We’ve officially been waiting 18 months to grow our family through adoption. To be fair, we’ve been waiting A LOT longer than that to grow our family, but that’s the time that has passed since we were home-study approved by our local agency. We were told at the beginning of this process that the typical wait time was 18-24 months, so we’re expecting a call any day now. š
The holidays were both a nice distraction from the wait to grow our family and a tough reminder of how long we’ve been waiting. Will next Christmas be the one we get to hang another stocking on our mantle? Only God knows.
We’ve been discussing switching agencies, as the one we’re with did a low number of adoptions last year. It’s hard to think about switching because while we’re anxious to grow our family, fewer adoptions could actually be a good thing. It could mean their parenting program is working and expectant mothers at our agency have enough support to parent their children. I praise God if that’s the case!! However, doing fewer adoptions could also be a result of women choosing to work with agencies other than the one we selected. We aren’t sure what the case is right now, but know another agency (the runner up in our list of top local agencies) did over 40 adoptions last year. They are known for being ethical and for treating expectant mothers well. They just do a higher volume of adoptions because they seem to be more well connected in our state.
Switching agencies is also a huge decision that involves repeating mountains of paperwork, not to mention the emotional burden of managing that process. I’m just not sure we have it in us to navigate that in the midst of all the other changes happening in our lives right now, and we both felt so much peace about signing up with this agency. TBD.
We’re also considering some other types of adoption. I’ll share more about that here when we’re certain about what path we plan to take. š
Thank you for following along and for your support on this journey! For more frequent updates, be sure to follow our adoption Instagram account at the link below.
http://instagram.com/markadri_adopt/
Seems like you should be able to list with as many agencies as you want ???
I understand why someone would think that for sure. However, for most families that approach would be cost prohibitive (every agency requires $$), as well as a time investment (for interviews, background checks, physicals, paperwork) that just wouldn’t be possible to repeat over and over. It takes months to sign up with a single agency.
Anyone who was going to go that route (signing up with lots of agencies) would probably be better served working with an ethical consultant who is established with multiple agencies. I’m weary of adoption consultants overall though after reading lots of stories about coercion and lack of care for expectant parents. I know of one I would be open to working with, but we’ve decided that approach isn’t right for us right now.
Prayers and love for the lucky, blessed child that will make your love a family!! Thanking God for people like you that will open your hearts to a child who becomes part of your beautiful family!! ā¤ļøšš»ā¤ļøšš»ā¤ļøšš»
Thank you, Mary! <3
Praying for you both as the journey twists and turns. You will be amazing parents!
Thank you so much! <3