Anyone using LDSFS for International Adoption??

Doesn't Guatemala look like a great country to adopt from? We are planning to adopt one child domestically then later starting our paper work for 2 children from guatemala. I love the idea of it being so close and the stay in country is so short. I have heard that the children are well cared for. Have you started your paper work with ldsfs yet?

Hi! Yes, we are just now starting our paperwork with LDSFS. This is not a small project..as I am sure you are aware...LOL! We have one son (biological) and are hoping to adopt since we are unable to have anymore. We are just trying to pursue all avenues and determine if we should do domestic or international. I am a little confused as to what the fees are for international. How long have you all been certified? (if you don't mind me asking). As far as international adoptions go Guatamala is our favorite so far since it is so close and the stay time is so short. I also believe that the children are well taken care of and quite healthy. Are you using LDSFS for your current adoption? Thanks for responding!

We started our paper work in November 2002 and we got approved Jan 2003. So Now we have been waiting for almost 4 months "officially". Las Vegas's (LDSFS) average is about 1 year. Where are you from? Domestic is less expensive, if you do international then your base fee for adopting will go up to a min of 5,000 (1000 over domestic) Then you will have traveling expenses, more adopting fees and hotel expenses. By my records it would cost us approx 13,500 to adopt two children at one time and 18,000 to adopt them separatly. Have you gone to [url]www.ldsfamilyservices.org[/url] ? click on the link adoptive couples then international adoption and it will give you a better picture of what to do. Yes we are using LDSFS for our current adoption and they are wonderful. I sure hope that you get your baby quick. Two couples that are doing a domestic adoption got there babies super quick. One lawyer couple got their baby in 14 days and another student couple got there baby in 2 months. On The flip side there is a couple that has been waiting 2 years and another for 18 months. If you have any questions please let me know

Wow! That is super fast! that is my only fear ..is how long will we wait.. I know that it is in HIS timing and not mine! but I just can't help it sometimes. We are using LDSFS in Colorado. I am not sure about there "average wait time" but hopefully it won't be long. How long did it take you to adopt your first child? Our situation is a little bit different in that we have a biological child. So my fear is that a bmom might not like that situation. Not sure.. However, we have so much love and time to devote to another child. Plus, our son would be the perfect big brother! I just hope the right bmom finds us! I too hope that you have a fast match and placement! I am sure everything will work out for you! Thank you so much for the link to the website! it has been a great help. If you are looking for a "adoption buddy" let me know. Thanks again for responding, Jennifer

I am definatly looking for an adoption buddy and would love to keep writing to you my email is jolin4utopia@yahoo.com. The waiting is so nerve wracking, I wont lie its one of the hardest things I have had to do. The waiting that is, I have no control over the situation and it is very difficult. I know that it is worth it though. We got Alisia (our first daughter) in about 8 days. She is my biological neice , we found out about her 1 day after she was born. So we did not have the waiting, only the infertility. I believe the wait for the second child is generally longer, I have heard that sometimes the bm wants to place with childless couples first. So your and my wait may be a bit longer. If your concern is that a birthmom would be concerned about your son being biological put something in the bm letter that expresses how much you will love the children, and that it does not matter if they were born in your heart or tummy. Or something to that effect, I am sure you can say it much better. I would love to help in any way that I can. If you adopt domestically I can help you with your bm letter.

I have been following your thread about adopting a second child and just wanted to say that although some bmoms are looking for their child to be the first one in the family.... others are looking for an automatic sibling. If they absolutely want their child to have a sibling, the only way they can guarantee that is if they choose a family that already has a child. We have adopted twice through LDSFS and our wait for our second was much shorter than the first..... so you never know!!!! :) Good luck to both of you! I hope you both have very short waits and your little bundles of joy are home to you soon!

Thanks! You made my day with your post! I am just so worried that having 1 child already will prevent a bmom from looking at us. But you post makes me smile! Congrats on your family. Jennifer

Laurel, Thats great to know, thanks for the post. How long did you have to wait with your first and second child? Do you think that you will try to adopt another child through the international program. I just love adoption stories.

I love adoption stories too!!!! It's my favorite topic of conversation! :) We waited about 5 months for our daughter.... and just a few weeks for our son..... We did have an adoption fall through before our son was born(before the baby was placed with us and right after she was born) That was hard but we already had our daughter so it made it okay-we still had someone to hug and love on when our hearts were hurting. Now I look back and think that if we had gotten the other baby we wouldn't have our perfect son!!!! I know it all works out the way it is supposed to! I have complete faith in that! My children are 5 and 7 now so things were probably a little bit different then but I think the process is pretty much the same...... We have considered adopting a third.... now that ours are a little older it sounds REALLY fun to have a baby in the house again. My kids would LOVE it! We haven't considered the international program really but maybe we need to look into it!!! Good luck to you both! Keep us posted on how things are going!

5 months sounds great to me, I am now on my 4th month of waiting and we may be moving in our 7th month. I would love to get a sweet little onebefore we move, we may be moving to Kansas city and the average wait there is 1.5 yrs. It must have been hard to have a failed placement, but I am so glad that you did not have to wait much longer to get your son. We have been actively networking and telling everyone that we are hoping to adopt. So far we have come across 6 potential birthmom's but all of them have chosen to raise their babies or have chosen other avenues. I will keep you posted and if a third child is in your plans then I will be rooting for you all the way.