Over the last few months, we've had lots of decisions to make. Adoption is something we've had in the back of our heads for awhile, and since December it has been something we've really been leaning towards. The big turning point for me was Christmas Eve. We were at mass and a little boy (4 maybe?) sang a solo in Silent Night. His dad was sitting in front of me videotaping and it just became too much for me. Finally, being pregnant wasn't as important – being parents, having the family, videotaping our kids at a Christmas program – that is what we want. Obviously I'm going to miss the experience of being pregnant and that makes me sad, but once we bring our baby home, that part isn't going to matter anymore.
We've interviewed several agencies and picked one a few weeks ago. We're actually 1/3 of the way done with our homestudy! We had A LOT of forms to fill out, had basic physicals, several background checks, and had to get some reference letters. We’re also answering several questions and gathering pictures that will all be a part of our bio, which is what the birth mother will pick us from. We had an office interview last week, will have an all day class at the beginning of May, and the actual home visit a few weeks after that. If all goes well, we’ll be active around the end of June/beginning of July – and at that point will be “paper pregnant”!
We're planning to adopt a domestic newborn, so it's anybody's guess on how long it will take. Our agency has great placement rates though, and their average wait time is 9 months. Still, for some it could take 3 years – which is a scary thought. For others it could happen after 5 days – which is also scary (but obviously exciting too!)
While parts of us are still grieving the loss of a biological child at this point in our lives, we're so excited and hopeful for the path we're about to go down. We actually feel like we’re expecting, even though we don’t know the “when” of it. It's amazing to actually believe that we ARE going to become parents. :)
