# Looking to Start or Going Through Adoption Part 4 2006



## KarenM

New home girls. Lets hope this one is full of exciting news like the last one. Hope I've captured all the updates.

* Post matching *

*Karen *: Approved at panel on 22nd April 2004. First little girl moved in on 8/11/04, second little girl moved in on 9/12/04. Legally adopted 21/10/05

*Ann*: Approved at panel on 4th November 2004. Matched to two girls, who moved in in January 2005. Legally adopted 31st August 2005

*Cindy*: Approved at panel on 27th October 2004. Matched to a little boy who moved in Feb 2005. Legally adopted 21st July 2005. Applied to adopt number 2.

*Everhopeful*: Approved at panel in 17th Feb 2005, little girl moved in on 23/05/05. Legally adopted 19th December 2005

*Pooh bears Mummy* ( formerly MSW): Approved at panel on 3/3/2005, little boy moved in on 10/06/05. Court date to legally adopt Jan 2006.

* Superal* Adopted a 3 yr old boy in Jan 97 & a 9 month old baby girl in June 2001

* MummietoLottieandLilly* (Lilliana) Adopted 2 girls aged 12 months and 2 years 4 months in May 2005.

*Ang* (Molly 2003): Approved at panel August 2005. Matched to a 9 month old girl. Moved in on 11/5/06


* Post Panel/Awaiting Match *

*Kylie* (Boomerang Girl): Approved at panel on 24/11/05. Matched to little girl "Strawberry". Panel 2/5/06, comes home on 20/5/06

*Ruth*: Approved at panel on 2/6/2005. Matched to little boy "Boo". Panel 11/05/06.

*Nats* Approved at panel in March 2005, Matched to 11 month old boy. Panel 15/05/06.

* LB *: Approved at panel on 15/6/05, now awaiting suitable match.

*Tracey H*: Approved at panel 23/11/05, now awaiting suitable match

* rianna * Approved at panel November 2005, now awaiting suitable match

* Val 12 * Approved at panel December 2005, now awaiting suitable match

* Shelly* Approved at panel December 2005, now awaiting suitable match

*Pam (saphy75) * Approved at panel 10/01/06, Matched to two month old baby boy. Matching panel 22/05/06

* Jude2 * Approved at panel Nov 2005. Matched to a 10 month old baby girl, waiting for matching panel

* jilldill* Approved at panel April 2006, now awaiting suitable match

* Magenta * Approved at panel April 2006, now awaiting suitable match

* Emcon * Approved at panel March 2006, now awaiting suitable match

* (Gill) gillywilly * Approved at panel April 2006, now awaiting suitable match

* Barbarella * Approved at Panel 27/4/06,, now awaiting suitable match

* JenniferF* Approved at Panel 11/05/06, now awaiting suitable match


 * Waiting for Panel Date/Panel Result *

* Momo * Waiting for panel date

* Kizzie * Completed Form F. Panel June 2006

* Morgana * Panel August 2006[color]

* Home Study/Prep Course *

* Laine * Interview 11/1/06. Home study Feb/Mar 2006

* Lauren * Currently on home study (adopting from Guatemala)

* Milk tray * Just swapped LA. Prep course April 2006

* keli haslem * Currently on home study

* keemjay * Currently on home study

*Nicky*: Currently doing assessment

* waiting to be mum * Prep course Nov 2005

* Alex28 * Currently on home study. Panel June 2006.

* Lou W * On fostering prep course April 2006.

* Lisaw36 * Prep course 25/1/06

* (Chris) sussexgirl * Prep course Feb 06

* Shi * Prep course Jan 06

* arniegirl * Prep course April 2006

* Sanita * Prep course May 2006

* Ange K * Prep course May 2006

* melaniejhodson * Prep course June 2006

* Initial Stages *

* Cindy * considering adoption

* Jo * Daring to dream

* Lulu/Lou * Considering next steps

* ellepotter * considering adoption

* herbaltea * Initial interview 30/01/06

*EML * Considering Adoption

* Jan Welshy * SW visit 01/06/06

* Fiona 1 * Waiting for intro evening - concurrent planning

*Viva* Considering Adoption

* Katykitten * Considering Adoption

* Kimmy * Open Evening 9/5/06

*williasms* Considering Adoption


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## Barbarella

Oooh how exciting to see my name has moved up to a different phase...!!

Lovely to see the newly matched Mummies have upgraded too. 

Love and luck to everyone on their journey....

Thank you Karen... I don't know how you do it... 

Cxx


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## KarenM

Hi everyone

Hope this is going to be as exciting as our last thread. 

