Sammy

We went through 4 rounds of IVF - we knew we were ready to move on to adoption when we were sitting in the Repro/Endo's office after the 4th failed IVF round and he wanted us to try one more time and I just knew in my heart I couldn't go through it again. The roller coasters of ultra sounds every other day, counting how many eggs I'd produced, their quality, the test results etc etc....I was just tired of it all and really didn't care that I wouldn't have a biological child. We are still waiting now to adopt, and don't get me wrong, it too has a different sort of roller coasters, but at least I'm not being stuck with 5 needles a day and at some point we will have a child, if I can just be patient enough.

Webmaster, I hope you do not have to limit access to this forum because of a few negative comments. While I do not post often - I do find the information helpful and informative and I enjoy being able to read what others have to say. We do not have an AbrazoBabe (I'm not sure if we ever will, I'm not ruling it out, but it's just not the right thing for us right now), but I would be saddened if I could no longer access the forum b/c I didn't have a child placed throught Abrazo. My husband and I are still praying that one day soon we too will have an adopted child and reading what others go through in all stages of the adoptive process (pre and post placement) is very helpful. Please think very seriously before you limit that because I am sure there are others out there like me. Thanks, Sammy

this is great info. thanks so much for the link....I knew about the tax credit but didn't know the details....i really appreciate your help!

thanks so much to both of you...this is VERY helpful information....I also posted another question under the Rainbow Families section (I think that's what it's called) If either of you have any insight on that topic Re: us being Anglo and possibly adopting a full Hispanic baby... Thanks again for your help P.S. Lisa, good luck on the exercising....I keep myself motivated everyday by taping my favorite TV shows on the VCR that I don't have time to watch....and then I reward myself with time to watch them while walking on my Treadmill...it's great...I exercise and have my tv/vcr right there with my favorite shows...helps me forget i'm exercising and i get to fast forward thru the commercials....just a thought... thanks again

thanks so much to both of you for the answers to my post....I didn't expect anything so soon Lisa, I really appreciate all your time and effort...I had seen a number of your posts as I read late into the night last night and I learned a lot from them. I was hoping I'd hear from you b/c you seem to be very educated on this whole process - esp. with Abrazo....I am glad to hear the agency fees apply to the next situation w/ a birth mother should a match fall thru...and I can understand how the other maternity related expenses can not be recouped. If you have the time, I have a couple of additional questions: We do not live in TX, and I realize we'll have to take a trip to TX for an orientation weekend....do you know if we have to travel to meet birth mothers? or is most of that done by phone until you travel at the time a baby is born?...also, I realize most people finalize their adoptions in TX - is that an absolute MUST or is Abrazo ok if you finalize with your attorney in your own state? The reason I ask is not b/c we are unwilling to travel, it's just that it is difficult for us to travel that far as my husband is in his 3rd year of medical school (doing rotations at the hospital etc.) and taking time off (more than a day to go out of town) is not an option - which is frustrating b/c some days he just has to go in for a few hours to do 'rounds' and then leave again, but it is what it is....so we're hoping we can work with Abrazo around that issue (as long as we make it to the required orientation)? Any answers you can provid are greatly appreciated thanks

My husband and I are thinking about adopting through Abrazo. I have been on this website/forum and I'm reading everything I can (even posts from years ago) to learn as much about the agency/AP's/BP's that I can. I am seeing a trend that it seems many AP's have had adoption plans fall through. I can tell that Abrazo staff seem to be supportive and helpful when that happens (and it's not a matter of if but when), but what happens financially when you start down the road with BPs and they change their minds? Does Abrazo apply money you've paid to that point towards another adoption? How often does one Adoptive family go through failed adoption plans before they finally get a child? The reason I ask is my husband and I have already gone through 4 failed IVF cycles and a failed adoption plan (not through Abrazo) so we'd like to minimize our risks at this point. Also it seems that many AP's talk to a lot of birth mothers before a match goes through. Realistically how many BPs can we expect to talk to before it happens for us? We don't want to erroneously get our hopes up with the first BP we talk to. While we are new to this Agency, we feel we are fairly experienced on adoption in general given what we have been through. We have a completed home study and we are eager to adopt as soon as possible since we have been at this awhile. What is a realistic time frame we can expect to wait with Abrazo? for an Anglo newborn? Cauc/Hisp newborn? and full Hispanic newborn? we are open for any of the above but want to get an idea. Sorry for such a long post - we just have so many questions? and while its easy to hear all the great things about Abrazo I also want a realistic picture of the possible pitfalls and problems we could face in this process. Thanks for your help!