Gratitude and Getting Started

Morning Friends! I wanted to say THANK YOU for all your Love and Support! I was so overwhelmed by the wonderful response to your Adoption News yesterday. I wanted to clarify that both the Hubby and I have been to the doctor and are seeking medical counsel. I have had a few people email me about fertility stuff and although this is a personal matter, I honestly want to be beyond open with you all in hopes that it may help someone out there going through the same thing. I promise this blog will not be all baby talk and all things fertility! I will still be blogging about everyday fun, workouts, food and fashion. That’s what I love about blogging, it’s an open canvas! I probably will be posting an adoption update weekly.

BABY STEPS

The reason I didn’t want to go to the doctor first was fear and pride for sure (I was taking my temperature and all that for sure already). I also don’t even like going to the doctor for other things as well, it’s just my own issues. After a year I took some baby steps and went to a homeopathic doctor just to see if she could help me with some alternative medicines. Now here is something that you should know, I have a regular period, was on birth control for 5 years and have always had a regular check up. Now just because I have a regular period, doesn’t a guarantee that I am ovulating. So I did buy a digital ovulation kit that was suggested to me by my Doctor and then we tracked my ovulation for over 6 months. My body is a well oiled machine, I ovulate exactly 14 days after the first day of my period. If you want more information about how to track when you ovulate you can check out Kath’s awesome detailed post here.

Meantime Hubby was checked first in 2011 and they said everything looked great. So we just kept right along we didn’t want to stress about it and we knew that stress would just make it worse. I will be honest the hardest part is seeing friends and family members getting pregnant on “accident”. There were some hard months, but I have such a great support system to get me through the tears and emotions.

Then November 2012 on our Hawaii Vacation we had the biggest peace about  going to get further testing and to start the process of adoption.

So this past November 2012  I saw my OBGYN and after everything, she said I was fine. No major concerns or even minor ones. She asked to see my Husbands chart and as she was looking at it she said he should test again, so he did. Since then he has had a few tests and a few more to go. No definite answers as to if anything was wrong with his little guys, but don’t you just love how his first doctor said everything was just fine. Note to self, always go back for a second opinion. 

We know that from here, a lot of people we seek further treatments and not even explore the option of adoption and that is perfectly alright for them. But for us, we want nothing more then to be able to take a child/children who needs a home, love, and someone to take care of them. We are more then blessed to be able to provide it for them and have ALWAYS wanted to do so.

THE ADOPTION PROCESS BEGINS

I remember the day day I called the County Adoption office it was January 12th,2013 and I asked when the next informational meeting was and she said it was on the 14th!!! They only happen once a month so we were in luck that we didn’t miss the meeting.

We went to the first meeting and they laid it all out for us, the possibility of having a baby with drug and alcohol exposure is super high, but babies are resilient and even if they do have medical problems we are prepared and willing. We knew we would be in for an adventure!

We got this wonderful little check list and have been charging ahead!! We are almost half way through  

Our "little" check list from the county…

• Attend an orientation meeting.
• Complete the licensing application.
• Pass a tuberculosis (TB) test.
• Pass the background check.
• Have your doctor complete the health form.
• Complete a first aid and CPR class.
• Take the required class hours. For adoptions through the county this is done with PRIDE classes. These are a series of eight three-hour classes that focus on different aspects of being a foster or adoptive parent. Private adoption organizations may have their own classes, but 24 hours is the state requirement. Classes must be completed within 120 days of submitted your application.
• Complete the class homework. There are short assignments for each three-hour class. When all the classes are complete this homework is turned in to your social worker. It is much easier to do these assignments as you take the classes instead of waiting to do it all at once.
• Schedule a visit with your social worker.
• Schedule a visit with the home inspector. You social worker approves you as an individual. A separate social worker must license your house. Make sure all chemicals, medicines, guns or poisons are locked up. If you have a pool or water feature ask the home inspector how they want it safeguarded. If you move, the license expires and you will need a new home inspection.
• Wait for an adoptive placement. Although you will be a licensed foster parent, if your goal is adoption, a child will not be placed with you until the social worker is reasonably sure that child is available for adoption. How long this takes depends on the needs of your family and the children available.

More to come…