I remember scouring other families’ adoption blog posts and websites before we started the adoption process (and still do now!) and believe this is 1) a tiny way we can give back to everyone before us who so openly shared and 2) encourage and support other families thinking about adoption or currently in the process.
Please note the information I share is all specific to our adoption and our specific family/program/child. If you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to ask! We love walking with other families through this wild and wonderful journey. There is nothing quite like the adoption community and we feel so grateful to be part of it!
How can I help?
By far the most common question! We feel so fortunate to be surrounded by so much love and support – it really does take a village! We welcome your prayers, good vibes, happy thoughts, and positivity – for good health, seamless approval processes, travel, and transition home.
If you’d like to help us with some of our tangible needs, we put together a registry (and if you’d like to contribute to our travel fund, please contact me directly).
We thank you all for sharing in our joy and excitement as we become a family of 3!
Why did you choose to adopt from South Korea?
Choosing adoption in general and also where to adopt from is such a personal decision. There isn’t a “right” or “wrong” choice because every family is different. That said, we looked at many (so many!) programs and fell in love with the Korean program. The first email I sent to an adoption agency was on 11/1/16 asking for more information about adoption in general – needless to say it’s something we’ve been deeply thinking about for 5+ years. We love the Korean program because:
- Quality of care the babies receive
- Babies are in foster care (not an orphanage)
- Routine medical checkups
- Lots of birth parent information
- Ethical, established, and well-run program with decades of experience working with families like ours
- And so many more!
But, there is no wrong choice! Children here in the US and abroad need families.
How much will your adoption cost?
Costs vary greatly based on each program. I can only speak to the costs of the Korean program for OUR specific case. Our total cost will be about $60,000, including travel.
Our agency anticipated it would be about $50,000 so not too far off given all of the hurdles we had/have to go through! We had a move in the middle which meant a new home study and agency, and with the pandemic our travel will be much longer in country than we originally anticipated (about 4-6 weeks). On average, my guess is that most international adoptions are about $45-50,000.
Where is your child living now and why can’t you travel for custody sooner?
He is currently living with the kindest foster family who is taking such great care of him. While we are ready to bring him home today (yesterday!), we have to be patient with the process. There is nothing we can do to expedite custody and know so many other families are waiting just like us. We will be overjoyed when we get the “it’s time!” call!!
Can you share an overview of the timeline and process?
Absolutely! I document our entire timeline and process here.
Will you travel to South Korea to bring baby home?
Yes! Pre-pandemic, families took two trips to Seoul for about 5-7 days per trip. The first trip is for a court date and the second trip (about 3-4 weeks later) is for custody. Given the current state, we are planning on one longer (4-6 week) trip – we’ll have about 2-4 weeks notice before traveling to Seoul, then we’ll attend court and stay in Seoul between court and custody.
How old will he be when you come home?
He will be about 13-15 months when we travel home with him.
