We decided we were not interested in domestic adoption. This has upset some people. Let me explain our reasons:

 

To adopt an infant is all but impossible with waiting lists years long. You must compete for baby by writing the birth mother a letter & pleading with her to let you raise her child; telling her why you are better than the others that want her baby.

 

We do not make enough money to compete with infertile couples with large incomes - and the fact that we already have 2 children would work against us. Birth mom's generally don't want their child "competeing" with biological children.

 

To adopt out of the foster care system takes a long time & runs the risk of many failed attempts. The state will repeatedly try to reunite children with birth parents.

 

Our biggest deciding factor was wanting to raise our child without interference from birth relatives. We know of people that deal with birth relatives & and feel manipulated at every turn. Also, adoptive grandparents have a harder time feeling entitled to be a grandparent, when the child's biological grandparents are in the picture. Let's face it -if the relatives were good people to begin with - the child would be with them. (Yes that is being harsh and over simplifying.)

 

Our first leg of research overseas had us looking at Russia & other European countries. A white infant sounded like a good match for our family, & you can get babies young (9 months). The drawback is that it is hard to get a girl compared to a boy, & there is a 2 trip minimum for most countries. Airfare twice & 4 weeks in foriegn hotels sounded crazy. Add Dion's unpredictable schedule to that & you have a pending disaster.

 

Europe/Russia is known to have significant numbers of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome or drug effected children - just like the United States.

 

After finding out we qualify for the China program, we began researching it extensively. The more we found out, the more we knew this was the program for us. The children are very young (10-14 months average) when you get them, & there is only 1 trip. The trip is 2 weeks, but we look forward to that!

 

The other major factor is the reason these children are orphans. (Read Lost Daughters of China or Wanting a Daughter, Needing a Son to learn more.) Most of these children are healthier than European children. And most importantly, the Chinese government has one of the best run programs for international adoption. Their government agency is well run & works like a "well oiled machine". There are very few glitches (unless you count SARs) & new parents come home with glowing stories of the wonderful Chinese people & their kindness & generosity.