I only know of a few HB families who have adopted or are fostering children.
I'm curious if anyone out there is interested in adoption, and whether or not you already have a biological child by birth.
We have our DS who is 19 months. I would like to give him a sibling, and for many reasons I am considering adoption.
Any one with experience please share, including bees who were adopted. Or have adopted siblings.
coconut / 8079 posts
My parents fostered for many years starting when I was around 4 or 5 and adopted my siblings through the foster care system. I am their only biological child. I think this is a wonderful way to add to your family. I'm not sure if DH and I will ever do something like this, but adoption will always have an extra special place in my heart. 
pear / 1648 posts
We've been looking into fostering after having bio kid #2 sometime around a year from now. The only real advice I've gleaned so far is to make sure foster/adopted children are younger than your current children to help current children adjust better.
If we don't conceive naturally within a year, I think we will go ahead with starting the foster process sooner.
persimmon / 1168 posts
@peachykeen: Thanks for sharing!
We may have to wait awhile for that reason since it seems it's harder to foster or adopt younger kids or babies and my son is still a toddler.
I wish you the best in ttc. My experience with difficulties and loss are definitely part of thinking about adoption.
blogger / grapefruit / 4836 posts
We intend to at least foster, if not adopt, when our two biological kids are a little older. I would love to hear more experiences!
persimmon / 1168 posts
@Mrs. Lion: exciting! I hope to hear more too. I wonder if there are other online forums adoptive families are using
cantaloupe / 6869 posts
We are thinking about adoption or foster to adopt if we go for a 3rd Child. We both feel a bit of a calling or pull to do it so I think we are very strongly considering it when our Bio children are a bit older (4-6).
nectarine / 2821 posts
@magnolia: I truly hope this works out to be part of my life in the future. I would like to do a foster/potentially adopt when my son is older, so it might be a bit less emotionally difficult for him. And then when I am closer to retirement age I would love to do medically fragile foster care since I am a RN.
coconut / 8472 posts
We actually went pretty far down the foster to adopt route. We were in the middle of our home study when I got pregnant.
There are many tough things about foster to adopt and in retrospect I'm glad it didn't work out for us, because I don't think it would've been right for our family. But I have such huge admiration for people that do it.
We faced a few different challenges. Our son was just about to turn 2 when we started the process and we wanted a child in a 3-5 age range. But social workers want almost every kid to be either the youngest or the only child. It is much more competitive to adopt a younger child and then they likely aren't free for adoption, so you have some legal risk involved. It can also be more difficult to find a single child, versus a sibling group.
The other big challenge of course, is the behavioral stuff. These are kids who have been through things we just can't even imagine. And so of course it affects their behavior and their attachment to adults. If it's an only child I think it would be easier to deal with. But with having a 2 year old already, we had to make sure we could keep him safe, as well deal with a needier child with more behavior problems.
Good luck in your journey!
pear / 1586 posts
My mum is a foster parent (became one after my daddy passed) and adopted my little sister. She was placed with us at 1.5 and the adoption finalized when she was three. Only difference is I am 16 years older and my brother 20 years older. The adoption was supposed to be open but the birth mum did not adhere to proper policies so she has not had contact for a number of years (my sister just turned 11).
nectarine / 2821 posts
@magnolia: There are some really eye opening and inspiring fostering blogs, not sure if you know if any. Fosterhood NYC
http://fosterhood.tumblr.com and https://www.instagram.com/fostermoms/ are two I follow
apricot / 488 posts
Following. This is something DH and I are very interested in. We know several people who have adopted (lots of our friends have adopted siblings, a few of our friends). But only one of our friends have done foster to adopt so I'm interested to hear people's expereinces
cantaloupe / 6923 posts
We have a 1 and 2 year old bio kids, and just tried to adopt in April. The mom ended up deciding to parent. So now we're on the waiting list again but are finishing up our foster license and going to see where that takes us.
persimmon / 1168 posts
@MrsKoala: I think that would be an ideal age range. More independent but still young enough to bond.
persimmon / 1168 posts
@junebugsmama: that would be amazing, I think there are alot of children out there in the foster care system and up for adoption who have medical needs.
I will check out those links, thank you so much
persimmon / 1168 posts
@ShootingStar: thank you for.sharing. It's interesting for.me because I am a social worker so now I am seeing both sides of the system from different perspectives. The trauma that many children have experienced is heartbreaking. We may have to wait until our son is older given all of the challenges.
persimmon / 1168 posts
@cheesetomywhine: wow thanks for sharing. Sorry to hear about your dad. Your family sounds great. I have a friend who just did an open adoption, I had never thought about the bioparent not following through. 
persimmon / 1168 posts
@anonysquire: yeah it seems like the adoption process can often end that way, understandably. But that must have been hard for you. I would be interested in hearing about your experience with fostering.
| Today | Monthly Record | |
|---|---|---|
| Topics | 0 | 1 |
| Posts | 1 | 1 |
Ask for Help
Make a Suggestion
Frequently Asked Questions
Bee Levels
Acronyms
Most Viewed Posts
Hellobee Gold
Hellobee Recipes
Hellobee Features
Hellobee Contests
Baby-led Weaning
Bento Boxes
Breastfeeding
Newborn Essentials
Parties
Postpartum Care Essentials
Sensory Play Activities
Sleep Training
Starting Solids Gear
Transitioning to Toddler Bed
All Series
Who We Are
About the Bloggers
About the Hostesses
Contributing Bloggers
Apply to Blog
Apply to Hostess
Submit a Guest Blog
Hellobee Buttons
How We Make Money
Community Policies
- Google Plus
- Stumbleupon
- Twitter
- Facebook
- Pinterest
- Favorite0
19 comments