How to prepare

[Mrsgiggles82]

Hi, we are about to start out home study. We are going for concurrent planning. My question is those that are at a similar stage or have been approved/adopted, when should we start preparing with equipment (cot etc). I'm worried the expense adds up so don't really want to leave it last minute so I can gradually pick up bargains. Would keep in garage until needed (wouldnt like idea if seeing it set up waiting) Not sure ifthat's normal though?x

I don't normally post on the adoption board but didn't want to leave you unanswered.

I think you need to choose when is right for you. Its like anyone having a baby. Some rush out and buy stuff straight away, whilst others feel like it tempts fate. You could always get little bits here and there.

I don't know though as have never adopted but i am myself adopted and thank god for lovely folk out there like you. I wouldn't change being adopted for the world.

When we adopted the LA picked up the tab for most of the essentials - maybe talk to your social worker about this. While concurrent approval/matching might go without a hitch, you also might end up with a child that is different from the one you are hoping to be matched with. Personally, I'd hold off until you've got a budget from your LA and confirmation of the age/gender of the child you're almost definitely going to be matched with. Also, the process can take longer than you think - little ones grow out of clothes, accessories, toys and furniture much more quickly than you might imagine!

Good luck with your home study :)

We bought things as we went along. I remember buying a toy about 4 sessions into home study as it was all going well (and being really worried what our SW would think - and she laughed at me :) ) We waited until we we approved before we bought furniture etc. And even then we got it wrong, as expected an older child, so had to go out and buy a cot once we received the phone call about DD. We decorated her room before matching panel as didn't want to be rushing around after that.

i think it will depend on the age of the child as to whether you will receive any financial help? DD's SW went to great lengths to tell us from the off that we wouldn't receive any help because DD was so young.

Good luck :)

Hi there , can I ask how the concurrency works ?

For us, we were being matched at the same time we were being approved. So, we were being interviewed by two sets of SWs, working together.

We waited until we had been approved and then only bought a cot bed and only because I saw the one I wanted going cheap. I knew we were safe with that as we were approved for 0-2. My SW shook her head and made me feel very silly for buying anything.

We did buy stairgates, fire extinguisher and fire guard before as our SW had a checklist of safety things we needed to get prior to approval.

We would have decorated the room too but we had decorated when we had started trying for a baby. It was only a few days before intros that we twigged that it had been painted 7 years previously and although the room had never been used it really could have done with a lick of paint. Too late by then!

We bought the rest of the stuff after matching panel but to be honest there was only 2 1/2 weeks between matching panel and intros starting so it didn't give us much time.

We got a £500 grant to buy stuff from the LA. It cost us exactly that to buy everything we neede