The Big Question

The big question that we get now is.... "So, when will you get your baby?"
That is a good question, indeed! The best answer that I have is, "I don't know."

With pregnancy comes a certain amount of predictability about when the big day will be... Of course it varies a bit, but typically you know about when you'll be bringing a baby home.

Well, evidently being pregnant is not in the big plans for me, so I don't get to know about when this will all happen. With adoption comes a lot of uncertainty and unpredictability - It depends on when someone picks us. We might not get the call that we've been picked for a few months yet.... or it might be longer. Or, we could get the call next week... or tomorrow! And it depends on when the birthmother that picks us is due to have the baby. Maybe she won't be due for a few months yet. Or maybe the baby will be due within a day or two! And, of course, it depends on if everything goes smoothly once the baby is born.

So, again, a lot of unknown... In the meantime, we're preparing to welcome a baby into our home, because it could be any day. We're reading and talking and preparing - like any other family who is going to have a baby soon would do.

Evidently it's hard for some people to understand why we're preparing for a baby since I'm not actually pregnant. I've had people question why I'm thinking about baby things, or why I would be getting a nursery ready, etc. (You're doing that already?) Here's the thing: If I was pregnant, no one would question why I am getting ready for a baby... but this waiting period IS like a pregnancy for us -- without actually getting to be pregnant. We've got the same big change coming without the benefit of knowing exactly when it will happen... I think about what it would be like to wait until the baby gets here to start making a plan or to start getting what we'll need, and that sounds awfully stressful to me! And from what I've heard, bringing a baby home is already stressful enough. So... while we wait for news that someone has picked us to be the parents of their baby, I'm enjoying the process of getting ready. It's awesome! It makes me feel excited about what's in store for us, and I'd much rather be prepared than not.

So, when will we get a baby?  I don't know... but I am very, very much looking forward to the big day!!

Our Video

The video specialists at our placement agency sent us our completed video! We had spent a few weeks taping random things and doing an interview or two (see my last post), and we sent the footage off to our agency and the wonderful video specialists there put together this video for us.
I will say it's a little intimidating to share it and "put it out there," but I'm assuming if you're on this blog, you're a friend or family member who has supported us in our journey and so I'm happy to share it with you guys if you'd like to see it!

Our agency will include this video with our profile and it will be shown to birthparents who are interested in considering us... it should be a nice way for birthparents to get to "see" us and get a better idea of who we are and what we are like than what they can read from the text and pictures in our profile. And watch for our furbaby, Kenai, who makes lots of appearances throughout!

Making Our Video

One of the tools our placement agency uses to help birthmothers review profiles of adoptive families is an adoptive family video. We've been working on our over the past few weeks.

I don't think a lot of agencies do this, and although it is sort of intimidating to put together I think the end result will be great! They ask that we shoot video of ourselves doing things we regularly do, and we also sat and answered some interview questions (shown above, in process). They have special staff that will go through the footage that we submit and they will put together a 3-4 minute video that hopefully helps the birthparents feel like they get a better picture of who we are than what can be shown in pictures and words.

"Try to look comfortable."  Yeah.... easier said than done!

We'll be finishing our clips to send in early this next week. Hopefully they'll have some good material to put together a great video for us!!