Know what you may have to deal with before you sine up.

Attached is a letter from Amy Eldridge from Love Without Boundaries. She brings up points that all adoptive parents should know. With all children you need to be prepared for what can happen, even if when you go over to China you are handed a perfectly healthy baby. You had better be in the mind set to take care of a sick child just in case that is the outcome. The article is about disruption. There have been a couple of people who have disrupted there adoption in China because their child was not the perfect baby that they imagined they would get. When in reality all the child needed was some love and attention in order to thrive and make up lost ground as far as development is concerned. I have seen many babys come home from China that were perfectly healthy from the beginning, but I also know that that is not always the case. Amy says the rest better than I can so here's her letter. Glen



I have been so saddened by this situation. I most definitely wish there was a way to educate ALL adoptive parents about the truths of institutional care, however I have come to realize in my daily work that there are just as many parents who are not online reading everything they can find on adoption as are.There are hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of parents out there who have no idea what life is like for a child in an orphanage, and who head overseas to pick up their "China doll" only to be handed a baby who is unresponsive, thin, unable to eat..and on and on and on. While adopting my son last month, I walked several times over to the White Swan to talk to parents, and over and over I spoke with moms and dads who had no clue whatsoever about the issues their kids were having. I heard so many times things like, "she won't eat solid foods" (oral aversion), "she has no muscle tone" (muscle atrophy from lying in a crib all day), "she won't smile" (pure grieving from being taken from her foster mom). I guess since I live China 24/7, I assume everyone adopting does, too, which is not the case.I talked to at least a dozen parents who didn't even know their child's orphanage name, and while I gently said "you might want to memorize that for your child's sake", at the same time I was trying to process how many parents get all the way to China without ever reading about post-institutional issues. It was sobering to me.Babies in the NSN as well as the SN path can have issues with attachment, motor skills, emotional issues and more. I think all of us on the WCC list acknowledge that, while also acknowledging that all children (whether bio or not) can have these same issues. Living in an orphanage of course increases the odds.I think the easy out is to say that agencies have to do more, as well as social workers, but I do think that most of them do try to give information to the parents but often parents don't want to hear it or else think it won't happen to them. Again, I am often surprised to talk to parents leaving soon and to realize they are not prepared. One family was adopting from our foster care program, and when I told them that the child was dEEPLY attached to the mom, the father said, "guess she might cry for an hour or so then?" An hour or so? She had been in foster care for over a year! I tried to explain that this little girl was about ready to lose everything she had ever known, and that they should not expect her to be sunny, happy, and full of personality after an hour. I told them to please remember the 72 hour rule.......that after 72 hours they would probably see her spark, but that she would probably grieve for a long time after that as well.I think for many adoptive parents, they just don't want to read the "bad stuff", and so I do think that ultimately it is the parents who are at fault for not doing more to educate themselves. There certainly are books galore out there about post-institutional issues. I equate this to when I was pregnant with my kids and I would read "What to Expect When Expecting", and I would get to the C-section part and always skip it. Each and every time I would jump to the next chapter as "that wasn't going to happen to me". Well, on my fifth baby, when they were rushing me in for an emergency C section, I sure was wishing I had read that section earlier! But at that point in the OR, while they were strapping my hands down to the table, it was too late, and so I felt complete panic when I could have been prepared. I think adoption from China is very similar to giving birth.. it is much more rosy to only read the happy stories on APC, but I now encourage every family I meet to read the harder ones as well, because if you are the family who is handed a child that is limp and listless and who looks autistic, what you have learned in the past will help you make the right decision for your family during those very emotional first few days.I have been called many times in the last few years by parents in China worried about their children. I agree that having a support network to help you through the initial time is essential. Everyone should go to China with at least one phone number of someone they can call if they are panicked upon meeting their new child. I remember feeling so alone when I was handed my daughter and she was so tiny and limp. Because our foundation often helps with the kids who have been disrupted, I am aware that sometimes there are children who have much more serious issues than originally reported..and that is such a hard thing for a parent to get to China and then discover their child is truly autistic or has serious mental delays. I think everyone on both the China and international side would agree that it is absolutely wrong of an orphanage to not be honest in their reports, and no one would excuse that, but I also know without a doubt that the majority of kids who are disrupted are just suffering from institutional issues and would catch up quickly in a loving