We have recently had a few questions in regards to why we are adopting internationally and why we chose China? I'd like to take a moment to answer those questions.
So why are we adopting internationally? When we started researching adoption we were open to everything. The first meeting we attended was actually with a local agency in St. Louis that specialized in domestic, infant adoptions. As we sat in that meeting with four other couples who were all only interested in adopting new, unborn, infants into their families; we found ourselves thinking about all the children who have already been born that need a home. We realized that we were not being drawn towards adopting an infant. Another point that most people don't realize is that most domestic adoptions now days are open adoptions. There are also some risk periods where the birth mother can change her mind and take her child back or the birth father can step in and claim parental rights. Although these risks aren't huge, we still felt uncomfortable with it.
So we started looking at adoption of a toddler and in the United States, the only way to really do that is through the foster care system. However, foster care is designed to find suitable homes for children to stay but ultimately be returned to their biological families. So our role in this would most likely only be temporary with a child. This is not a route that is recommended for first time adopters since there is never a guarantee that you will get to keep a child. So we started looking into the international programs.
So why did we decide to adopt from China? Honestly when we first thought about adoption, China came to mind but we were open to other countries as well. We started doing more research about the requirements for adoption in various countries and found some interesting facts. Some countries only allowed children above the age of 10 to be adopted out. Some countries had extreme travel requirements where you had to travel multiple times before your adoption was finalized. One country we actually were interested in required you to travel twice, the first time for only two weeks so that you could spend time with your child but then you had to give them back and go home. The second travel time had to be for at least 8 weeks!
Then we came to China. First off, they only required you to travel once and it is for two weeks so that was doable. Second, we were drawn to their program because of the longevity of it and how specific it is. We pretty much would know what the process will be and there shouldn't be many surprises along the way. Lastly, we wanted a culture that we could incorporate into our future child's life and China has always been of interest to us. So we felt that this was the route that we were destined to take.
So we are adopting from the China's Waiting Child Program. The current wait for healthy infant in China is at least 8 years, but there are countless Waiting Children for adoption in China. Now days any child in an orphanage is considered to have "special needs" due to the environments that they are in. Some have minor issues with attachment problems or minor medical issues such as a cleft lip which can be corrected. Others have more serious concerns and medical conditions. Some have had surgery in China and missed their opportunity to be adopted as infants. They are just as lovable now, but they are no longer babies.
We are excited to take this huge step in our lives and to welcome a new culture in to our world. We are more than happy to answer any other questions you may have about our adoption process or story. Please email us at jenna.jayadoptionjourney@gmail.com.