Nats - just wanted to say good luck to you for panel tomorrow.

Off to bed soon I'm pooped.  We've been swmming with the girls today and then I've not long completed a huge pile of ironing (I hate it with a passion - so see this as a pitfall to being a mummy, although it is relatively easy with clothes the size they are now, it will be one of the first chores they laern when they are old enough!!!)

Hope everyone else is doing ok, and good luck to those of you who are on prep courses, have SW visits or meets with your new additions

Karen x


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## Ann

Hi

I am being cheeky and sneaking in before it gets so busy on here    I have been reading but finding it so hard to keep up!  It is great to see so much happiness on this thread - it really does make such a differance after the years of heartache with IF.
Well my 2 little girls are as lovely as ever even though my youngest is making me grey by the day - she is definatly a little handful, but my day would not be as exciting without her little anctics 
We met up with Kimmy last week and we managed to gas for 6 hours    and the girls played so well!!!Our eldest just thought that she was great and chatted away as if she had met up with an old friend    will be looking forward to the meet Just hope that it is when we are around   I have even managed to persuade DH to come which is amazing as he is not normally up for these things.
I will try and keep up but I find it so hard.  To everyone going to panel GOOD LUCK  

Lots of love Ann xxx


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## cindyp

Just a quickie to say 

Nats, best of luck for tomorrow looking forward to hearing about your intros

Feeling pretty shattered, came down with a cold this weekend, perfect timing as I've had my godson and his sister staying for the weekend.  Nothing like 3 kids to look after when you're feeling poorly   

Hope everyone else has had a good weekend.

love
Cindy


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## saphy75

Nats, loads of luck tomorrow  can't wait to hear how you get on

pam xx


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## jilldill

Hi All,

Karen what another great job you've done it's great keeps us all posted!!!

Nats, wishing you all the good luck there is for tomorrow, keep us posted woth everything

Magenta, wow another child to consider your SW is doing a great job!

Hi Ann, lovely to hear from you

Hi to everyone,
Love JD x


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## wynnster

Hi All

Karen - How do you do it ? The list looks great   

Ann- Have sent you IM hunny - Your girls are soooooo cute - I went home and spoke about the girls too  

Nats - Thinking of you today - All the best   Finally sent you IM too 

Cindy - I caught mega cold this weekend too and haven't got any Balmed tissues so my nose is now so sore from all the blowing   - Hope yours clears up quickly 

Saphy - All that shopping, so exciting  

Magenta - Great Idea re another chat night   Hope the right match turns up soon and you hear back from CWW soon 

Hi to Everyone else too

Kim x


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## EML

Dear All
I wonder if you can answer a stupid question about referees?
We are attending our Preparation Course early in June and we have been asked to fill in our formal application form before then. (As you'll all know) I need to let them know the names of our referees and contact them beforehand, however, I don't know how PC we have to be about who our referees are? Is it important to ask people with children (many of our friends are also 'child-free'), how important is it to mix male and female (a lot of our close friends happen to be male), are occupations significant (the husband of one of our our best friends is a policeman, another wife of a not-so-close friend is a nanny)? I don't know how much importance they place on the kind of person we ask, if it is better to ask people we know will say nice things, or whether it is best to choose the people we like the most and who we want to be involved in the process? I'm sorry if I'm putting too much thought into this (blame the drugs, I've got a slipped disk in my neck at the moment and am drugged up-to-the-eyeballs) but I want to get it 'right'.
Lots of love
EML


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## keemjay

HI EML
we had to have 6 referees and they asked for them to cover a whole spectrum of things....so one person for each of the following things..if you can
1 had to be a family member. 
someone who knows you both well as a couple,
someone who knows how you relate to children
somebody who knew you well from an earlyish age
someone who knew your dh well from an earlyish age

i dont think occupations matter as long as they 'know' you well. i think a balance of male and female would be preferable tho not essential..ceratinly ours are more female but 3 are part of couples..ideally i would have put both their names down but there was only space for one name in the box....

i'm afraid i did choose people who would represent us best..i steered away from friends who i'd had a hard time dealing with their pregs. we chose our neighbour who sees us day in day out nearly so would be able to give a warts and all picture. our best friends too for that reason (they have child) i have a friend who had adopted fairly recently so also chose her as i have seen her adopted son grow from baby to age 3. dh chose a childhood friend who we still see and who has children. i chose someone who i've known from my early teenage years and babysat for them. 
hope this helps

kj x


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## alex28

great list karen - thanks again!

