Welcome - please introduce yourself!

[leahn]

Message has been deleted

[mumof3sweethearts]

Hi...I am Aneesha. I have a 3 month old adopted son "Khurram" in addition to 1 month old bilogical twins "Salim and Arjumand". I adopted Khurram as his bilogical mother, who was my maid, passed away three months after he was born.

[destined to be a mum]

Hi,
I am Lee.We just finished going through the local adoption process here in QLD....boy what a ride that was.We are waiting with crossed fingers to see if we have been deemed to be "perspective adoptive parents"..the wait is killing us.!
DH and i have no children except our 5 fur kids!!!!lol

[balletmum]

Hi,
I'm in Adelaide and have been a Foster Mum, off and on, since 1978!! I just found your site and intend to be a regular reader and contributor. I would love to chat with other carers in Australia or anyone who is thinking of fostering in the future.
Currently I have 2 children GOM18 and 1 on a 12 week order. Obviously we can't be indiscreet but it's always nice to chat with people who understand what we face each day.
cheers,
Sue

[sahbear]

Wow, Belinda, absolutely amazing. I'm so glad to hear the girls have been kept together.

My DH's parents fostered and adopted children, and I admire them so much, but they aren't big on talking about it unfortunately.

You have bought tears to my eyes.

[The_Source]

Hi there!

We have three boys of our own. I was diagnosed with secondary fertility issues after our second (and then managed to fall pregnant two months later ) but with no natural luck since. Personally, I don't want to go down the whole full picture cycle monitoring thing again and the whole OI thing just takes the joy out of the more intimate aspects of our marriage, which is no good for TTC, or my overall mood and attitude towards life.

So, I am just wanting to find out more about international adoption as the topic has come up between DH & I and we concluded that the only thing we really knew was that, in DH's words, 'It is great for celebrities because they can have children without going through the joy and tears of pregnancy and labor'.

So, we have not clue, and just curious at this stage to find out more before making a serious decision. We love our boys to bits and would love to be able to add to our family. We home school our eldest so the whole 'go back to work to afford AC' thing is not an option. In that respect, can anyone point me in the right direction to find out more about what's involved in terms of differences with countries (have no idea there), paperwork, the process and so forth? Also, I am just wondering how emotionally taxing the process is?

Thanks in advance to those who pull out their virtual pointer finger!

[alioops]

My pregnancies have progressively gotten more painful, and we have always wanted to have 4 children. I am currently 26 weeks pregnant with our 3rd, but I am suffering severe SPD. I don't think it is fair on the kids for me to be unable to play with them while I am pregnant. We are in the very early discussions of whether or not we come to a complete stop at 3 children, have a big age gap and a biological 4th (which could be just as bad of not worse physically) or adopt a 4th

[MargOZ]

Hi, i've been a member of BB for a few years now, with my 'home' being the Long Termers Forum! Unfortunately this last week I had to have a hysterectomy due to all the fertility complications I've had with fibroids and adhesions over the years - so my dream to have a baby is now over.

I literally came out of hospital on Thursday, turned 41 yesterday, am single and feeling very sore and sorry for myself at the moment!

I know single adoption is a mine-field but I've decided to at least start doing some research to see what my options are. Hope to learn some more here and am happy to receive any info or advice from anyone - particularly anyone who has been through single adoption.

Going through a really tough time with the physical pain from the surgery at the moment but I have to say it's the emotional side of things that is so much harder.

Thanks for listening!

Marg

[dusty]

Marg, I am sorry to hear you have had a tough time and had to go down the hysterectomy route.

A good friend of mine soon to be 41 is single and adopting and currently has a file over in Ethiopia so hopefully she will get good news some time this year. She started the process about 4-5 years ago and she found in the ACT there were 2 countries that consider single adoption, Ethiopia and South Korea. I am not sure on the status of these countries for adoption at the moment as they tend to open and close to applications depending on their own country policies and the volume of adoption applications they already have to manage.

I can recommend talking to your State's adoption authority and book in for the seminars you will probably need to do to be eligible to apply in the first place.

