Been waiting for some time now...

Thank you all so much. Your support is very comforting. Maybe I can start saving up by making those t-shirts.Regards,PZ

I would agree with everything Lastpaige said. We were fortunate that we didn't tell many people about our plans to adopt. (I had an evil boss at the time who would have made my life miserable if she had known). But even without everybody asking us "When, when, when", the wait was so very hard. And we were told by other parents that our wait would be short since we were open to three older children. From the day we wrote our first check to the day we brought them home, was 25 months. So clean, streamline, read the adoption lit, and learn Polish.

Dziekuje! (Thanks)

I feel your pain!! Our wait for our son's referral was about 11 months. We've been home almost 2 years now. I remember the long, awful wait. But it will happen when your children are ready! I agree with other posters: clean, organize, read, read, and read some more! Even if it doesn't make sense or seem to apply now, you will appreciate the knowledge later. I used Rosetta Stone for about an hour a day for 6 months. I could read signs & menus, but not speak any Polish. Good luck & may your referral be soon!!

My husband and I began the adoption process with Lutheran Service Society in November 2008. We have just returned from our first trip to Poland to meet our son. We received tons of support and really felt prepared. Please feel free to PM me.

We didn't adopt through your agency, and our waiting time was probably the shortest out of anyone I've heard. The first referral we received came a month after we submitted our application to adopt. We had NOTHING done. We weren't prepared. We had to say "no" because it was all going way too fast. The second referral came four months later, still before we were done with the adoption dosier and all the paperwork. But we said no because the combination of children was not what we asked for. Then a month later we received the third referral, which again was for the wrong fit for us. Eight months after we submitted our application to adopt we received the fourth referral and said "yes." Within three months we were in Poland. Within six weeks we were back in the U.S. with three children. I don't regret at going through this all so fast, but I most definitely feel that time worked against us because it was all too fast. I could have benefited from more time. More time to learn the language. More time to find good doctors (dentists, pediatric doctors, specialists, etc). More time to learn about schools. More time to clean my house. And you know what, eventhough we waited a mere 8 months (though I can't say we waited, considering we've been busy rejecting referrals left and right and travelling to my home country to break the news to my parents that we were adopting) - even that relatively short wait - seemed terribly long and agonizing. I know I sound ridiculous to those of you waiting more than six months, a year or two years. But a wait is a wait. The unknown and the anticipation and anxiety of the unknown can really put a big strain on a person. I can't give you any good advice on how to pass the time, but I can guarantee that once you do get the referral and a year after you've adopted - you will agree that the wait was all worth it and that you're glad you waited for THESE kids and you weren't forced to take on kids that weren't a perfect fit for your family. I completely agree with Jacquelin - Poland does put a lot of effort to finding the perfect fit for your family. Every adoptive family I've met - the kids that were matched with them could have been their own biological kids! Everyone that meet my three kids are shocked to hear they're adopted because they look like us and they have our personality traits!!! It's absolutely amazing to realise how well each child fits the family that adopted them. Your children are not yet ready for you. You just have to trust the fate. And no I am not a believer, but our adoption story definitely brought me closer to believing in fate. Good luck to you!

Had to chuckle about Hylo's comment about how the children fit in as well as biologicals.My adopted sons look more like me than my biological daughters ~ he he he!

Hi Everyone, My wife and I are in the same boat, although Sher973 we have only been waiting since September of last year. We are looking to adopt Siblings, so I'm not sure if that will impact the waiting time. We actually held off on telling most poeple about the adoption for that same reason. To get by we are just trying to stay busy and distracted, doing some of what everyone here has said as well as taking the time to spend quality time with each other, something tells me we wont get the same amount of time for that in the future. :-)

Thanks so much for taking the time to respond. Best of luck to you as well.

Siblings are usually quicker. Poles in Poland do a pretty good job of adopting individual younger children.

I know this is an old thread, but I wanted to chime in anyway. First off, the waiting. This is our third type of adoption that we are attempting, having spent two and a half years pursuing first independent domestic adoption and then foster care adoption. We had 4 fall throughs, one foster daughter who was reunited with her mom, and countless waiting kids we inquired about but never got anywhere with. So believe me, day in and day out I hear people asking me how it's going. It actually came to a point where my own mom insinuated that maybe we should just choose to remain childless! I couldn't believe that OUR wait was getting so stressful for HER that she'd suggest such a thing (as if the thought hadn't also crossed our minds anyway). All you can do is say "not yet, not yet, not yet. Believe me, you will KNOW when we are successful!" Regarding schooling - to the poster who mentioned homeschooling... how do you get approval from your county/state to keep a newly adopted child out of school? Is it only through reporting that you are homeschooling and then taking it super easy? That is what we hope to do, and I absolutely agree that if you can avoid it, don't bring your kids home and then turn around and send them to school right away. EVERYTHING is new to them! Decluttering - an ongoing project for me, but definitely motivating to know I'm making room for my child/ren. Polish - it's my native language, but my hubby is claiming that he will be trying to learn more (after 12 years together, he's got a 2yo's vocabulary! lol) OP, btw, we just signed up with LSS of NY as well. Let me know how it's going :)

Happy to discuss offline. Feel free to send me your email address and I will be in touch.

Hi everyone, I have just started my path for adoption and I was looking into Poland and saw your posts. I was hoping to adopt a healthy female betw ages 1-6. I see where someone stated most children over 2 suffer from CCD, where did you find that information? If anyone has any other feedback please feel free to post! Thank you in advance for you advice! Julie

I would plan to play it by ear when your child comes home, I had planned to keep my son home longer, but he was really itching to get to school. He had spent his whole life in orphanages so he was actually more comfy in school than home. We had already spent six weeks together in Poland so two weeks after we got home I went ahead and put him and school and he was much happier.

jul29_2000@yahoo.com, thanks!