Has anybody here adopted from Russia?

[twk001]

DH and I are currently in the process of considering this. We have heavy financial debt right now but expect to be free and clear in about 18 months. At that point, we’d like to consider this idea. I am adopted, and so I always planned on doing the same. DD is wanting a sibling, so we thought this was a great way to add to the family. A coworker used EAC (in Ohio) to adopt and have GREAT results. Any advice or recommendations would help. thanks! twk

 

[pentecostbaby]

We’re not doing Russia, but DH and I are adopting from Ethiopia soon. We found a lot of books to be helpful on making our decision - just go on Amazon and type “adopting internationally” or something like .
We decided against Russia because of the higher rate of fetal alcohol, plus the cost to adopt from both there and Kazakhstan was WAY too high for us. Six weeks in country would be awesome in the summer, but not an option mid-semester. Plus with gas prices the air fares keep climbing. Mostly, though, I felt in my heart that our son was in Ethiopia.
We did a ton of research. But in the end, you need to decide where God tells you your baby is . We’re using CWA, which is an awesome agency. A friend of mine adopted her daughter from Kazakhstan with them. They’re very supportive throughout the process, and incredibly nice - also do a lot of advocacy work for orphans and have a Christ-centered approach (not Catholic, but they don’t discriminate ).
Good luck on your journey! Check out the adoption thread on parenting, too.

 

[Veronica7978]

I don’t know about the process, but my friend adopted her daughter and she’s beeeeeaaaaauuuuuuttttttiiiiiiiffffffuuuuuuuullllllllll!!! - As are all children. But what a great idea to adopt. I wish you well and send prayers.

 

[mom2boyz]

I have 2 sons adopted from Russia. They are wonderful if I do say so myself. Don’t let the alcohol thing scare you. I know many people who have adopted from Russia and Eastern Europe and their children are just fine. There are ways to screen for FAS.

A good website to get the feel for Russia is www.frua.org It is also a site for other Eastern European countries.

One of the things I liked about Russia was I never got the feeling that the birth mothers were paid to relinquish their children. The court proceeding seemed very thorough and the judges seem to be concerned with the well-being of the children. There is also follow-up on the children required by Russia. If an agency’s post placement reports are delinquent then their Russian acceditation is in jeapordy. It is my understanding that these post placements are thoroughly examined in Russia. They want to see the children thrive.

Now everyone has to make prudent decisions about what they can financially afford. But there is a 10,000 federal tax credit after the adoption and some states have additional tax credits available. These can usually be taken over several years. Many employeers also offer adoption assistance. Usually these are after the fact so you do have to come up with the initial fees. But the up side is you don’t have to come up with it all at once. You usually pay for things as they occur. So the first thing might be an agency fee or a homestudy fee.

Lastly, as thing stand in Russia right now boys are more readily available than girls. The wait might be a year for a boy and 2 years for a girl once the dossier is submitted.

You are welcome to pm me with any specific questions.

 

[ecp007]

Hi,

Both my kids are from Russia. My son is 11 and my daughter is 5.

The process has changed so much. For my son, we were told of the possibility to adopt through Russia in November of 1997, and in February 1998 we were in Russia finalizing the adoption. We were given a book with pictures of hundreds of beautiful Gerber babies to choose from. Somehow, both my husband and I picked the same baby boy. We were then given his video and brief medicals. It took a total of 6 days in country, including the travel. My son was 4 months when we committed to him, and 8 months when the adoption was final. It was very expensive. He is the best! Loving, bright, fun, God has blessed us so much! Although maybe very mild ADD.

For my daughter, we went with the same agency, but 5 years is a long time, and things had changed dramatically. Now, Russia was requiring 2 trips. We started with the agency in January 2003. We committed to a baby in March and travelled the first time in June. This time we were given 3 videos to choose from along with medical records. We could reject all three, and then were given 3 more. The babies were much older 1 to 2 years old, and somehow none seemed right. Anyway we chose a baby girl, travelled to see her with our then 5 year old son, and after 3 days with her in the orphanage, the adoption fell through. We were rushed back to Moscow, and luckily the agency was very good, they snuck us in to another orphanage, and showed us two baby girls, one of which was my daughter. She was in the city of Samara, which my agency said was the city they sent all of their failed adoptions to because the adoption time was quickest, and the quality of the orphanage was the best. We spent a total of about 8 weeks in Russia. The whole time they kept reminding us, “Moscow has surpassed Tokyo and is now the most expensive city in the world!” … wonderful. This adoption could have easily paid a downpayment on a very nice house. My daughter had serious bonding issues when she arrived (only at 7 months) it took a lot of patience and co-sleeping, to get her to bond. To this day she is sometimes very shy, and although very huggy with me and my son, is stand offish with others. She is also very bright, and so much fun, and really just a beautiful girl. Tall, thin, blond, just beautiful!

The agency we used (AMREX) went bankrupt. The country of Russia changes their certification policies often, and they decertified AMREX. It is my understanding that many families lost their deposits, when the previous owners filed for bankrupcy.

Please send me a personal message if you would like to speak over the phone. I know you must have a million questions.

I thank God everyday for my two wonderful kids. They are the best thing that has happened to me.