Yes, I’m still adopting a baby. Its been so long since I’ve posted, you have reason to doubt. In the past month, there have been several developments.
Most important is that we mailed off our Homestudy History. This pack of paperwork included all the personal information you could possibly imagine, references, financial statements, autobiographies and other stuff I’m forgetting. It took us longer than I had hoped to get that stuff together, but last week it got placed in the mail and it has been received. However, we still havent paid the 1800 dollars that go with it. I’m waiting on a new, super low interest, credit card to arrive in the mail. Normally I check the mail once a week, but this week, I’ve been there everyday. Come on card! Once the money is received, we’ll be assigned a social worker to complete our homestudy. That should take two months. I’m already working on collecting the important documents for that. I even had to request a copy of our Marriage Certificate from Virginia. Here’s hoping we’re truly married and Dr. T didnt forget to the put the paperwork in the mail.
We completed our physicals. Let it go down in history, the things I do for my future baby. Cause getting a TB test and having blood drawn was NOT fun. And if it werent for baby, I would have never ever ever subjected myself to that. But all our test results are negative and we have “acceptable” cholesterol levels (with a bit of a needs improvement). Either way, our arteries are yet to be fully clogged, even though most people would think the opposite of mine. I was pleased.
Also this month, we became friends with J, a real live pretty Korean girl in our church. And she took us out for our first taste of Korean food. It was very… interesting. I went with something incredibly easy to eat (of course) Bul Go Gu. Its was just beef in a soy sauce with some white rice. The Husband was much more experimental with a soup that had rice cakes and wontons in it. J and her then fiance’ K got crazy dishes that I would never try. But it was fun to watch.
Today I’m telling the boss boss that I’m adopting. I’m also asking permission to audit Korean this Fall.
This weekend, I’m going to tell the parents. My dad is coming to visit on Sunday, so he’ll be getting an in person announcement. I really have no idea how he’ll take it. I’ve been waiting on telling my mom, and with more things coming up related to the adoption, its been a bit hard to keep it from her. So, I’ll be telling her on Saturday. She’ll probably cry.
I’ve started reading a book, “Becoming a Family: Promoting Healthy Attachment with Your Adopted Child.” So far, its very good. Considering that most adopted children experience some type of seperation trauma in their infanthood, a large majority of them have a hard time developing a healthy attachment with their new caregivers. The chapter I read yesterday gave me a good talking to about the most important part, confidence. I need to be confident that I am this baby’s mother and I have its best interest at heart. And I will learn to know what it needs when it cries, and the best way to comfort it. And considering that God has picked us out for each other, I can confidently love my baby and know without a doubt that my love for it is the best love and the love that it needs to thrive. With that confidence alone, the chances of developing a great bond and trust with my child are greatly heightened. But if I doubt myself, baby will feel it and doubt it too. That idea made me excited about being a mom. Have confidence, just like walking the streets of New York City.