They aren’t kidding when you hear that the waiting in adoption is the hardest part. Realistically we have flown through this process so far – homestudy and PRIDE within just over a month, immigration work sent away… but now is the wait.
- We are hoping to hear from the MCYS soon about – when our Homestudy was submitted, it was taking 6 weeks for things to be processed – we are at 4.5 weeks.
- The immigration paperwork takes about 3 weeks to process- we are at just over 1. From CIC, we need a Client Number and ID.
- Once that has been received, Children’s Bridge can apply from MCYS for a Letter of No Objection and Approval for a proposed placement. That takes about 2 weeks.
- After that… our package is sent to South Korea. From there, the referral time period has been about 6-8 months… (although I hear that referrals have been made within 4 months…)
- Once a referral is received, travel time is 8-14 weeks
So – waiting.
How do you fill the time? There has been some discussion on this topic on one of the Children’s Bridge message board. Some ideas posted include:
- prepare a nursery (I’ve been polling my friends on the practicality / safety of bumper pads)
- learn conversational Korean
- Try some Korean recipes / restaurants
- General household maintenance
- Attend AdopTalk
- Read adoption books
- Read parenting books
Does anyone else have any suggestions? We still have a long wait a head of us…
When you wish upon a star... 
Congratulations! I hope the wait goes quickly for you. Other things to do while you wait:
*Spend quality couple time together – go to the movies, take a couples only vacation – do things together that you may not be able to do once your baby is here. You’ll be surprised at how little ‘alone’ time you get with each other once baby is here.
*Take care of any home improvements needed – There won’t be time for this later either!
*Will you need a daycare provider? If so, start researching now. Visit child care centers and providers. Ask questions. Ask around for recommendations. It’s never too early to start this process and to get a level of comfort and also to decide what kind of setting you want for your child.
*Spend time with other children. Offer to babysit for friends and neighbors.
*Relax, dream, anticipate…SMILE…your dreams are about to come true!
My list looks pretty similar to yours, I also have “find a pediatrician” on there. Not only one who specializes in adoptions to review the paperwork (we’ll probably do that via one of the local children’s hospitals) but also a “regular” doctor who is familiar with international adoption for all the “regular” stuff!
ps – I’d love to know what your bumper pad poll turns up – I’m *very* divided!
When we were waiting, I did up an adoption scrapbook to help pass the time – this wasn’t a scrapbook in a traditional sense as it was really a record of the process from the time we decided to adopt until the day our son’s adoption was finalized about 8 months after he was placed with us.
I also suggest you do things like go out for dinner, or travel or go to movies, etc. as that will be harder to do once you’ve got a little one. Also be sure that your arms/back are strong enough to carry a bigger baby 🙂 With newborns, they don’t weigh much and you get stronger as they grow. With adoption, you’ll have to be ready to carry a heavier baby for longer periods of time, so going to the gym is a wonderful way to pass some of the time.
Just discovered your blog.. hope your wait to referral isn’t too much longer. As far as what to do while you wait… be grateful for every moment of uninterrupted sleep and try to do LOTS of things together as a couple. Motherhood rocks but it definitely changes you & the time you have for yourself. Can’t wait for you to experience the joy!