Hi from CA!

Welcome! Hope we help answer your questions and we look forward to your in put!

Welcome. This is a great forum for the true and real answers to any questions you might have about the foster and foster to adopt process. Good luck with getting all the stuff done to get started.

Thanks! Our orientation is tonight! YAY!:cheer:

Welcome! My husband and I went through the 6 years of trying and fertility treatments and I must say - it is a very emotional journey. We were blessed with a healthy son 18 months ago but can't wait to adopt a pair of siblings for him as well as for us. This forum is very helpful and everyone has been great at answering questions through our journey. I wish you the best of luck and really know how it feels to want to be a Mom that bad! It will happen for you when the time is right - hang in there!!

Our story is similar. My two cents. If this is your path, don't put it off until your house is "ready". It took us two years and three months to even be placed with a concurrent placement. Just make your house safe :)Best wishes.

Thanks. I'm not going to make sure everything is perfect, but we do need to do things like finish removing the 35 year old carpet, and repair the glass in the windows. The carpet was different colored carpet tiles elmers glued to the floor, so it's a PITA and has to be done with a pry bar and a mallet. We've already removed it out in 2 out of 3 rooms, now just need to do the 3rd room and the hallway. We're also going to paint all of the wood floors so they're sealed and easy to keep sanitary. That would be so hard to do with a crawler/toddler. Also, OH just started a new(better) job 1 1/2 weeks ago, so we were thinking of taking the PRIDE classes and doing as much to the house as we can, then turning in the application after his probation period. They've been pretty cool about things like giving him time in the morning to renew his license and leaving 30 min early last night for the orientation last night, but I don't want to push it. I want to start buying the bigger baby things so we don't have to buy it all at once, but I told myself I can after one of the bigger projects are done, kind of like a reward to myself, lol. I'm thinking bare minimum I'll buy a crib and convertible car seat and add more either after I get a placement or as I have finances. I know I have a while to figure this out, but the room where we would put the baby(s) is all the way in the front of the house. I like it because there's doors on both ends and it's right in the middle of the living room, dining room, and very close to the kitchen. The middle bedroom has the cooler and the dial to the gas floor furnace(we need baby gates, I know:). The back bedroom has a gas radiator, with the dial also at the floor, plus I don't want to put a baby in the back of the house. This is also the last room we're pulling carpet out of, and is going to be our master bedroom because it's the only room with a bathroom connected to it. Would it be acceptable to have a bassinet or play pen in that bedroom with us where the baby would sleep at night, and use the crib in the front bedroom during the day, for naps and such? Another option is a mini crib or just another crib since we're open to take a, infant/toddler sibling pair. TIA to anyone who reads this!

I have to agree with amelie38...don't wait! It may take more time to be placed with an infant/toddler sibling pair then you hope, so if you start the process now, you will most likely be ready when the time comes. To answer your question regarding a bassinet or play pen in the bedroom with you - it may vary from County to County; however, in Riverside County, it is allowed to have that set up in your room as long as you also have a bedroom available for them when they are ready to go into their crib/bed. I would also like to suggest that if you really want to buy a crib now, you look into getting a "convertible" crib so that it can go from infant to toddler and they also make them to go to a full size bed. I just hate to see you put money out prior to knowing the age you may end up with and by investing in something like that, it can be very versatile for you. When you go to orientation, they will most likely be able to answer all of those questions for you. Good luck!

Thanks for replying! I'm so excited about this I keep checking for replies throughout the day, lol. I already have part of our nursery setup planned out. We're going to get two sniglar cribs from ikea. I found a black and white owl print fabric for the sheets and make the skirts in one boy color and one girl color. The dressers are going to be painted green with chalkboard paint drawers. Then I want to get some curtains to match it all. Unfortunately, all other reasons aside, we do have to wait to turn in the app until OH's probation period is over at work, but we're going to take PRIDE in the meantime.

Hi Amanda good luck with your journey. I love IKEA. Inexpensive and very functional stuff. We are in so cal and I am still considering the whole process. Hope to hear more from you!

Thanks! Where in CA are you? We're in Fresno. The nearest Ikea near us is 152 mi. away from us, but we have family about 30 min. from Sac which we visit often. That one's about 170 miles away, but more convenient for us.

We are in Los Angeles county. I had a friend who went to Fresno State. :cheer: Let's keep in touch on our journey.