home. It is always a very sad day for the orphanage and everyone involved when a child that they know is absolutely fine, but perhaps thin and grieving, is returned by their new parents for being "delayed".I think far too many people believe their child's life is going to begin the moment they meet them. The truth is, and everyone must realize it..a child's life is going on RIGHT NOW in China, and all of their experiences are shaping who they are. The vast majority of aunties that I have met in China are such kind and caring people, but it absolutely is not the same as having a mom and dad at your beck and call. I have had new parents call and say "we didn't think living in an orphanage would affect her at all", and those statements truly puzzle me. How could they not contemplate life in an orphanage? Walk through Babies R Us and you will see every gadget known to man to make our children's lives here as ideal as possible. Now Americans have two way video monitors, so that when baby awakens not only can mommy see when to immediately rush in and comfort him, but she can talk to baby so that he doesn't even have one single second where he feels alone. How many new parents would have a newborn and then put that baby in a crib 22 hours a day on their own? How many would only feed their baby, even if they were really crying hard, every 8 hours? Or prop the bottle in her crib and then not watch to see if she ever really ate? Of course no one would do that..we feed newborns on demand, comfort on demand, love continuously..and whether people want to recognize it or not, that is NOT the life of an orphan in an institution. ...even when the aunties are as good as gold. I remember one night when I took some volunteers in for the night shift in an orphanage, when normally just a few aunties are working. One mom looked at me with tears in her eyes as she slowly realized that it was absolutely impossible with just two hands to feed every child, to comfort every child, to soothe every baby who was crying. She said her heart was aching to realize that her own daughter most likely had many, many times where she cried without someone to comfort her.....and she told me that for the first time she finally understood why her daughter had such a deep seated fear of being out of her mom's sight.The aunties are trying their absolute best, but that doesn't equal mother/child care. I remember being in an orphanage in the north this past winter and the aunties were so proud of how they had 6-8 layers of clothes and blankets on every baby to keep them warm. They were swaddled so tight that they couldn't move, but it was freezing in the orphanage and so the aunties wanted the babies to stay as warm as possible. What alternative did they have? It really was freezing there..I was cold in my wool coat, so the babies couldn't be up and about with just 1-2 layers on, with the ability to move their arms and legs. To stay warm they had to be immobile, and so of course all of those kids have weak muscle tone. But the aunties were truly trying their best, and when a parent is given one of those beautiful children on adoption day, I am sure they will go back to their room with concern and say "she can't sit up by herself..she can't put weight on her legs". That is absolutely the truth, but she also survived 10 degree weather in a very cold province and she will catch up soon enough with parents to encourage her.To not acknowledge that living in orphanage circumstances can cause lower body weights, low muscle tone, inability to make good eye contact is very sad to me. Can it be overcome? Most definitely! The one thing I have learned over and over again about the kids in China is that they are fighters and survivors. But for some reason, people seem to want to ignore these issues in public forums.Recently, one of our medical babies that we had met several times in person was adopted, and we all knew that this child was a "spitfire". When the family arrived and spent a few days with her, they decided she was too much of a handful for them and they wanted to disrupt. She absolutely was not what they expected. When they called their agency, they were told they had two choices: adopt the child, bring her to the US, and change their expectations of what they were hoping for, or adopt the child, bring her to the US and the agency would have a family waiting at the airport to adopt her locally. Option three of leaving the child in China was never once given. I admire that agency so much, as they were thinking of the child and the child alone. The family followed through with the adoption and handed the little girl to a new family upon her arrival in the US. As horrible and tragic and emotional as it was for everyone involved...I still feel this was the right decision for the agency to make. It was done in the absolute best interest of the child, who had waited a long, long time for a family. I wish more agencies would advocate for the rights of the child, instead of always seeming to give in to the parents, especially in those cases when they know with absolute certainty that nothing is permanently wrong with the child. Recently with another disruption, the agency I spoke with told me that it was "easier" to just get the family a new baby. Sometimes easier does not equal right. The first baby who was rejected has now been labeled "mentally challenged" even though the agency knew the child was really going to be okay.I think all of us, who do realize that delays occur and that babies can usually overcome them, should be these children's advocates by continually trying to educate new parents on what to expect in China. By helping them be better prepared, we just might help stop a disruption in the future. I love Chinese adoption with my whole heart, and it is my life's work..but I also want every family who goes to get their baby to go with their eyes open and to be as emotionally prepared as possible, for the child's sake.
Amy E"