KML - like kj we chose one couple who knew DH very well - over 30 years and i have know them 6 years - we also looked after their children whilst they went away on business so an appropriate choice for us there.

we also chose a male friend of DH's who knew me too and im godmum to their little 'un.  He knows DH much more than me.

our third choice was a male friend who knew us both very well.

i also put down a female friend whom i have know for about 15 years - she does not know DH though so they just wrote to her but did not interview her.

i think ultimately you do choose who you know will speak more "highly of you both as a couple" as, at the end of day, you have to do whats in your best interests dont you??  We chose not to ask other couples who may have known us just as well as the others,  as we felt they might be less able to articulate their thoughts etc about us.  does that make sense.  Choose who you feel knows you best and can represent you best.

good luck!

oh also got a letter inpost from SS at to invite us to a Health and Legal Issues training session  - used to be done as part of the prep course but now done seperately.  They have the doctor there along with a legal person?? anyone been on one of these?  Ours is in early June.  Can i also ask how much in advance of panel has everyone got their Form F to read before it gets sent back for typo errors etc (am sure there will be some from what i have read on here  ).


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## naoise

Hi girls, I haven't much to report really I have a course on child abuse to go to which starts tomorrow night, so i think that will be tough going.

I think we got off really lightly as we only had to give 3 referees, although our sw is interviewing my old employer as I nannied for her for nine years.

I hope everyone else is well someone is just coming to my door so must dash!

LOLO Keli


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## Jo

Hi
We have just had another evening meet date through 
We have one for June and one for July, I know its only the start but it gives you a little boost to know you are on your way  

Hi to everyone
Love Jo
x


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## sanita

Blimey, we are just back from our holiday and what a lot we have missed.  Wonderful news about Nats match, other than that I clearly have a lot of catching up to do.

We met up with DH ex wife while we were away and his two grown up sons, to tell them about our plans to adopt and that one or all of them may be contacted by the agency.  Ex wife and youngest son were incredibly supportive and interested, eldest son had mixed feelings, but is OKish about it.  So that is one more step along the way for us.  We have our first HS on Thursday, followed by another prep day on Friday so it's a busy week for us.  I love the way everything is progressing so quickly, but being the pessimist I am I keep waiting for the bubble to burst.   .  I have loads to do to prepare for the HS on Thursday, not least catching up with all the holiday washing and ironing, cleaning the house, mowing the lawn etc.  I don't care whether our SW wants to look around or not, once I've gone to all that effort she is going to get the guided tour anyway.   

Sanita


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## Boomerang girl

just wanted to pop in to say congrats to nat on the match that is brilliant news!!!  x

intros still going very well, strawberry loves her new house especially her sandpit!!

mid- way meeting today. I am soooooooooooooooooooooo tired!! (but so in love!)

boomer
x


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## keemjay

ah boomer you sound so happy 

hope all goes well today 

kj x


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## BunBun

Not much to report here, haven't been posting again for awhile as nothing seemed to be happening. Finally got the news that our application has been accepted by the panel & that we can finally move onto the prep course but that it may take another 6 months or more to get a place on them. Just need to wait for some forms to arrive for completion now for crb checks & details of referees.
Congratulations to all of you who have been recently approved/matched.


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## Ruthiebabe

Hi,

boomer your mention of the sandpit has got me thinking....what other stuff have you bought for strawberry? Boo's FPs have said he has loads of clothes and toys, so not to get too much. so we've mostly stuck with practical stuff like bed, carseat, booster chair etc....we did buy a trampoline though. we've had lots of people asking us if they can buy somethingn for him, but i don't know what to suggest. he's big for 2, so am not sure what size cloithes to suggest, and we don't know what toys he already has, so don't even know what to get him from us never mond anyone else......hmmmm....any suggestions for other mummies or people who know what 2 year old boys like would be very welcome!

PS did anyone bring a present for their little-one on the first visit. i seem to recall that this was not a good idea as they may think everyday they get presents, but also might bribe them to like you more.......i'm not above such underhand tactics 

xxxxxxxxruthie


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## Viva

Had a busy week or so as has this board!!!!...so really wanted to touch base...so much exciting stuff happening at the moment!
Saphy and Nat...such great news...really glad to hear that your intro's are going so well Boomer...Ruthiebabe when do you start?
We're off to our information evening tomorrow so going to get an early night, sure we'll be exhausted tomorrow from all the concentrating and trying to make a good impression!

Love Viva
XXX


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## jilldill

Hi Everyone,

Sanita, glad to hear your visit went well and that the news was recieved well

Viva, I hope the info evening goes ok, you will find it really informative I know we did

BunBun, really glad to hear things are starting to move along for you

Boomer, Ruthie, Pam and Nats you are just making me smile your letters are so full of happiness and hope, it helps us all keep them coming

EML, we only needed 3 referees too, one family member and two others we did a mixture of couples, male/female and living in diffrent situations.

