Finally matched

I haven’t blogged in quite a while. Apparently I posted 2 years ago when we started adoption #2. That was a long time ago and during that time we were up and down and thinking we could just be happy with one child. Then we received a referral about a month ago and ended up accepting. This adoption is a lot more difficult than the first. With our first child, wait times for a referral, emigration submission, emigration permission, court date and final custody were more predictable. After Covid and many changes in the world, things are even less certain. With fertility rates decreasing and cultural changes in South Korea, we simply could not believe that we got a referral for a healthy baby. All in all, our son will love to have a younger brother. They can play together. They can help one another. They will undoubtedly have spats throughout the years, but life will be nice because they have each other.

It’s been 4 years since we’ve gone through the adoption process. I was trying to remember how I coped with the wait and then I remember blogging about it. I don’t know if anyone reads this but it helps me to get the thoughts out. Much like a pregnant woman, adoptive parents are filled with hopes and fears; we also encounter unexpected surprises along the way. I’ve returned to the online forums chatting with other waiting families who are in similar situations. Some families are adopting their first child. Others are growing theirs with perhaps a mixture of adopted and biological children. No matter what the situation there are a multitutde of things that could happen and it messes with your mind sometimes. I try to just take a breath and relax. Everything that will happen is meant to be.

There are some exciting things we can do right now. We’ve been researching flights and hotels. Luckily the airline we are looking at has a new policy, so children fly for a more reduced price than in the past. During adoption #1 we stayed at a very hip hotel for our first trip, but this time around I think we will stay at the same hotel during our custody trip to see if our child remembers anything from that time. We also plan to try and meet up with his foster family so they can see how much he’s grown.

We can purchase a few small items and send care packages to our son while we wait. We recently sent one with a recordable storybook so he can hear our voices. It also included clothes, toys and other baby books.

These days my son is putting some of his “baby toys” aside so that they will be ready for when his brother arrives. It’s cute to see his excitement. He has been telling us where he thinks a crib should go. I think that he will be jealous of him at first, but over time it will help him to become more responsible. Many people also tell me that having 2 kids is easier than having one. I’m skeptical but we will see!