hopefully not a dumb question Re: deciding what country

How did you all decide which country to adopt from. I know that the country's requirements and wait times are factors? What else did you do to narrow it down?

Re: hopefully not a dumb question Re: deciding what country

well... we haven't started the process yet, but are doing initial research stages now, trying to figure out which country...
i know some things that are factoring in for us are the age that the children come home at. in some countries the children don't come home until a year, 1 1/2, 2 years... but in others, they come home at a few months. for us, we feel the younger the better because it gives you more time to bond with the baby. also, the health of the children. some countries, the children are kept in orphages and don't get the best care, but in others there is good home foster care systems set up, and better medical care...
travel times in country are also a factor- some countries its a couple weeks, and some its a couple days...
hope this helps you! we're not ready to start the process yet, but we have pretty much narrowed it down to guatemala..

Message edited 11/2/2006 1:49:21 PM.

Re: hopefully not a dumb question Re: deciding what country

I truly believe you get a feeling that "this is where my baby is".
There are practical things such as what the country will accept such as age, health, marriage requirements etc... but in the end, you just know where your baby is.

There are MANY ophranages that provide excellent and loving care.I know my child in Ethiopia will get excellent care of the agency's orphanage before I can pick him up.

I also know many moms who adopted a child over the age of 3 and feel just as bonded as I do to my bio-daughter. It is all a very personal decision and one that requires a lot of soul searching. You need to decide if you can raise a child of another race in some cases. You and your huband need to feel comfortable with that decision.


My agency is Wide Horizons
www.whfc.org
you can see their presenations for many countries.

Re: hopefully not a dumb question Re: deciding what country

Where do you get accurate information about the care the children receive in each country? I've heard that the child's medical records may be more accurate coming from one country than another. How did you find out the truth about things like that?

I don't even know if we will adopt. We are probably still far off from deciding that. I have always had a feeling that I would adopt a child. I watched a former co-worker go through China adoption. Since then I have always felt like China would be it for me. But I have always felt like I was meant to have a boy from China----and that is probably not what would really happen. Truthfully, I do not have a gender preference.

I'm just starting to think about this.

Re: hopefully not a dumb question Re: deciding what country

You need to speak to various agencies, do Yahoo chat room research, talk to moms who have adopted before with that agency.

You can adopt a boy from China, but typically they are special needs. Special needs in foreign countries can mean that they have a very slight medical issue.

Re: hopefully not a dumb question Re: deciding what country

There are also certain requirements you have to meet with each country which may rule YOU out from that country. For example, in Korea you must be married 3 years and not be more than 30% overweight.

These are the top 10 reasons we chose Korea if it will help you.

(1) We wanted a young baby, and Korea had very young infants going overseas at the time we applied (however, now they are going to be a bit older given the new legislation.)

(2) We liked the idea of the baby being cared for by a foster family.

(3) The medical care in Korea is wonderful.

(4) The background information on the birthmother and birthfather (if known) is provided.

(5) We liked the escort option (meaning, you don't have to travel to the country to pick up your child.)

(6) We knew of several families who had adopted from Korea and were very satisfied with the process

(7) We wanted a baby as soon as possible and at the time of our application, Korea adoptions were going at lightning speed through SWS in Korea.

(8) We fell inlove with Korean culture and were interested in integrating the culture into our lifestyles.

(9) Korean children are just so damn cute. (well, all children are!)

(10) We couldn't think of any reason to NOT choose Korea.