Magenta, couldn't agree more another chat night would be great

Hope everyone else is doing ok love JD xx


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## saphy75

WOW this thread is sooooo exciting at the mo, we don't have any more news yet just frantically trying to get all the forms completed for panel on monday 

i have been looking around at baby stuff so if everything goes well on monday we wont have to rush off and buy the first things we see

we still can't believe how fast this is moving   

will update you all on monday 

pam xx


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## superal

Hello just popping in to read everyone's news.......lot's happening as usual which is really encouraging for all those who are starting the process or are near completion.

Pam - How on earth are you manageing to sleep, you must be so excited & panel is so near?  Fingers crossed for Monday but I'm sure you won't need it!

Ruth - We didn't take DS a present on our first visit but a few days later.  We actually bought a steering wheel that he could use just for in our car, that way he would quite happily get in our car & know that it was only for our car not his FP's car, it seemed to work for us.( it was from the ELC & you sit with it in between your knees & drive it!)

If it's ideas you want for presents how about...............A swing for your garden? ( even if FP's have one I doubt that will come with Boo) 
A little or big car that he can sit on and push along with his feet or to just push along with the handle.
A pop up tent, which are really great as they do what it says on the label! pop's up & folds away so easy again for storage. They have some great ones these days with Thomas the Tank engine on or many other favourite characters & not to expensive & available from many stores.
As you can see from the above list most things are for outside so I'm hoping were going to get a good summer so we can all be in the garden with our children.

Love to everyone else.

Love
Andrea
xx


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## Ruthiebabe

Wow pam....they really must be fast-tracking you. we had to have all our papers in at least a week before panel, otherwise it would have been postponed for a month!

thanks for the suggestions andrea, yeah some more garden stuff would be good. our intro planning meeting is tomorrow at the FP's house, so i'll see if i can have a snoop to see what coming with him then.

i hope everyone else is moving along nicely.
xxxxruth


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## Mummyof2

ruthie - when my ds was 2 he was heavily into Noddy, Brum, Fireman Sam, Thomas the train and Bob the Builder - he loved anything with those on inc dvds, books, t-shirts, pjs, pants, vests, socks, hats, drinking cup/plate/knives and fork set.  He also loved his 3 wheel scooter, sandpit, paddling pool, mini trampoline, slide and also his 3 wheeled trike.  When people ask me what to get for my son I suggest to some people to get money to put in his account and then when he does need something the money is there ready.  He gets presents from the others so still has something to open.  He is very car obsessed and has been since age 1.

Alex - we got our Form F1 (not Form F any more) about 3 weeks before panel.  We only got to keep it for a day!

EML - we only needed 3 refs - one family member and 2 others who knew us as a couple.  One of the others had to be guardian. We chose one married friend with 3 children and one single friend with no children.

Boomer - glad to hear that the visits are going so well.  Great news.

Pam - good luck for Monday.

Bye for now


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## alex28

Thanks Jennifer - we got our eco map to fill in today so will get that done and all the other paperwork back off to her end of this week.

glad to hear intros are going well Boomer

Pam - you must be sooooooooooo excited - really really pleased for you both. xx

Ruthiebabe - hope tomorrow goes ok. xx

hope everyone else is ok - i love this site - all the posts and replies give us all such good ideas for the future.  Thanks!!


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## Lauren

Hi everyone,

So nice to see there is still so much good news on here!  Really is so very encouraging and positive.

Well our news is that having completed our Form F for an adoption from Guatemala we have now decided to amend it for a domestic adoption!  Its all been a bit weird but when we very first set out on this road we were told by our LA that "there were no babies in our area" and if we adopted domestically we would have to take an older child with special needs.  Anyway a couple of weeks ago our SW told us that they currently have several babies in care at the moment and then went on last week to bring us a list of all the children (details and photos) they have available at the moment, including babies!  Having talked it over with my dh and our SW we have decided to amend our Form F and go for a domestic adoption and save ourselves all the uncertainty associated with an overseas adoption not to mention the horrendously long wait which can be anything up to 2 years from approval!  We can still go to panel on 19th June and what a relief it is to know that then all we have to do is wait for a match rather than trawl through miles and miles of red tape to get accepted in Guatemala!

Sorry that was a bit of a gabble, but did also want to say that our decision to change course has been greatly helped by so many of your encouraging stories on here of so much good news and wonderful children so THANK YOU!

