[Lovemyfamily]

I've seen some comments on another e-mail group lately that suggest that if you already have kids, the Ukraine officials don't understand why in the world you would want to take on another. I've heard that it can be more difficult for people who have kids to adopt a toddler, because the NAC really prefers childless people to take these kids.

We have a 6 year old and a 3 year old. If we decide on Ukraine, we would want a child under 3 years old. Does anyone know about our chances? I'd really appreciate the help. We're trying to decide on a country.

[jennifer101]

There are couples adopting children under 3 who have many children at home. I wouldn't be concerned about this. We were just in Ukraine in January-February with a family that adopted a boy and have 4 girls at home. Some may know who this couple is. Many couples we met, including ourselves, already had at least 1 child previous to our Ukraine adoptions. Best of luck.
Jennifer101

[cjonly]

We returned from Ukraine in July with our 2 and a half year old daughter. The fact that we had a 7 year old son served as no hindrance. (We did face obstacles, but that was not one of them.) As far as age goes, our experience was that they first steered us toward the terribly sick children (AIDS etc), then the children age 5 or so, and then they offered us our daughter. On on first trip to Kiev in February 2004, every NAC family's experience was different. Two families were offered healthy toddlers right off the bat. One family was sent home empty handed-- "removed from eligibility" for being "too picky" (they had declined 2 matches). With us, the trick was patience, determination, a bit of a rescue mission mentality, and the proper connections. After 2 visits to the NAC and a 2 day trip to an orphanage which resulted in a declined match, we were matched with the child we knew was ours. She is bright, nurturing, and funny-- a total delight. To be honest, both the NAC and the courts were hard on us (lots of delays), but now that we have Alina home, who cares? If you go to Ukraine, keep in mind that the powers that be may not make it easy on you, but also know that there is no shortage of loving toddlers over there who desperately need a home.
Best of luck.