents being older. We did all our fun stuff while dating and married with out children. I wouldn't trade my family now for anything in the world. We live in CT,,where are you from?? Hope to hear back from you

Tricia

[JAK]

Hi -

My husband and I adopted when I was 38 and he was 40. We're now looking to adopt again - hopefully a little girl from Guatemala. I'm now 41 and it probably wouldn't happen until I'm 42.

If you don't mind, here's my questions:

Did you meet others who were your ages adopting newborns or were most adopting older kids? I'd be open to newborn to 2 (I would like her somewhat close in age to my son who turns 4 in February)

Would you adopt again?

What was your agency you went through and your experience.

Most folks I know who have adopted were under 35 years old when they adopted their first and were done adopting by the time they were my age at 40.

My husband and I enjoyed lots of travel when we were childfree for 12 years and did lots of trips we wouldn't be able to do now. But, its kind of wierd that my son is growing up with the (2nd cousins) my husbands side all had their first kids by the time they were 20 and now they are all grown and having children of their own. (so I'm a "great aunt" on his side of the family 4 times now). I look young but sometimes I feel OLD running after my son. I'm questioning is it best to adopt another child so Lucas has a baby sister or is it best to be content with one child and give him the best we can. (that issue is my family complete and does he need a sibling).

Thanks for your info.
(I'm glad I found this site)

JAK

[msmith]

hi... i am new on this site.
my husband and i adopted at a late age... our daughter came when we were 44, and our son came when we were 46. we are 50 now, and our kids are 4 and 6. it's keeping us young... but sometimes it is not easy!

about adopting a second kid... we did because we strongly felt that our daughter needed a sibling. we are SO glad we did! they have a nice loving relationship. they learn so much from each other!! they also learn coping skills for conflict. it is a huge gift for your first kid, trust me.

we adopted through the independent adoption center in pleasant hill california. they have offices in about 6 states. they do adoptions across the nation. if you want to view their site, just type their name in to search, and you should be able to find them on that page. domestic open adoption is a wonderful thing. and you are excellent ages for adopting again!
msmith

[Ginger Jensen]

Hi, just wanted to remark about both parents being "older." My husband was 53 and I was 51 when we adopted a newborn baby girl two days old, right out of the hospital. At the time, my youngest biological child, my daughter, was 11 years old and my oldest biological child, son, was 33 (married with three children). It seemed so natural and wasn't hard for me at all with the night feedings and going through all the baby stages (along with all the baby paraphenalia!) all over again! We loved every minute of it. My daughter was a big help with her new little baby sister.

We enjoyed our new little daughter so much that we decided to adopt internationally! We went to Ukraine in 2001 and adopted a nine year old girl when my husband was almost 56 and I was now 54! This little girl has been such a blessing to our family! She fits in like a glove and now we have three daughters, the youngest one is only 4 years old at this point, so we will be parenting for a long time!

My two youngest daughters, age 11 and 4, are good friends with my grandchildren who age from 10 down to 3! It may not work for everyone, but we love the opportunity to still have a young family. We love being grandparents (we have seven altogether, three live in Fla.), and we are still enjoying being parents to young children of our own. To watch the love between our three daughters is such a blessing! They truly enjoy each other! I guess you are never too old to adopt, as long as you are healthy and love being a parent! God bless!

[Eugenie]

It is really comforting to hear people's situations. We are 46 and 39 with a 7 year old bio boy. We are just about to adopt a 4 year old little girl.

Someone wrote how before children they travelled alot, well we have too, and recently went independently to Malaysia with our boy plus his two cousin, 10 & 8. It was a huge success and taught us just how flexible children can be. They had a fantastic time and learnt such a lot about the world and its people.

Hoping our new little girl can benefit too, best of luck to everything as its a big decision with many rewards, I am sure.

