Adoption Details

I realized today that I haven't really provided any information regarding how our upcoming trip is going to work and what the purpose is.

The first thing that might seem kind of surprising is that right now, we don't know anything about the baby that has been chosen for us. When we completed our original paperwork we didn't specify boy or girl, the only thing we specified was a healthy baby, as young as possible, under 18 months. We are also approved for 2 children, which is probably highly unlikely but you never know (smile).

The youngest that the baby will be is around 9 months. The babies have to be on a Russian database of children without parental presence for at least 6 months before they become available for International adoption. Also, from what we are told we are more likely to be matched with a boy.

Two trips are necessary to adopt a child from Russia. First, we travel to Russia to meet our child and apply for a court date (this trip will last about one week). After this we return to the United States and wait for the court date. Unfortunately, our prospective adoptive child must remain in Russia during this time. The time between trips ranges between 1 to 3 months. We will then travel to Russia a second time to attend the court hearing. After the court hearing, the parents will receive the adoption certificate and a new birth certificate showing the child's new name, and the adoptive parents as the child's parents. During the second trip we will have alot of time to spend with the baby. Especially if the court doesn't waive the 10 day waiting period. We expect to be there for the second trip between 2 and 3 weeks.

Thats the process in a nutshell. We expect many ups and downs over the next several weeks. My goal in all this is to go with the flow and to try to keep perspective.