Good luck to everyone who has impending important dates coming up whether they are panel, intros, etc and happy shopping to the new mummies!  Can't wait for that bit!

Lots of love
Lauren xxx


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## Viva

Evening all...
Just got back from our open evening, which was all good I think...DH is all excited and been sending emails to try and arrange some informal interviews to see where we go from here...tonight was with a voluntary agency so we are also following up comtact with our LA, feels good that we are moving at last. Just hoping that we won't hit a brick wall because we're not yet 6 months past the end of our investigations, been open with everyone so far saying that after looking at our options adoption is our first choice and no one's raised any concerns yet, so hopefully they won't!

Lauren, exciting new that your LA has young children as a potential match for you.
Ruthiebabe all the best for tomorrow looking forward to hearing how it all goes.
Off for sleeps now.
Viva
XXX


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## cindyp

Hi All

Ruth, you must be so excited, we never took our DS a present during introductions.  We worked on the suggestion that he would focus more on the present than us because he was so young.  Instead we bought him presents after his arrival at our home.  He's a typical boy, like Jenny's boy he is into all things to do with transport, Thomas the Tank Engine, Bob the Builder, Postman Pat, Fireman Sam.  If it has wheels he wants to know about it     As I was more used to girls it was a bit of a culture shock and quite surprising that they so quickly focus on "boy" things.  We bought him a fire engine.  Enjoy yourself over the next few days, can't wait to hear more.

Pam, I'd wish you luck for Monday but I don't think you'll need it, enjoy the window shopping.

Lauren, congratulations on completing your Form F and moving to a domestic adoption.  I think the line the SW gave you at the beginning is the one they tend to give everybody to see how determined you are.  It's true there are not loads of babies but it doesn't mean that everybody has to adopt an older child with special needs.  Understandably the Social Services hope that you will take on one of these children as it is hard to find homes for them and it is sad that they struggle to find families for such children. 

To everyone else I've missed and I know there are so many, it's good to read that things are progressing along.

At long last I can use the word progress for myself as we have finally heard from the SW who has been assigned to us.  She phoned today to make an appointment to start the HS.  We're going to France for a week's holiday over Whitsun but we've made an appointment for 5th June.  At last we're finally on the road to our next child.  Mind you earlier today I was questioning my sanity at the idea of adopting another one.  Unfortunately my DH went to work with our stroller in his boot on the day I had to take my DS shopping for shoes.  Not being strapped into his stroller he managed to run out of the shop 3 times.  Fortunately although being 43 and about 4 stone overweight I can still sprint over short distances (very short mind you  ).  After coming out of Clarks the best part of £40 worse off (word to new Mums, children's shoes can be expensive and generally end up being bought at least 4 times a year  ), I had to suffer more naughty toddler throughout the day.  Suncream squirted on the carpet, teatime food dropped on the floor, being hit on the head with a plastic petrol pump all carried out with the normal cheeky grin.  Then because I'd spent most of the day putting him in the naughty corner and depriving him of his dummy, he had the cheek to tell me that he "loved Daddy best". 

Must repeat to myself on regular occasions, "No, having two children under 5 will be enjoyable and rewarding"   .  Andrea, Karen, Ann, any comments?

love to all
Cindy


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## Ann

Cindy,

2 under 5 is mad ( mine are under 3!!!!!!!!!!!) most days, BUT it definatly is rewarding especially when they are tucked up in bed and cant - get to the sudocrem to smear it over the carpet, empty every toy box all over the floor when you have just organised them, pull all of the ironed laundry over, eat the cat food, empty the baby wipes everywhere, dig up the new turf in the back garden, pick all of the flowers that you have just planted, rip the wallpaper of the wall, and so much more   
I would not swop it for the world even tho I am exhausted running around after them - they give so much love back and make each day worthwhile - I hope you all don't have to wait to long to experience it.  It really is the most amaxing undescribable feeling in the world  

Lots of love Ann xxxxxx


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## superal

Hi everyone

Ann - lovely to read your messages about your little girls.  Your comment about 2 under 3 made me laugh, you wouldn't swap it for the world though.

Cindy - 2 under 5 MAD??......No... why not. The age gap between my 2 is 8 years & I wished we'd adopted another sooner than we did, unfortunately sometimes things in life do not quite go to plan.  That's why I wish DH would change his mind about adopting another as there would be the potential of a 5 year age gap between DD & a new one!

Boomer - Hope things are going great for you, can't wait to read your news but I'm sure your going to be to busy let us know when you can! 

Ruth - Hope you got some good ides about what to buy Boo.  Not to long now until you meet him.

