International Adoption Blog

Speaking About Speech

Courtney O — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 03:00:22 +0000

My son, Bear, is a chatterbox. No, really. He talks incessantly, and he regales his sister, Beauty, with endless stories, “recipes” from their kitchen, “child care” tips for their baby dolls and stuffed animals—you name it. He’s just a natural born talker (some may argue that’s a trait he’s taken from my dad’s side of the family!), highly communicative by nature. No matter what you want to call it, he’s been blessed with the gift of gab.

Beauty, on the other hand, is a bit behind in her speech. When she arrived home at nine months of age, she endlessly babbled... more

Piles of Paperwork: The Dossier

Courtney O — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 18:16:19 +0000

Karen’s great recent post about the home study process really led me to reflect upon my own adoption experiences. Prior to our first home study (to bring Beauty into our family), I had heard the horror stories out the gate about all that could go wrong—the “white glove” social workers, those who asked endless, seemingly unanswerable questions, and so forth—and I admit it: I was a nervous wreck. Bear was only a few months old at the time of our visit, and while I doted (and still do!)... more

Adoption Classes: Preparation with a Purpose

Courtney O — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 19:34:59 +0000

I’ll start by saying this: while adopting Beauty, we attended one in-person class where they covered child care, basic issues relevant to international adoption, CPR, and the like. It was a good class taught by a very knowledgeable social worker. While pregnant with Bear, we attended a two-day class covering the basic child care principles as well as post-partum care. Another good class, taught by a very knowledgeable nurse. See the trend here? Good class, knowledgeable instructor.

We recently completed our required hours of online training for our pending Ethiopian... more

Ethical International Adoptions Are A Must

Mandy W — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 13:18:47 +0000

Courtney's post really struck a cord with me. I had insomnia (again) last night and thought I would check out recent posts on Adoption.com.

I totally believe that our adoption from Ethiopia was on the up and up. I trust our agency, their reputation and my gut instincts. We also met with their Ethiopian father and met several family members. The baby pictures we have clearly show that... more

On Raising a Strong Woman..

Courtney O — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 20:37:11 +0000

I just checked on my two napping sweethearts and came down here to snag just one more brownie (a product of our baking creations from Saturday’s kitchen adventures); I’ve just settled in to check my online haunts one last time before submitting to the list of endless household chores at my fingertips. I’ve had a post on issues related to race in the context of a family brewing a bit in my head and recent recollections of a few past conversations got the proverbial ball rolling. Well, that and Bear’s drawing from this afternoon, but more on that at a later date—that’s... more

Celebration Tokens: In-Process Adoption Keepsakes

Courtney O — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 18:50:39 +0000

While I was pregnant with Bear, each month presented me with a growing reminder of my child. Granted, I can’t claim I gave birth to a seventy-five pound baby (yes, I gained a whopping seventy-five pounds—and let me tell you, they were delicious!), but I had that physical reminder of his presence with me always; in addition to my constantly and consistently expanding belly, I also savored the numerous but still always amazing flutters, kicks, jabs and so forth. While we were in the process of adopting Beauty, I obviously didn’t have the constant physical reminders. The love... more

The Power of Positivitiy the Second Time Around

Courtney O — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 12:38:41 +0000

International adoption: take two. Is it easier the second time around?

Well, that’s a tough question. Let’s break it down into two seemingly simplistic yes/no categories for starters. In a small way, yes, it is easier. Having adopted a daughter from Guatemala in 2007, I have a general idea of the process, the paperwork, the fees, and so forth. Words such as “dossier” and “I600-A” actually mean something to me this time around, as we start the journey of adopting our son from Ethiopia. So in that respect, yes, I feel a second international adoption is a bit gentler than... more

"Saving" a Life: When Well-Meaning Comments Leave a Bad Taste in Your Mouth

Courtney O — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 02:56:45 +0000

“Oh, so your daughter is from Guatemala? How wonderful! She is so lucky to have you. My sister’s friend’s cousin’s daughter-in-law once went there in the eighties and she said it was anarchy and poverty. You saved that little girl’s life!”

Ugh.

The aforementioned excerpt—with the exception of the sister’s friend’s, etc. classification—is a word for word sentence I heard from a well-meaning stranger as I was having a “mom-and-daughter lunch” with Beauty about a year ago. I say well-meaning because I do believe this is true; I do feel she was sincere... more

International Adoption: The Makings of a Family

Courtney O — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 22:07:48 +0000

As a new addition to the International Adoption blog, I wanted to take a few moments to introduce myself. My name is Courtney, and I am a married, stay-at-home mom of two beautiful children (two-point-five actually, but more on that later). My son was born to me biologically (and adopted by my husband) and my daughter is adopted from Guatemala. In addition, we are in the very early stages of a second (and final) international adoption; we are hoping to adopt a baby-to-toddler boy from Ethiopia. We just completed our home study visit and are now elbows-deep in the paperwork aspect... more

Healthy Things To Think About With International Adoptions

Mandy W — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 02:55:48 +0000

The world of International Adoption can change quickly. One moment a country is open and the next it is closed. While keeping up with all the paperwork it is also important to look regularly for health updates that may affect your traveling or how you arrange Doctors visits and health screenings once your child gets home.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has recently updated their information on International Adoption. Don't let the document make you nervous.... more