Our Bilingual Family May Get Bigger — We’re Looking Into Adoption

I have news to share: My husband and I have finally decided that we’re ready to become foster parents with the goal to adopt.

It’s been beautiful and practical to be a family of three, but for months now I’ve been feeling the longing and even the readiness to welcome a new being into our familia. However, we’re still grounded in reality and know our limitations as far as the economic and time pressures we have. I just turned 40 this year, and I know many women successfully deliver well into their fourth decade, but I just don’t feel like gambling with this. Plus, I just don’t at all feel the urge to be pregnant again and go through the infancy stage.

Also, we realistically want a girl that will be close enough to our daughter’s age that they can bond. My girl is beyond excited about the prospect and tells me every single day that she’s ready to share her toys, books, clothes, etc.

After research into the different options to adopt both internationally and domestically, we’ve decided that what works best for us is to foster-adopt. There are so many kids in need right in our own cities and we feel this is the right thing to do. Yes, we realize that the process can be difficult, especially if we form a bond with a child that’s later taken away from us, but it seems like the pros far outweigh the cons right now. That, or we’re just so ready to do it that we’re turning a blind eye to the list of things that could go wrong!

The truth is that I still question if I’m ready to adopt a child, and I wrote about my feelings over at my Babble blog and asked for advice on how to know when you’re ready  to adopt a child.

From my Babble post:

What we know right now is that:

• My daughter understands the concept of adoption, loves the idea, and all she’s asking for is to make sure she’s the big sister.
• Our financial and home situation can handle one more person.
• Adopting from foster care is right for us in so many ways. We want an older child (around 3- or 4-years-of-age), hopefully from Latino descent that we can share our heritage with.
• Our hearts are ready to take another person in. Everything else will fall into place.

Read the rest of my post “How Do You Know When You’re Ready to Adopt.”

Have you adopted or thinking about it? Please share your tips, advice or words of wisdom in the comments below so we all benefit from them.

{Photo by stevendepolo on flickr}