Adoption

[Tab80]

Hi everyone, new to this site, me and my partner are just starting our stage 1 of the adoption process and would love to hear from anyone who has adopted a child and would love to hear about how you coped etc when your child arrived home?

We have been hearing lots about the process etc but not much about what to expect when you actually bring your child home and what people have experienced in the first few weeks etc and any difficulties you had to overcome?

Look forward to hearing from you :-)

Hi Tab and welcome, why don't you come on post on the adoption board? There's a lot of us over there, some of us adopted years ago, others very recently, and there's people who are going through the applications and homestudy process now as well. Also you can go back through the adoption board and read older threads, which you might find helpful :)

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/adoptions

I have 3 children, all adopted between 1996 and 2007. The first few weeks are very exhausting and honestly were strange because you have to get a know a stranger (especially since my eldest 2 were 10 years and 8 years when they came home). Things get more 'natural' after a while once you've got to know each other much better. That doesn't mean things will necessarily be easier, but the artificial strange feeling for me went away after the first month-2 months because I was used to having them around!

Practically there are things you can do to make your life easier - batch cooking simple meals for example, so you aren't cooking from scratch every night.

All the adopters on the adoption board will have other great advice for you as well, ask any questions you like :)