Can you answer Juicy Girl’s question about Adoption?:

Has anyone adopted a child/infant in the U.S. using an Adoption Attorney and if so who did you use and were you satisified? This is one of many avenues we are taking to finding the right representation. Thanks in advance for your help.
I want to add to my question, if anyone also has a recommendation for a U.S. adoption agency that would help as well. We are trying to cover all bases as we are just beginning the process. Thanks.

Cost Of International Adoption

Choosing adoption is a big step. I would like to discuss a variety of topics that will help with making the decision to adopt an informed, thought provoking one. The goal of this article is to provide information and resources that will help in choosing adoption. The result, I hope, is to help any child be placed in a home where they are wanted, appreciated and loved and to provide any caring adult, tools they can utilize to make choosing adoption a reality.

Let’s begin by asking yourself, “Am I ready?”. This is a logical place to start because by choosing adoption you are choosing to change the dynamics of your life forever. This of course is said not to scare you away from the idea of adoption but to merely point out the realization of this fact. Once you have done your homework and a lot of soul searching and are still choosing to adopt, you may have come across the most rewarding experience of your lifetime.

With choosing adoption comes many decisions immediately following: What adoption agency will I use? Do I want to adopt a boy or a girl? When I adopt, will the child be an infant? 5 yrs. old? or a teenager? These are all important questions that need to be addressed.

Adoption Agencies

One must be very careful when choosing adoption agencies for obvious reasons. The search for one on the internet, you may find is a challenge. I have done some homework and have found a couple of links that may be helpful:

http://www.adoption.com – In the topics menu under adopting click “guide”

http://www.comeunity.com/ – Great for resources

Do I want a boy or do I want a girl?

My wife and I have raised 3 boys and 2 girls and I must say that it is a different experience one from the other, but rewarding all the same. This is a choice that must be thought out and discussed when choosing to adopt. Much has been written regarding adopting a boy vs. a girl and I would encourage you to visit the websites listed above as a source of information. Ultimately, this is a matter of preference. The dedication and commitment to love another human being far out weighs this choice you must make.

Through communication with your spouse, a decision should be reached. Just remember, not everyone gets to choose, so this should be a pleasant choice to make.

Choosing the age of the child

Now this is a tough one. On average more infant girls are adopted than any other age/gender combination. But looking into the various challenge of each age group, may prove to be helpful. This is where you choose how the dynamics of your life will change. Really give this decision consideration when choosing to adopt.

Responsibilities and what to expect by age group:

Infant: very dependent, may keep you up at night, feeding, changing diapers, bathing, washing, wiping, burping, parent/child play time, reading time

1-3 yrs: Crawling, walking, teeth brushing, beginning to talk, bathing, exploring, breaking household items, parent/child play time, reading time, lots of energy

3-5 yrs: Learning ABC’s, asks why a lot, exploring, human sponges, parent/child play time, bathing, child making friends, child brushing their own teeth with assistance from parents, reading time (both child and parent read)

6-8 yrs: Learning, attention span improving, lots of energy, children should be brushing their own teeth, parent child play time, wanting to do more on their own, reading time, teach them how to do chores that are age appropriate, may want to begin organized sports or activities

9-11 yrs: Study habits, learning how to do for themselves, increased chore responsibility, becoming more independent, communicating regularly

12-14 yrs: Preteen and becoming a teenager, hormones, relationships, friendships, study habits, communicating regularly, extra curricular activities, spreading their wings.

15-18 yrs: On the road to becoming an adult, education, future planning, relationships, having the “birds and bees” talk, communicating regularly

Of course this list merely scratches the surface but all in all I think you get the idea. Choosing adoption to begin or extend your family can be very rewarding. It is a big decision and through research and communication, you may find that choosing adoption is the right fit for you and your family.

Remember the best way, when choosing anything, is to be informed.



Thanks to Dan Tannar for contributing this article to our Adoption blog:

Adoption Attorney

Finding Birth Parents is not an easy job. There are many Adopted People who have been searching for their Parents for years but all their efforts have resulted in failure. When people discover they are adopted they hope that they will be able to access their Adoption Records and that they will locate their Birth Parents and Birth Family quickly. But in most cases it is not as easy as that. Because most often access to Adoption Records is denied. And even with the Help of an Adoption Lawyer or Adoption Agency, chances are slim that you will be successful in your pursuit of opening adoption records.

