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ProudPCOMom · 03-31-2009, 05:29 PM

We had one bio-son nearly 9 years ago, after losing his two infant siblings at birth (due to prematurity) and then not getting pregnant again on our own (we weren't going to do any more infertility treatments when obviously pregnancy doesn't become me). We knew we couldn't afford domestic adoption and we felt that there were plenty of children in foster care in this country that we weren't drawn to international (also due to cost).

We went to a foster care information session and felt good about it and picked a Christian agency based on recommendations of a friend from church. During the classes we were originally drawn to adoption only, but learned that foster/adopt (although riskier) could lead us to a younger child (at the time our bio was not yet 7 and we wanted all siblings to be younger). We were licensed on a Friday and our first child arrived on Monday - a sweet 10 month old boy (who was to stay for 2 weeks), 6 weeks later our daughter arrived...a semi-shy/non-morning-person 24 month old (yeah, they were wrong about the 'morning person' - she's up at the crack of dawn with everyone else). Both of our foster children were 'emergency placements', meaning they were true foster children with the expectation they would be returned to bio-family - no indication was given at placement that we might be able to adopt them.

Several months later the bio-families still weren't doing as CPS required and they either relinquished their parental rights or had their rights revoked. After just over a year with each child, we were able to adopt both of them after the second adoption, we closed our home. We do have a semi-open adoption with both bio-Moms - we send updates and pictures and receive letters back. I hope to keep in contact so that if the children want contact later we won't need to do a search. I save all of the cards/letters/envelopes that the bio-Moms send in a binder in chronological order for each of them for when they get older. I haven't read any of the letters to them at this time and we have yet to receive any pictures. Our children both know they are adopted and are very proud.

Our bio-son is proud of being a big brother but waivers on whether he likes having them around all of the time. We have sibling rivalry between the three of them - but that's normal no matter how the family is expanded beyond one. I couldn't imagine life without the three of them.

Susan