Age & Medical history

Age of Child

Answering the question of how old of child do you want to adopt was a topic Bryan and I discussed for awhile. There are so many children in the world who need great loving homes and to put a limit on that was difficult for us. We went back and forth but ultimately prayed on the decision. We decided to be flexible with the age but we prefer a child under 6 months. We would love to start with a child Day 1, the day they are born to be there for them from the very start. We want to be able to be there for their firsts and to encourage them in their growth & faith. We want to help and encourage them with whatever talents and goals they have and want to pursue. On our application, we did say we were flexible as we know there are all types of situations and times a birth mother can give her child up for adoption. Basically we will see if any matches come about, and God will lead us where we are supposed to be and the family we are supposed to build. 

Maternal History

Another question many people have asked about is regarding maternal medical history/drug history. 

This part took a bit more compromise. I think Bryan and I being in the medical fields made it somewhat challenging to decide how flexible to be with some of the medical and drug history a birth mother may provide. With Bryan's background working in the hospital setting, there is an understanding that medical issues, including drug use, are present a lot more than what we may believe, even within our own families and communities that we may think are "healthy." With my background as an OB nurse, I have seen babies come off of drugs after being born and it is so heartbreaking. At the same time, it is so important for these children to have an environment from now on to guide them down a more positive path. Ultimately, we cannot control what the birth mother puts in her body, nor how open, honest and understanding they may be in their medical/drug history reporting. What we can have some control over is the environment and care for the baby after being born, particularly if we are able to adopt a baby in the less than 6 months age range. This helped us come to the decision of being somewhat flexible with much of the medical history & drug history of the birth mother at this point.

We have just returned to Hawaii after a wonderful 2 weeks on the mainland! Currently we are still working on our online profile and we just submitted our video camera with clips and interviews to be put together into a video profile for mothers to view. I will explain more about this process in our next post! 

In the mean time we ask for prayers as we continue to ask God for guidance in this journey. Only he knows whats in store :) 

I will post a picture of the HONU puzzle and its progress soon! Its looking great and we are so thankful for those have sponsored a piece, it means so much to us, we love you! If you want to read more about this puzzle check out our blog post HONU adoption puzzle fundraiser. 

Aloha & love from our family to yours!