Adopting Again

My wife and I are adopting our second child. While it is still a daunting task, there are some things that are going more smoothly. If you followed this blog, you know that we went through the foster system first and then chose to go the agency adoption route. While I wouldn't recommend this, the bonus was that we had already gotten our physicals back at the beginning of the year. We also had our fingerprints done. In addition, we only had to get our homestudy updated from our first adoption. This saves a lot of time and money. If you are adopting for the second time, see if your agency will update your first homestudy like we did. Let me tell you that another bonus is that since we have already walked down the adoption path, we are a lot less stressed about this one. Our agency is Christian and we went to the first of two training sessions and they opened up with prayer and then a devotion. That was unreal. The agency also does something a little different than our last agency. For most of their adoptions, you don't show up at the hospital for the birth. The baby is born and given to a private "foster" home who keeps the baby for the 10 day waiting period for the mother's right of redemption. After the 10 days, they call you and present the baby to you. The money is due when this happens. All the other agencies we checked into wanted the money up front. This is truly a change. If you are considering adopting again, then ask the questions about your homestudy being updated vs having a new one. This could save you some money because you will need that for diapers :)

Checklist for baby

So you know you are going to adopt a baby but have no idea of how to prepare for the new arrival. So lets say you also don't know if its a boy or a girl. Try this list on for size.

1. crib
2. Baby positioner pads/bumper (You know to keep them from rolling around on the bed)
3. diapers size N for newborn
4. Desitin cream for rash
5. Baby Shampoo - I would go with the Aveeno wash because their skin might be sensitive
6. Neutral color onesies - Green, Yellow, White
7. baby washcloths
8. Baby towels
9. Socks for newborn
10. Gowns for sleeping or sleep sacks
11. Baby laundry detergent like Drift
    
12. Baby tub - Maybe
13. Changing table - Maybe

I hope this list gets you started. Hey, check your consignment sales, thrift stores and Goodwill for some of these items. Most baby clothes are only used for a couple of months before you change the size so until you get to Age 2, gently used clothes are fair game. One other item to remember is to always wash used clothes in your baby laundry detergent before using. Again, if your baby has sensitive skin, they may react to the detergent used to clean the clothes. Best of luck.

Fingerprints

One of the things that you will need in order to adopt is to take your fingerprints. In the State of GA, you need to get your fingerprints by the FBI and the State of GA. In our situation, we live in a county so our fingerprints were taken at the Sheriff's office. The strange thing was we were fingerprinted at the jail. The hoops you jump through in our order to adopt. If you are going through the state foster agency, they will take care of that for you. In the State of GA, you attend 7 weeks of training and you are fingerprinted during one of the classes. Independent agencies may require you to get the fingerprint cards and get them yourself. Our fingerprints expired after one year so we had to have them taken again with our first adoption. Check with your local police department or sheriff and hopefully you won't have to go the jail to get that done.