Orientation Meeting

Well, we just got home from the Orientation Meeting at Infant of Prague adoption services and I couldn't be more pleased. The communications director, Johanna, was extremely sweet, informational, personable, and very thorough (the meeting lasted about an hour and 45min). I feel so informed and ready to start this process (which is going to be a long one, but well worth it!)

The meeting began with a history of IPAS (Infant of Prague Adoption Services) which you can read on their website. She basically explained that the name stems from the original connection between the agency and the catholic church back in the 1950's and has nothing to do with international adoption...She then went on to explain that 95% of the adoptions through the agency (which is private) are infants! Such amazing news to my ears. There was much explanation about the fact that the mothers receive TONS of counseling throughout their pregnancy to ensure that it is the best possible choice for her. That all of the adoptions are absolutely voluntary. And the best part, in my opinion? They never even call you to tell you you have a baby until AFTER the mother has signed the Relinquishment form (look that up; agencies have to be licensed to use this form). That way you are never revoked of your beloved new baby.

There was talk of the possibility of "Open Adoption" which can sound scary upon first hearing it, but she explained that 'open' doesn't necessarily mean that you have to meet with or ever know the birth mother. It could be as simple as sending the birth mother a yearly letter to update her on the child, or a school picture left at the agency for her to pick up. Jeff and I discussed we would definitely be okay with leaving a photo or something at the agency to let the birth mother know the child is okay.

We also learned that the majority of the process for certification is similar to when we were planning to possibly do foster care: background check, fingerprinting, CPR/first aid, etc. There is also a 6 series Adoption Class we will take come January (that is the next open class as they only take 5 couples at a time). After that, they do a home study with a social worker. We will also create a photo/scrapbook for the mothers to look at as well. Once that is complete (all the fees must be paid of course) you are on your way to placement! The wait period averages at a year, but you could get a baby as soon as 3 months, 6 months, 8 months, just depending. There is also the possibility of adopting sibling sets (twins) at no extra cost if it comes available.

We talked about legal technicalities and learned the ins and outs about what that entails; I won't bore you with big words and such, however, the agency has been around 59 years and knows what they are doing! We talked about how the birth certificate works which was interesting to me. Basically, the original birth certificate has the mother's name on it and the name she chooses for the baby if she gives it one. We never see that, it goes straight to the agency and we then go through the 'finalization' process of basically re-doing the birth certificate. We then receive an official birth cert with our names as the parents and the name WE give the baby. Kinda crazy!

Anyway...I am just so excited to get the ball rolling. The next step is taking over our preliminary adoption paperwork and a $25 check to get our file started, then reserving our place in the January class. I am so giddy inside to begin the journey of finally becoming a mommy!

Until next time,

Night Night!!