We started the adoption process expecting it to take a long time and now that our little boy is home it all seems like a dream. The last 20 months passed quickly. At times it felt like it would never get here but we focused on one stack of paperwork at a time….that seemed to help. There were bumps along the way, as most adoptive parents will tell you. The emotions ran from thinking it would never happen to busting with excitement at the thought of having our child in our arms. The last 4 months were the hardest for us, especially after receiving the referral and seeing that sweet face. Knowing that we were right there at the end and so close, but having to wait on the US government paperwork to be completed.
When our son came home it was a whole new world for us. I expected it to be hard but never expected us to be as exhausted as we were. One thing we learned is that we need to take care of ourselves, which isn’t easy when all your focus is on your child. This is our first child so everything was new to us. All of a sudden we had this 9 month old and had so much to learn about his personality and caring for him. That was very tough and it really did take both me and my husband working together to cope for the first couple of weeks. We were, however, blessed with a very good natured baby. We are still learning about his personality and very excited to see what his interest will be as he grows.