Have you heard about or considered Permanent Care as an option? It is similar to local adoption, the child though is not legally adopted but the court rules that you become their legal guardian until the age of 18, which is essentially the same thing as local adoption. Perhaps something you can discuss with your State Agency. Permanent care may actually be something that is a quicker and desperately needed care option for children in Australia that need permanent families in their lives. Something DH and I have been considering for some time.

I hope you give yourself time to grieve and to recover from your operation.
xx

[MargOZ]

Hi Dusty,

Thanks so much for your reply. It has certainly been a rocky road over the last few years and I do feel like I'm going through a grieving process at the moment. Unfortunately I know I'm not the only woman who is experiencing the same thing - sometimes life just isn't fair.

I do need to spend the next few weeks healing both physically and emotionally so I'm not going to jump into any kind of adoption process immediately - but I think it does help the healing to at least be doing some research and keep my mind busy!

I did do some reading today about permanent care and I must admit that it would definitely be my first option. I have a feeling with being single, that it will still take a lot of luck!

Marg

[lovemylullah]

Hey
Wow there are some very sad stories on here. I wish everyone luck with their adoption plans.
I am interested in hearing from anyone that has gone through the adoption process, or is currently, preferably in WA. I would like to start the process in a year or so, I am currently looking into what is involved, and also would like to hear peoples stories about the ups and downs of the process.

xxx

[bellabee84]

just wanted to introduce myself my name is belinda i am 27 and my husband is 30

we have been together for 12 years married for 1 and TTC for 3.5 years and no luck,

i have PCOS and not sure if i even ovulate yet we are currently doin tests i am the only person i know that wants to have a baby desperately that doesnt have one all my friends are mums and i long to be too.

the FS said he is hopeful but i am not i am starting chlomid 50mg on my next cycle so we will see i am thinkng adoption might be the way to go i could think of nothing better (apart from my own ) than giving a helpless child a home but all the internet sites are confusing me.

i live in victoria and have NO IDEA where to even start who to email or call...from the little info i have found it seems local adoption may be the way for us as apparently it is less costly than over seas adoption so i am jsut wondering if anyone can tell me if it is less costly and where do i start looking???

[Jemis]

Hi BellaBee

There are two adoption programs in Victoria - domestic infant adoption and permanent care. Domestic infant adoption is where a mother, or birth parents, decide to relinquish a child. There is usually on average only about 20 of these a year. The process costs next to nothing, although I have read there is a fee when the adoption is finalised and goes through the court - maybe a few thousand dollars. Maybe someone else has the precise figure. Permanent care, as an alternative, is where children have been removed from their birth homes due to abuse and/or neglect, are currently in foster care and will never go back to their birth homes, therefore a new permanent home must be found for them. It is free to apply for this program and you get a small stipend fortnightly if you receive a placement.

PCOS is a very treatable condition though. I know of many people who have had clomid or a stimulated IUI cycle, or even an IVF cycle, and have not ultimately had any problem conceiving. Good luck.

And with that, I should introduce myself! I am single and currently applying for permanent care in Victoria. I have only very recently submitted my application. I did two IUIs late last year with a donor, but decided further fertility treatment was not for me. I want to be a parent far more than I have any interest in being pregnant.

Love love love hearing people's stories about applying for permanent care and I'm also becoming quite knowledgeable myself, so also happy to answer any questions!

[Alexis83]

Hi everyone! Thought I'd drop by and say hi on this forum, as I only just realised it existed!

As some may or may not know, I joined this forum recently because my husband and I have begun talking about TTC. But I thought I'd say hi on here, because I am/was adopted. I am an interracial adoptee, adopted from Seoul, Korea when I was about 6 months old. I have been through the mill and back when it comes to being adopted (as I think there are many issues that adoption brings up), but I feel like I've been able to move on and generally live a happy life.

But I thought I'd say hi and put it out there that if anyone ever needs an adult adoptee to chat to about adoption related stuff, please don't hesitate to contact me. :-) I used to have a blog where I wrote about adoption, but I don't really use it anymore.

Anywho, let me know if you have any questions! Only too happy to help. Everyone on here has been really helpful and nice RE: my own TTC thoughts. :-)