Pam - Hope your managing to keep sane, not long until Monday, the 22nd is a good day, that was my Dad's birthday.

Katie - Have sent you a personal message.

Viva - Glad the information night went well, it does feel as though you are doing something when you attend these meetings & myself & DH felt so relieved after our first one that we felt as though a weight had been lifted off our shoulders, is that how you feel?

Lauren - Lovely to read your message, it sounds very promising that your SW has showed you pictures of children & Babies waiting to be adopted, although ours never did, you must feel as though you are so close & although Guatemala will miss out on you becoming adopters, a baby or child here will be so lucky to have you as parents. 

Alex - How's the kittens?  Still see your shifting that weight, you've done really well, I've given up, DH keeps telling me I only need to shift about 10lbs & I'll look great, you can imagine the arguments that cause's....what do you mean, I don't look good now?  You don't like looking at me like this, so on & so on!! A no win situation, he wishes he'd never said anything!

Jennifer - Hope your OK?

Magenta - Any more news yet on the child you have seen in CWW or BMP?

Nat's - How are you? Still on cloud 9? Can't wait to read more news about your son, have you thought of a nickname or are you just going to call him DS?

Hello to everyone else, hope your all OK.

I did put a complaint in about the nurse who did our DD hearing test & she has apologised & wants to apologise to me in person, DH says it's up to me but he know how emotional I can be.   I'm still trying to keep my cool about it so I'll wait & see.

TFN
Love
Andrea
xx

PS Molly will post as soon as she can, she has her hands full as you can imagine & wanted you all to know she if fine, DD is wonderful & she is loving being a Mum!


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## keemjay

pam 22nd is DEF a good day cos its my birthday


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## saphy75

Hi just wanted to tell you all, we have seen a photo of our (hopefully) baby boy. he's a biggie and DH has nicknamed him chunk  seriously though he is absolutely gorgeous and we can't wait to meet him (praying everything goes well at panel)

pam xx


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## alex28

pam - how wonderful!!!! i have been telling my friends about you and how quick it has happened really......amazing yet wonderful too!!!

well i have some good news - we now have official confirmation of our panel date!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yippee - our LA seems very organised compared with others i read about.

They have sent a letter inviting us to attend and given me a list of the panel members.  Bit of a dilemma though, can anyone help  I know 2 of the panel members!! Not very well, one was a client about 5 years ago and no-contact since so she wont know me from my married name and the other is a friend of my parents who lived in their village, again i have only met her a few times and although i would recognise her in the street she would not know who i was or remember but may recognise my maiden name.  I recognise her as she's always in the local paper!!!  Hope this wont be a problem??

hope all is well with u others - off for BB overload tonight!!!


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## Barbarella

Hi Everyone

OMG Pam... how wonderful, every time I log on you are more and more excited.  I cannot believe how fast it's happening for you... you enjoy every minute hon and good luck for Monday... I want to hear the news before I go off on my travels, although I am 100% certain that it will be good news. xx  

Ann - lmao... your post really made me laugh about your LO saying he loved Daddy best... how typical is that... LOL... I'll remember that when it's my turn and I can respond "good, well Daddy can look after you tomorrow then can't he".....LOL... 

Lauren - fantastic news about the domestic adoption.  I have to admit that, although we really would have loved to adopt abroad, we just couldn't have stood the red tape and problems... and the waiting times.  How lovely that they have shown you details of babies.. you must have so much hope now.  I agree with Cindy that they definitely test you at the beginning.  We were told something very different even quite early on in the process to what we were told at the beginning.  Anyway, not long till panel now... that will whizz by.

Cindyp - your post made me laugh too with your LO in Clarkes....lmao... cannot wait. I love hearing everyone's tales of their LO's antics.  Good luck with your 2nd HS...   LMAO !!  

Well I'm off to Paris next Weds.  REALLY looking forward to a romantic break with dh after the stress of work and the process...!!  And it breaks up the wait doesn't it. Not thinking too much about it at the moment, as it's early days... but you can't help feeling in limbo... !!  Still, life is for LIVING!!!!!

Love and luck to everyone else on their journey... 

Cxx


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## cindyp

C, enjoy Paris, my DH took me there for my 40th and we both loved it.

Pam, we're all praying with you that you get to mee "chunk" in person   

Andrea, it's good that the nurse realises she owes you an apology.  I think my DH will sympathise with your DH as he often is on a no win situation   

Alex, can't help with the panel dilemma as I've never been in that situation.  However I would have thought it would be a good thing as they would already know what a nice couple you are? 

