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Hi there,
New to the board and new to adoption. Tonight is the second night of the adoption/home-study class.
Excited to have found the group. Feeling kind of out and alone. All the adoptive families we know and who are supportive of us all adopted decades ago, so it's hard to pick their brains since so much has changed.
I've been really freaking out. I mean, it's mostly good. We both are super excited about this process, it's been a long time coming, and it's finally becoming real.
Yet, as great as the social worker we have seems, it's hard not to feel judged in the class. As well as in the paperwork. I know that's the point, and ultimately that's a good thing. But we already feel so unworthy that it just adds to that.
Last class was about openness and fears and benefits, etc. I admitted that, even though I logically knew the benefits of having some degree of openness in adoption, and had seen how important it was for members of my family who were adopted to connect with birth families, I still was scared and possessive over those family members have to deal internally with not wanting to scream "hey, you're mine! stop letting them steal you!". Even withing all the jokes and teasing (it was a very light-hearted class), and other potential parents voicing the same fears, I still got this look in the back of the eye of the social worker like she was filing that away as a red flag.
I worry that our apartment is too small, that we have too many pets, that we don't make enough money, that our student loans are too high, that since we're both finishing college (we're in our 30's, dropped out and now are back) this will look bad. My history of depression will be a hindrance since I'm no longer on meds (which... I think is a good thing, I've been better for years), the lack of access to really close family support who can help care for an infant will also kick us out of the running, that we both work full time and neither has plans of becoming a SAHP and that we both have significant commutes and sometimes put in extra hours as we're trying to advance our careers will also make us deemed unfit. That i'm a contractor with no PTO or benefits too (DH has them though) will make us look bad. That we're fat will keep us out. And... on and on and on....
I mean... when we tried to adopt our dog we got crap from some of the shelters because of our work schedule, if it was that hard to adopt a dog, how the hell will we ever get approved for a human child!??
DH doesn't even want to tell too many people. We've told my side of the family (though there are few left and in another country) and the close friends who are our references, but he doesn't want to tell his family just yet. But part of the process looks like is finding out family reactions. So... that's a whole other thing...
I'm just not sure what fears are real and we need to work on and what are me just being crazy (I have a lot of catastrophic fears. loosing parents young and getting custody of younger sibling will do that to a person). I want to talk to the SW about them, but I'm afraid of showing too much "crazy" and having her think we aren't ready.
The fear of rejection by the agency, and then even if we make it, the fear of rejection by all the birth moms is keeping me up at night.
Anyway... some intro, huh? Sorry for the vent. Just need to get it out and don't have many places to do it.
B3Baby - First of all WELCOME!!! I'm glad you've come to our forum! and your post literally made me LOL.
You sound so much like me in the beginning of my DFS adoption. We have some similarities so I had some of your fears. I'm going to tell you now to take a big deep breath! Here's the thing. You don't have to do a DFS adoption, there are other options out there ones that don't cost $30k. I promise. So worst case scenario DFS says no. (they wont) they don't have enough families to turn decent ones down. You sound normal (we all have bouts of depression or other issues in our lives), the time off thing will be an issue for you. You'll need to figure that out. Bonding with a DFS kiddo and dealing with the challenges that come with new parenthood will make it difficult for you to work long hours and not take time off. But I'm assuming you've figured a way around it or you wouldn't be in the classes. Just go with it.
Don't stress out about it, it can be over a year before your matched with a kiddo even through DFS. I have a friend who's been waiting 5 years, for kiddo #2. So just take a good deep breath go through your classes and homestudy and if your not a candidate they'll let you know pretty early. Here's the thing about the "instructors" they're just people. They're not the ones who'll be matching you with kids they're just the instructors. After a few more classes I'm sure you'll develop a rapport. Participate and be open and kind. Remember these kids have suffered great losses, care for that and their families of origin and you'll do just fine.
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Thanks wrking21! I appreciate the encouragement.
The hours is what scares me the most. Though... I'm hoping once my year/time is up that I'll be offered a permanent position or get a permanent one from this experience. Though I think we're both a little desperate to be parents (which I think is making that "crazy" come out a little early), how long the process takes is kind of what we're planning around. I'll be done with school in a year, hopefully have a permanent position in that same time as well, etc. Luckily... the company I'm with would allow me the time off if placement happens miraculously before then, it's more that I wouldn't get paid. But I think we have a plan to allow us each to take some time off to bond and get settled.
