TMLyons710

Hi guys,
As most of you know my husband and I have been trying to have a child for a couple of years now but I was recently diagnosed with endometrial hyperplasia with atypia, so we are now starting to turn our thoughts to other means of having a child.

We had agreed for years that if we weren't able to have a baby on our own we would look into adoption, and we have begun to talk a bit more seriously on the subject in the recent months. The only thing that has stopped us from this is fear of being rejected due to finances or our home (Although our home is very safe it is quite old). My point is we are both very willing to adopt.

Well, we recently found out my 17 year old cousin is pregnant by a 16 your old boy. She was going to have an abortion but is having difficulties finding a facility that will do the procedure because she is too far along (3 months). My aunt called me last night and told me this news (they were not going to inform me of the pregnancy if the abortion happened). After filling me out a bit she dropped a big bomb, "Do you want this baby if your cousin agrees to carry it to term?" Of course we do!!

My questions are this...
What is the process of adopting a cousin's child? Would we still have to go through the same processes of adopting a stranger's child? Also, my aunt mentioned that the baby's daddy was being quite the thorn in their sides. What rights does he/would he have to this child? Are there any other routes that you recommend besides adoption, i.e. legal guardianship etc.

Any advice anyone could give me would be much appreciated. We are very excited and nervous all at the same time. I'm not sure really where to go from here or how to get the legal ball rolling. I'm also a bit worried that if we get all this together something is going to happen and I won't get the baby. I have had a giant knot in my stomach for 2 days now because of the fear of being hurt again.

Sorry if I rambled on, emotions are definitely getting the best of me right now. I hope all this made sense and if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. I check the boards at least 4 or 5 times a day so I will usually get back to you very quickly.

Thanks in advance!
A possibly very happy adopting couple!!