LID 7-22-06

We got word today that we were Logged in at CCAA on 7-22-06. Which I am really glad to hear because I think our dossier was one of the ones that got logged in during the move that CCAA made to their new building. We are now finally in line for a referral. I am going to down load the LID packet tonight to see what CCAI is predicting for the wait as of now. I hope it has not gone to longer than a year, but it's anybody's guess right now.






In other Big news Lori got the job on the OR heart team! She starts tomorrow. She is so looking forward to being in the OR even with all the new things she will have to learn. She will be a circulating nurse in the OR and also learn to scrub in and pass instruments when she is not circulating. Her regular hours are great, 6:00 AM to 2:30 AM. She will have to be on call alot but that goes with the territory, and they compinsate her for being on call. With matters of the heart things don't just go bad between the hours of 6:00AM and 2:30AM. As Lori sees it if they have to call her into the OR on her time off someone is having a whole lot worse day then she is and the least she can do is go in and try to help. Luckly with the job that I have I can deal with anything that comes up with Brandon or Norah so some one will always be available for the kids if they get sick or whatever. Congradulations Lori. You will do great!

Finally, we have been planning a trip to Germany to see my sister and her family for over a year and the time has come to make the trip. We had hoped to be DTC before we went and that has happened so now it is time to go and enjoy ourselves. We plan on going to Paris while we are there and also see some castles that Brandon wants to see. I am going to take Brandon's laptop with us when we go so I can try posting from another country for practice.

Glen

WE'RE DTC!!!

As of 7-8-06 we are done with the paper chase and our dossier is in China. We are so relieved that we are now just days away from our LID(Log In Date). I am still hoping for a July LID. I will have to wait to see how that all pans out. We were told that it usually takes just under 4 weeks for LID from the date of DTC (Dossier To China) but it can take up to 8 weeks to find out when that date is/was.
We have done a little work on Norah's room. Above and below are some pictures of that progress ( I keep posting the pictures twice for some reason). We are painting the room in a kind of Beatrix Potter storybook theme. The wall art that, Lori is working on, will include the flopsy bunnies, Mrs.Tittlemouse, song birds (the little bird in the picture has found one of Peter's shoes that he lost while running from Mr.McGregor), Mr.Jeremy Fisher, Tom Kitten, and of course Peter Rabbit. To bring it all together we will have all the soft stuffed animals to go along with the books to read to her. I know from raising Brandon that for kids anytime is storytime and they LOVE to be read to. We love to read as well, so books will be a big part of Norah's life. She will have a fun and colorful room to play in and have the big dreams of a little girl stepping into the stories of Peter Rabbit and his friends.
Glen

Older boy adoption video

Here's a video I came across with the adoption of an older boy. The kids look so happy to be getting another brother. The boy has a look of shock at first but thats to be expected with the new turn of events in his life. But with all the sisters and new brother he will have plenty of help becoming accustomed to his new world.
I have an update to post on Lori's Interview for the heart team but I have to keep it under wraps while we wait for all the details to be worked out. All the hard work and countless hours Lori put into school are paying off. On the adoption front we haven't heard any news other than they got our dossier and everything is there that they need to look at. At least we didn't forget anything. All though we did have to send more photos of family life stuff. I don't know why, we sent them exactly what the paperwork asked for but we took some more photos anyway and express mailed them to ccai, so hopefully that's it.
Glen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWJi5W4TFsw