For our agency (Catholic Social Services), the instructor is the main social worker who will evaluate us. But that's not bad. I mean, I'm scared, and I can tell she's evaluating us even now. But, she seems very down to earth, very warm and funny, and I think my fear of her is just a fear of the process, not anything that would be a real issue.
Welcome! I loved your post and it made me laugh bc I was the exact same way. A total basket case. My sw told me something that helped. In her 20 years, two people had failed homestudies...an armed robber and an unmedicated schizophrenic. My dh who has a warped sense of humor said....unfortunately we are armed unmedicated schizophrenic robbers! He was always very vocal in our classes and i was paranoid he was shooting us in the foot (but the sws loved him). It feels like everything is under a magnifying glass but remember that they are not looking for perfection as there is no such thing. Best of luck!
hehehehe, that's funny. And is making me feel better.
It's funny also about your DH... Mine is usually very quiet and shy. I'm the loud and outgoing one. Well, he got to the class before me, and I got there a little late because of traffic. I was so freaked out that I came out looking like the scared shy one, but apparently, DH before I got there was making jokes and the class clown. When SW joked about me being married to a comedian I did a side eye and was like... did I enter a parallel universe??? lol
hehehehe, that's funny. And is making me feel better.
It's funny also about your DH... Mine is usually very quiet and shy. I'm the loud and outgoing one. Well, he got to the class before me, and I got there a little late because of traffic. I was so freaked out that I came out looking like the scared shy one, but apparently, DH before I got there was making jokes and the class clown. When SW joked about me being married to a comedian I did a side eye and was like... did I enter a parallel universe??? lol
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I think they like class clowns because they're more "real". It's hard to get a feel for someone when they're really quiet. You're doing fine :)
Welcome to the forum! As the SW told us, "we are not here to find something so that we disqualify you, we are here to make sure that the baby is going to have a safe place to live, that he will be loved and taken care of". You having no benefits is not an issue as long as DH has them, it was the same in my case. In my case, since I was working with no benefits and just part time, I was able to work very part time ( I had to be out of the house only two afternoons a week) for about 8 months...so in my case I turned it into an advantage. Sometimes the questionnaires are a lot more uncomfortable than the discussion with the SW. Good luck and keep us posted :)
Wow! I could have written that post 2 years ago. My husband andI went through the same worries and freak outs. I was worried they wouldn't like my dogs, my husband was too loud and vocal, we didn't make enough money (my husband lost his job during our adoption journey) my car wasn't big enough, the nursery wasn't cute enough, etc.
Take one day at a time and keep yourselves busy! When you look back on this someday, you will laugh at all the things you worried about.
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I think everyone has had those fears. I'm single, and I worried a lot about that. I don't make a huge amount of money, though I am financially stable, and I have huge student loans. My family is supportive, but live 1 1/2 hours away. I'm overweight. I have a not perfect history (not dangerous stuff, but I screwed up a bit in my teens - twenties). I remember when the social worker came for the first home visit, I apologized for the mess in the cellar (I hadn't swept or vacuumed down there). My son is now 3 1/2. It was an excruciating process, but not because someone was judging me. The problem was that I was judging myself.
They probably will ask questions about things like work schedule, finances, leave time, etc. Those are things you need to think about, because you will need to figure them out. They will want to know your plan for child care while you work. They will want to know how you will spend quality time as a family with busy work schedules and commutes. They will want to know how you will provide for your child. I wish all parents, adoptive and biological, had to think about those things before having children. They are not things that will disqualify you from being parents, but thinking it through ahead will make you better parents.
I think everyone has had those fears. I'm single, and I worried a lot about that. I don't make a huge amount of money, though I am financially stable, and I have huge student loans. My family is supportive, but live 1 1/2 hours away. I'm overweight. I have a not perfect history (not dangerous stuff, but I screwed up a bit in my teens - twenties). I remember when the social worker came for the first home visit, I apologized for the mess in the cellar (I hadn't swept or vacuumed down there). My son is now 3 1/2. It was an excruciating process, but not because someone was judging me. The problem was that I was judging myself.
They probably will ask questions about things like work schedule, finances, leave time, etc. Those are things you need to think about, because you will need to figure them out. They will want to know your plan for child care while you work. They will want to know how you will spend quality time as a family with busy work schedules and commutes. They will want to know how you will provide for your child. I wish all parents, adoptive and biological, had to think about those things before having children. They are not things that will disqualify you from being parents, but thinking it through ahead will make you better parents.