Latin America anyone?

Cayenne · 07-12-2007, 01:08 PM

I'm so happy this board exists!

DH and I have been ttc for over a year without success. We're just starting fertility treatments and to be honest, I'm a bit freaked out. Having close family members who have been going through this for the last 4 years without success really opened our eyes and made us realize that it might not be as easy as it sounds. Besides, we've always wanted to start our family before we turned 30 - I'll be 26 in a couple of months and DH is 28. I really feel like the clock is ticking.

Because of my BIL and SIL's fertility issues, we always knew this could also happen to us and have always said that if we were not able to conceive, we'd move on to adoption. When I realized that I had fertility problems, I immediately (well, after crying for a while) started looking into adoption. I've always wanted to adopt, and DH is totally open to the idea but wants to see if we can conceive first.

I've had this long-lasting love story with Latin America, and DH saw why during our honeymoon, so we'd probably be looking into adopting a latino child. Has anyone here adopted from Latin America? If so, I'd like to know more about it.

Cassandra Gayle · 07-16-2007, 02:41 AM

Both of my girls are from Guatemala and I work for an international adoption agency. Feel free to PM me.

strawberree · 07-16-2007, 07:53 PM

we are thinking about guatemala for our 2nd adoption..but im very weary

tariana · 07-16-2007, 09:24 PM

We adopted our daughter domestically and hope to go to Haiti next time, but I wanted to say Good Luck!

Calantha · 07-18-2007, 01:17 AM

My son is from Colombia. I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have.

Cassandra Gayle · 07-18-2007, 02:20 AM

I would LOVE to go to Haiti too, but my husband says we are done. The agency that I work for just now starting doing Haiti. I think those kids are gorgeous.

Cayenne · 07-20-2007, 04:22 PM

Thank you so much ladies!

We were thinking about Columbia. I think that at the moment, it's the only latino country that is open for adoption here in Quebec.

We just saw our ob/gyn last Tuesday and starting ttc with meds, so we'll see how that goes. She suggested ttc for a few months and moving to iui right after if I'm not pg by then, but that's the farthest we're willing to go (no ivf for us). If all of that doesn't work out, then we'll move to adoption.

Calantha, how was your experience in Columbia? Was it easy? How long did it take before everything was finalized and you got to go pick up your son?

Calantha · 07-20-2007, 05:05 PM

The process for Colombia was fairly simple. We had to do all the standard paperwork that everyone requires, then it was just a matter of waiting. Since our adoption, a new requirement is in place that requires a psychological evaluation as well. I'm told these are fairly simple to obtain. In the US I've heard it runs about $400-$600. Our wait was about 13 months. I know that the wait time has gone up a lot since then, I believe it is closer to 30 months now, though I could be mistaken. Of course it varies depending on the sex and age of the child or children requested as well. A new minor's code recently went into effect (May 8 I believe) that works to get the kids available for adoption sooner so hopefully the wait time will go down, though it still depends on the number of applicants. Colombian families, even abroad, are given preference.
Our time in Colombia was amazing. I don't know about in Canada, but here in the US all we hear about Colombia is violence and drugs. The Colombia we saw (our time was spent entirely in Bogota and the surrounding areas), was nothing like the Colombia the media tells us about. We met such warm, caring people. Everyone had a smile for us. We made friends during our 2 week stay that we still keep in touch with almost 3 years later. We left Colombia with an entirely new idea of what Colombia is all about. When I think of Colombia now I think of warm smiles, bright colors, appreciation for the importance of family and history, pride, and a strong determination to not be defined by adversity. I love Colombia.
We never felt unsafe, though I will say that the armed guards everywhere and the "bomb sniffer" everyone is required to go through before being allowed into the mall kind of threw us at first. All in all our experience with Colombia was amazing. We plan to go back as tourists when our son is older to show him the Colombia we got to know during that time. A working knowledge of Spanish is a plus. You don't have to be fluent, the people are very patient and willing to play the "figure out what the gringos are trying to say" game! We met one woman who would spend the whole day working with us until she figured out what we meant. The funny thing was, once she figured it out, she would tell us how to say it properly, then would never accept anything less again. She might walk up to us at midnight, while we're pacing the halls of the guest house with our screaming child, and ask us "Do you remember how to say 'scrambled eggs'?" All in good humor of course. We're not eligible for another Colombian baby since we now have two children in our home. However, we're almost certain to go back when our little ones are older. We've been planning to go back for an older child or sibling group since the day we left! We've even discussed the possibility of living in Colombia for a while when the kids are grown. Have I mentioned I love Colombia?