Naveen Update

Well, the cat's out of the bag. If you read Lori's post about the Coffee Fundraiser, then you know that we're adopting a little boy from Ind*a. And we're naming him Naveen.

I still can't give a lot of identifying information... and, boy, do I wish I could post his picture. You'll just want to reach through the computer and squeeze him up. He's adorable!  But I have to wait until we pass court to do any of that.  And right now we don't know when that'll be.

Because of the fundraiser, I had to break my vow of silence and announce Naveen's upcoming adoption on my Facebook page. I was hoping to keep it a secret until right before travel, but things happened which made us need to fundraise... and well, that's why we had to be a bit more open about things.

Anyway, I've had a lot of people email me or call me with questions. So I thought I'd answer some of them right here.

1. Why are you adopting from Ind*a again?


Well, we actually hadn't set out to adopt again so soon.  Sim wasn't even on board to adopt again, but I was secretly hoping that one day we'd be able to adopt from China. I've always been drawn to China. But then, by chance, a friend led us to Naveen's photo on a waiting child site and it was instant love. Even Sim felt it and he gave the go ahead to get more information. It all happened so quickly, but we both knew he was our son.

2. Does he have special needs?


Yes and no. We can't discuss his needs right now, but I'm not one of those people that gets real secretive about it. I just can't discuss them now because I feel we need to wait until we pass court. One reason, though, that I don't mind talking about his needs (eventually) is because I think it lets other parents, who are thinking of adopting, realize that many of these needs are so manageable and should never keep a child from having a family. Plus, I can't even begin to tell you of the supportive system I've found and the amazing friends I've found simply because our children share the same needs.However, as you've noticed with Nandi, I don't really discuss those needs once they hit school. I think, at that point, I need to be a bit more selective with what I blog about.


I will say that Naveen's needs are minor. He was born with a condition and had surgery. The surgery failed and he had to go back and have it done again. And now he's doing great. He's caught up in all areas and is doing fine. We'll need to monitor his condition, probably once a year, but it should not affect him in any way.

3. Why another boy? Don't you want another girl?

Honestly, although we'd love another little girl, I'm not sure it's in Nandini's best interest right now. She's doing so good and we think she needs to be the only "princess" in our family for the time being. We think there'd be too much competition and maybe even some jealously. It's hard to explain why we think she'll be okay with Naveen, but we just do. And, like I said, she is doing amazing right now and she can't wait to be a big sister.

4. How much longer until you travel?


Ah, the 10 million dollar question.  Well, we are following the exact same timeline that we did with Nandi. But in Nandi's case, we were already home this time 4 years ago.   Ind*a went through an adoption reform over the summer and the agency that handles initial clearance has a backlog of 550 cases. They're not taking any new dossiers until after December 31. Fortunately, though, we are in that backlog and we hope to hear something by the end of next month.  (I never thought I'd be thankful to be part of a 550 backlog!!).

After that, we'll go to court. However, it's a new court process and our judge is requiring us to fly to Ind*a TWICE.  That was a real kicker.  We understand why, but we were not prepared for this.  We have to fly for a 10 minute meeting.

No joke.

4 days RT travel. $$$ airplane tickets. For a 10 minute meeting.

But, honestly, I would travel a thousand times if that's what it took to get Naveen home.

Anyway, after the court date, Naveen should be ready to come home within 3-4 weeks. But, once you leave Ind*a on a tourist visa, you can't return for 60 days.  And there's no way we can stay for 4 weeks.

Plus, there are new post-placement requirements to the tun of an extra $2650.

Yep.

So that's why Lori's holding the coffee fundraiser for us. (THANK YOU, LORI!)

But regarding us travelling and when... we don't know.  We're hoping we'll get the first court date by the beginning of February, which means we can fly back at the beginning of April... because our paperwork expires mid-April and I get heart palpitations just thinking about it.

5. Do you plan on adopting again?


Right now? Nope! The adoption womb is closed for business. I think four is a good number, and, truthfully, I think this will stretch us as far as we can go. But we do joke that I'll probably get knocked up with quads when I'm about 45.  Can't you just see that happening?  Oh my gosh. And, you never know. We weren't planning on adopting number four... and look where we are now.

But, I'm pretty confident this is it. I don't think my heart can take the suspense and waiting of another adoption.  Plus, I'm driving my whole family crazy with my email stalking. I swear I check my email about every 5 minutes to see if there's an update.

If anyone has any other questions, let me know!