[fostadoptmom]

I have two grown daughters, ages 31 & 28 - and three grandchildren, ages 6, 7 & 9.
Remarried in 1997 and dh had never been marrried or had kids. I was 40, he was 41. We tried to have our own but decided to look into adoption. It was so expensive we decided to check out the fost-adopt program. Shortly after certification we were given the opportunity to foster parent a 3 mo and 21 mo old sibling set. WOW - two days to prepare for 2 little ones! After two years of parental visits, social workers, case managers, etc.---finally, the kids were ours!!!
It's been wonderful, but I have noticed the difference in my energy level over the past five years! The kids do wear me out at times. I'm definitely not as young as I used to be! Now we are trying to figure out how to budget for college and retirement!

[AlexasMom]

Congrats on your new additions! How wonderful for you! Yes, I think kids have a way of keeping us young. I was 43 and my husband was 46 when we brought home our 8 month old daughter. And - I absolutely LOVE being a parent at this time in my life. I feel like I am more patient, have more "life experience" and have all the "running" out of my system. It is a JOY to be home with our little angel - and, if we had had kids earlier, our financial situation may not have allowed me to be a SAHM. This is truly the BEST time of my life...and in hindsight - I wouldn't change a thing!

Again - congrats on the "officially yours" little ones!

[fostadoptmom]

It truly is a joy having kids when we are more settled in our own lives. Having two so close in age can be quite challenging at times (they're 18 mos apart) but we're doing well. I work part-time and that seems to be working out very well - I get enough time with the kids and enough time challenging my brain. (besides the fact that now we have to worry about saving for both retirement and college!)

[MkMw]

YIKES! I never considered myself "an older mom" but I guess I am. I was 36, and Matt was 37 when we adopted our sons (twins at birth). We hope to adopt again before they turn 4 (in 2006).

[djb_97]

Hi!

DH will be 35 this May and I'll be 37 in Oct., we just entered the Infant Open Adoption waiting family books so we're not parents yet, but feel like expectant parents.

Congratulations and best wishes to all!

Hugs,
Deb

[GreenThumb]

Hi.

I'm 36 and dh is 37. We have a 10 week baby boy through domestic open adoption.

The biggest positive factor we see again and again is our much higher level of patience than we had 10 years ago. Our knees may creak and we're ready for bed about the time the baby is, but we can tolerate the crying and we can laugh at many things that would have upset us years ago. I think our easy going approach makes the baby more relaxed and secure. I can honestly say I'm glad to be an "older" mom.

[love2scrap]

hI,

I'm 40 (41 Dec 22nd) and DH is 46. We now want to adopt. I'm glad to see that there are other older parents out there. I too feel that this is the time to raise a child. I feel accomplished, mature and ready to give all my love to a child! I can't wait!


Barb

[skootinalong2]

Hi. I am 46 and DH is 47. WE are in the process of adopting a 22 mo. old boy who has been with us since he was 6 days old. We are foster parents. I have 2 bio children. DD 25 and DS 22. I also have another DS, who is 14. (we are legal guardians, have had him since 14 mos old) Our friends think we are nuts. We agree!

[NannersWI]

Hi everyone!

Very new to this forum. I think this is my first post? (can ya tell I have Mommy brain? ) DH and I were both 41 when our infant daughter came home. She just turned 3 last week. Yes, I love that I'm older for a lot of reasons but I will admit that I would have loved to have been a bit younger.....if I had a do-over AND I would still have my same little peanut I would have started at least 5...maybe 10 yrs earlier. Glad parenthood didn't come in our 20's. Knowing now what I didn't know then. Also if we had been somewhat younger we more than likely would have adopted again. (not sure if that is a plus or a minus? We are very lucky as our daughter was such an easy baby! I would have done it again in a second....Daddy had other ideas!) Yes, in a whole lot of ways she keeps me young (although I was never "my age" That I refuse to grow up thing ) but in other ways....I'm TIRED!

BTW Hi, I'm Nancy. Travel Agent in my previous life....now a SAHM to my beautiful (although saved her terrible 2's for 3) daughter. Married for 23 yrs this year to my HS sweetheart. Right now freezing outside and inside watching Blues Clues.