Ann, although I said under 5, as we are hoping of one younger than our DS it will more likely be 2 under 3 like you.  Having met your girls and knowing how gourgeous they are, I bet you suffer the same problem as me that other people can't believe that your children aren't as angelic as they look.  From your description it seems that they've learned the same destructive techniques as my DS     I was telling my friend about his antics when I was at my belly dancing class (I thought as it wobbles anyway I might as well do it to music   ), his playgroup keyworker also attends and couldn't believe I was talking about the same quiet, smiling, well behaved child that she sees twice a week.  Like you say though, it is so rewarding and they are a joy (when they are in bed   ).

Looking forward to hearing about our new babies to come.

love
Cindy


----------



## momo

Hi everyone!

There's too much to keep up with on here-but its all fantastic news and everyone is heading in the right direction!

Pam- Best wishes for panel on Monday- 'Chunk' sounds adorable- hope its not too long until you meet him!

Alex- Congatulations on your panel date!  How are your kittens getting on? Do you have any photo's of them yet?

Lauren- i think a move to domestic adoption sounds like the best idea as the situation with your LA sounds very promising!  We were originally intending to adopt from Russia but switched to domestic adoption after looking into costs of agencies, timescales etc and our minds were made up when we attending the training course and spoke to the S/w's about our options.

Andrea- so glad you got your deserved apology from the nurse.

Barbarella- have a fantastic time in Paris!

Boomer - looking forward to hearing more about your times with strawberry! 

We are still waiting for our new S/W to complete our Form F and give us a panel date.  The medical adviser on the panel has said that he is happy for us to go ahead after receiving a letter from my doctor about my progress after my major (unexpected) operation in Thailand. I am now nack at work after 9 weeks off and wishing i was back at home again! Me & Dh are off to Prague next Thursday for a 4 day break so looking forward to that!  

Best wishes to everyone and hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Momo.


----------



## Ruthiebabe

Hi all,

well all our intros are planned now.....just can't wait for them to start!! roll on 1pm on the 30th!!  

I think his FM is a bit anxious about it all, but I'm hoping it was because it had to be so formal what with 4 SWs about! Hopefully when its just us and them she'll be able to be more relaxed about it all. With Boo being their first I guess its as much of a mystery to them as us.

boomer.....how long till strawberry moves home?

Pam, best of luck for monday, but I'm sure you'll be fine and chunk will be eating you out of house and home before you know it.

nats have you got a date yet for meeting your little man?

i wish i could keep up with everyne on here, but my brain tends to only be able to remember those at around the same stage as me......but it sounds like everyone else is moving along nicely too.

andrea: good that you got an apology from that nurse.....go and make her grovel!!

Alex we didn't know anyone on our panel, but we did on our matching panel (which was Boo's panel). Shes a close friend of the family. She had to sit that session out as she thought she'd be too biased (in a good way I believe (hope)). I think the best thign would be to mention it to your SW and see what they say. 

have a good wekend,
XXXRuthie


----------



## KarenM

Hi All

Have had a busy week trying to finish the assignment i have to do for Uni.  It is due in on 30th and I still have one section to write and then I need to proof and edit it.

Ann/Cindy - Would be lovely to meet up again with you and your little ones, can't believe where the 10 months have gone since we last met.  Love reading your antics.  It is reassuring to know that what I am going through is normal.

Pam - Chunk sounds adorable.  Good luck for Monday and hope you can get everything you need in time to bring him home.

Nats - Congrats again.  Can't wait to read more about your meet with your little man.  Do you know when you will bring him home?

Lauren - Great news on the domestic adoption.  Like the others have said I think they do it sometimes to test people's commitment.  Hope they can find you a match soon.

Andrea - My dh would be the same.  But glad the nurse has recognised that she owes you an apology and rightly so.

Ruth - we had something similar with one of our girls FM's.  She was quite frosty in the meetings  in fact when I asked a question about *'s routine, her reply was that what did it matter what she did as we would do our own thing.  I replied that we would want to try and keep it relatively similar to start with and then adapt it to suit us over a period of time rather than make huge changes straight away.  Hope they go ok, our meets went really well after that and we still keep in touch with both FM's.

Momo - great news on your dr report and glad to hear you are feeling better.  Have a lovely time in Prague.

Alex - great news on panel and hope you sort out the issue of knowing the people.  I think it would  be worth mentioning it as like you they might not recognise you until you get there.  We had something similar at work recently where a member of staff went on jury service and they didn't recognise the defendent's solicitor by her name and so got sworn in.  Then when she came into court and she saw her she realised she knew her.

