Several months ago, I wrote a post about adopting a baby and how adopting was a waiting game. Our wait is almost over. We planned on adopting a pre-school aged girl. God chuckled at us and threw a wrench into our plans. We’re now adopting two brothers. We’re waiting on one piece of paper to be signed, and they can be placed with us. Once that happens the adoption process will start. We’ve wanted to adopt for many years now and I know the whole adoption process can be a struggle for some and there’s so much that goes into it all, from the checks and processes we as the adopters have to go through and the same with the birth mother and healthcare specialists. I was recently reading an article on The Adoption Guide for Healthcare Providers Working with Birth Parents and it really educated me on the whole process and how it all works between the healthcare providers and birth parents. I know our healthcare provider has been fantastic with us and this just shows how useful they are to others as well! We can’t thank them enough. I can’t believe we’re nearly ready to welcome our two children home. It’s so exciting!
One of the brothers is now with us for respite for the next week or so. The first day he was with us, he didn’t want to be put down. So many new faces. A new home. A stuffy nose and congested chest to top it all off. He didn’t smile. He didn’t sleep well that night. There’s so much that’s happened in his little life, and it breaks our hearts. But now, he has a fresh start.
Since we’ve had him, I’ve thought about the challenges we will face. Bonding and attachment. Finalizing the adoption. Remembering how to care for humans that are less than three feet tall and under three years of age. Working for that first smile from the baby (we got it on day two!). Working to build trust with big brother. Learning on the fly how to raise boys. Making every possible effort to navigate two different cultures. That just barely scratches the surface of the first few months, much less years.
It’s all so new. It’s all so… scary. But it’s all worth it.
Hundreds of thousands of kids in our country need good, loving families. Families like yours. Families who will say “Yes.” Families who will sacrifice for the good of a child, for the good of sibling groups who face the real possibility of being split up. Yeah, it’s inconvenient. Yes, there are challenges that you’ll have no idea how to overcome. Yes, it will require sacrifice and the upheaval of your quiet, convenient, suburban life. Their life, however, is anything but quiet and convenient.
But if you say YES to adoption–if you say YES for these children, it could make all the difference in the world. Their world.
So please. Just say YES.
