For Father's day I thought I would write a post about adoption. Since I work in IT Jamie is normally the one posting but I thought this was important. So here are a few things from my point of view.
Jamie and I have 3
wonderful young biological children and then begin the adoption process to
bring home another child. Its definitely been an eye opening experience for me.
I certainly hadn't planned to end up here but my only regret so far is we
didn't start this process sooner.
When did you first
consider adoption and how did you first become aware of the need for adoptive
parents?
We first started thinking about
adoption at the end of 2011. We had been discussing foster care shortly after
our daughter was born at the beginning of 2011 but were waiting till she turned
one. As we learned more about international adoption and what it entailed we
thought we could make a difference.
Did you have any
hesitations or fears at first and if so, what were they?
Like any major life changing event there were concerns. Financially international adoption is expensive as most of you know. Can we help another child and handle the cost? Also how will he integrate with our family?
I thought I was completely done having children period but after looking into adoption and realizing we could make a difference and help someone have a better life that changed my perspective. Now I can't wait to get our son home so he can be part of our family.
If your child is already home, did you find it hard to bond with him or her?
Our child isn't home yet but we are hoping to travel in August.
In your opinion, what is the hardest thing about adoption?
The hardest part of adoption is the waiting and not knowing what condition your child is living in. Are they safe and getting enough to eat. Do they have someone that spends time with them and holds them?
In the adoption world, we hear a lot from the women/moms who have adopted and not so much from the dads. Is there anything you’d like to say to other adoptive or potential adoptive dads?
I would say to other perspective dads considering international adoption give it a chance. Like I said above I didn't think we would have or adopt anymore children. Take some time and learn about the process and the difference you could make in a child's life.
Like any major life changing event there were concerns. Financially international adoption is expensive as most of you know. Can we help another child and handle the cost? Also how will he integrate with our family?
I thought I was completely done having children period but after looking into adoption and realizing we could make a difference and help someone have a better life that changed my perspective. Now I can't wait to get our son home so he can be part of our family.
If your child is already home, did you find it hard to bond with him or her?
Our child isn't home yet but we are hoping to travel in August.
In your opinion, what is the hardest thing about adoption?
The hardest part of adoption is the waiting and not knowing what condition your child is living in. Are they safe and getting enough to eat. Do they have someone that spends time with them and holds them?
In the adoption world, we hear a lot from the women/moms who have adopted and not so much from the dads. Is there anything you’d like to say to other adoptive or potential adoptive dads?
I would say to other perspective dads considering international adoption give it a chance. Like I said above I didn't think we would have or adopt anymore children. Take some time and learn about the process and the difference you could make in a child's life.
Beautifully written!! Thanks so much for taking the time to answer the questions that I know other dad's have!
ReplyDeleteI believe Eli lives in pretty good conditions physically - therapies are included, good food, diapers, donations, games outside etc. But it is still an orphanage - no parents, not enough caregivers, walls of institution (although it could look pretty nice from inside, depends on renovation). But it's only better when you compare with those horrid conditions in other orphanages in EE (Serbia, Ukraine). NO CHILD should live in an orphanage!
ReplyDeleteThanks! We got an update on Eli indicating that he was getting therapies and had toys to play with, and he is a chunky little thing so that made us feel so much better!
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