This denial of access to Adoption Records can be very frustrating for Adopted Children who are whole-heartedly searching for their Birth Parents. And they ask themselves “Can I find my parents without access to Adoption Records?” In the past the answer to that question would have been “it is very difficult, almost impossible.” but now it has all changed! There is an Online Adoption Registry which has changed it all and that Adoption Registry is IwasAdopted.com.

IwasAdopted.com, A truly Global Online Adoption Registry

IwasAdopted.com is a truly Global Online Adoption Registry serving people worldwide and helping them in their Adoption Search. IwasAdopted accepts registrations from all around the World, which means when you are searching on IwasAdopted then you are searching the world. IwasAdopted is immensely popular, among People conducting an Adoption Search, with thousands of registrations every month. For all of you out there who want to find your parents and for parents who are looking for children you gave up at some point in your life, IwasAdopted.com is the tool you have been looking for. IwasAdopted.com can really help you in your Adoption Search.

Support for Multi Language Viewing

Being a truly global adoption registry, IwasAdopted.com also provides you the function of viewing the website in multiple languages at the click of a button. This means that now you can search in the language of your choice. Additionally, customer service is also provided in multiple Languages.

On IwasAdopted.com registration is free. So can there be a better place for an Adoption Search than IwasAdopted.com? Surely not.



Thanks to Nancy Smith for contributing this article to our Adoption blog:

International Adoption Agency

Once the adoption process starts, there are two ways it could go down. It will be either a closed adoption or an open adoption. Closed adoptions are the way adoptions were traditionally done. There is no contact between the prospective parents and the birth mother. All information, the limited information, is given through the adoption agency. In an open adoption, both parties have an open line of communication. The birth mother actually picks the family she wants her child to go to and then spends time learning about the family.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both scenarios. The prospective parents have to know how they are going to be most comfortable. Parents might get the jitters of knowing the birth mother and have an issue with knowing who she is. Others want to know exactly where their child is coming from.

The term open adoption might seem misleading. Just because it is open doesn’t mean anyone is privy to the information regarding the adoption. Only the birth mother and the prospective parents are allowed to know details. An adoption agent will pair a mother and a potential family and exchange information about the parties. If it progresses further, the two clients will meet and possibly exchange contact information. This way the two families can stay in touch with each other. Prospective parents need to be cautious in dealing with this type of adoption. While there have been loads of successful cases, there have been horror stories associated with open adoptions. The birth mother uses this as a way to get extra money from the parents. More money than was initially agreed upon. Be cautious and vigil.

The key to a good open adoption is having great communication. Ask as many questions as possible and don’t be afraid to answer any questions. Being honest will go a long way in open adoptions. Another thing to consider in open adoptions is the future of your child. When the child learns that they were adopted, they might want to meet the birth mother. In this case, it will be easier to find the birth mother.

Some prospective parents might feel uncomfortable in this situation. The parents are desperate for a child; they don’t want to do anything to scare away the birth mother. They fear saying or doing the wrong thing. They worry the birth mother will not like them. If this type of situation is too much too handle, closed adoptions might be a better fit for prospective parents.

Closed adoptions offer limited information about the parties. Historically, such limited information led to problems between the clients, but that is not the case anymore. Adoption agencies handle the situations with utmost care. The agencies are there to make both parties are happy with the least amount of complications. In this situation, it is usually left up to the adoptive parents to let the child know he or she was adopted. It is also usually harder for an adopted child to find his birth mother, which could lead to problems down the line.

There are many things to consider when deciding on either an open or closed adoption. Go through the list of options and decide what situation you are going to be most comfortable with to make the adoption process as painless as possible.



Thanks to Abhishek Agarwal for contributing this article to our Adoption blog:

Adopt A Rescue Pet

Can you answer roxygurl123’s question about Adoption?:

We are adopting a special needs child who we found on a website from an adoption agency, we are a approved family and our dossier was logged in, in China, now all we need is our letter from the CCCA, to accept her, and our travel date. How long is the process from this point? We are anxiously waiting?

State Adoption Laws