Don’t Ignore Foster Care Adoption

After learning of our infertility in November 2006, we were down and depressed.  However, during the Christmas holidays, we conceived!  We conceived the idea of adopting a child through foster care. We first realized that we were really expecting a child after attending an information session on foster care.

That first trimester was just as full of nausea as any other pregnancy with all the arduous adoption paperwork which were complete with background checks, fingerprinting, and long, boring long-distance childcare classes that we were required to complete.

We thought the second trimester would slow down a bit since we had completed the state requirements to become adoptive parents. All we were waiting for was to finish our in-home study and inspection, or so we thought.   However, the resting point didn’t come.

Although we had been planning to move to a larger town in 2007, we didn’t realize that we would sell our country home in less than a week.  We found our dream home the very next day, complete with what would be a baby’s room.

As we began the disarray of packing for our move, our caseworker would arrive for our home study.  With that “final” task behind us, we hoped that our child would come soon.

The last trimester was one of “nesting” into our new home.  Our actual moving day was the day after school was out. As hectic as every move is, we were relieved to finally be “home!”

Two weeks after the move, I returned to the workforce in a new challenging job.  My husband, stepson, and even I had to adjust to my new role outside the home.  I wondered how in the world I would be able to juggle it all when school began in the fall.

We completed our fire and health inspections of our new home, one of the final steps for placement of a child.

As we excitedly approached our “due date”, my nesting instincts kicked in with lots of preparation for the baby’s room. We purchased a crib, and the baby’s bunny bedroom began taking shape. We were starting from scratch as far as any baby items since this would be my first (non-furry) child.

The girl's bunny bedroom that became a boy's sports bedroom

I was certain that my water would break soon after, and that when my daughter finally arrived, she would be approaching her first birthday.

It’s amazing how true that was…except that my daughter would be my rambunctious boy, Stinkpot, that we adopted through foster care!

This week is National Infertility Awareness Week to help others learn the facts about infertility.

If you are suffering from infertility, please browse through this site to read more about how we became parents through the miracle of adoption through foster care.

Also, sign up to receive our e-book detailing how we adopted our second baby through foster care – a true miracle!

CHECK OUT THESE GREAT BOOKS ON FOSTER CARE