Barbarella - Have a great time in Paris.  Hope you come back to some good news.

Viva - glad you enjoyed your open evening and glad DH is excited by it all.

Jo - Great news on getting a date through.

Sanita - glad things went ok with dh's ex and his kids.  I am sure the one will come round.  Hope the HS and prep course went ok.

Boomer - I guessing you have Strawberry at home now and are computerless.  If not hope you are ok and she has settled in.

Hi to everyone else hope you are doing ok.

Well tomorrw is the 7 month anniversary of officially adopting our girls so it is our long awaited celebration day and our day on the steam railway.  21 of us in all with a picnic lunch.  Just hope the result in the footie goes our way too (Leeds fans) and Dh will be on 

Best go, girls have just finished tea and are back for a play before bed.

Bye for now
Karen x


----------



## superal

Hi Karen

Have a fantastic day tomorrow celebrating with all your family & friends, I hope the weather improves for you.

Enjoy the day as you all really deserve it, I can't believe it's 7 months since you legally adopted your two lovely little girls.

Well my day has been not so good today, I have lost it big style with DS & have had to avoid speaking to him as I am furious at him............what's he done I hear you all ask..............lost his bottom brace!!

How on earth you can loose one brace & not the other is beyond me BUT HEY this our DS who were talking about, the one we love dearly but could quite happily go mad at him! 

I spent 45 minutes looking through rubbish bags to day at a summer fair he's been helping out at as he took his braces out to talk to someone & quickly put them in his lunch bag & yes you guessed it he threw the lunch bag away! 

OK moan over with, what's done is done BUT it will cost us about £250 to get a replacement as of the first April you have to pay for braces!  GREAT!!

Andrea
xx


----------



## Nats

Andrea - Oh dear....Im not one to speak because I am able to mislay the largest of items and wonder for days where it went..although I havent lost a brace before!
Breath in, Breath out, breath in, breath out!

Karen - how do you do it!, uni assignments and raising 2 lovely girls too!. Glad you got it all done though.
I also hope that you have a wonderful day with your 7 month celebration....where abouts are you going? We have a local stream train place near us and it always gets really busy, although I havent been for about 15 years! 

Ruthie - Great news you now have all your dates and I bet you cant wait. I just feel sick when i think about how im going to feel when i walk up to that door the first time!...sorry to hear about FM, ours was more than helpful when we met her a couple of weeks back and hopes she continues when we start.

Pam- Its great to come on here and see bits about chunk, its all happening so fast I bet you havent had time to think!

momo- hope you get the date through soon for the panel date....its all the waiting thats so hard.

Boomer - hope strawberry is settling in ok and you are enjoying every minute!

Hi to everyone else....I did do more pseronals but then I lost it...and havnt got time to do them all again....

so our latest is we are still waiting on news of our planning meeting...hopefully this week, but we have sort of set provisional dates of intros to start 8th and snugs (thats what I have nicknames him) to move in on 15th.
there has also been a bit of urgency from SS as they havent got the CRB checks updated so been sorting them out too!. We now have everything ready and cant wait to meet him!!

Natsxxx


----------



## everhopeful

Hi all

It's been a while since I updated, and so much has been happening to everyone on here, it's difficult to keep up! Hence no personals, sorry!
Glad things sound encouraging for everyone - panel approves and matching etc! Best wishes to everyone.

Here, not a great deal to report. We still very happy though. Our dd has been with us a year on Tuesday. Can hardly believe where the time's gone!
We're currently on a waiting list to go through the application process again. It's crazy! They reckon there's so many children out there waiting for families, and here's us - an already approved family, wanting to extend ours. And we have to wait! Never mind. I'm keeping busy with plans for a birthday party and our summer hols. Not long now!
I'm sure the time will fly!

Bye for now.
Take care everyone
xx


----------



## Jo

Karen.
Hope you are having a wonderful day with your family today, 7 months already, I can remember when all this happened, you gave me goosebumps so many times reading your posts about your girls 

Pam - Good luck for tomorrow, I know it will go well and soon you will be holding your 'Chunk'  

Kimmy - Are you still going to The Seven Sisters next week, if you are have a wonderful time  

Hi to everyone else, hope you are having great weekends, its peeing down here, can't believe we have a drought order !!!!

Love 
Jo


----------



## KarenM

Hi everyone

Had a lovely time on the train today but didn't do alot of what we had planned due to the horrendous weather.  We ended up making it home in time for the match as a result but both feel really sad now that we didn't make it to the Premiership, oh well always next season.

We are planning on going again when we can hopefully have some better weather and enjoy it a bit more.  We brought the girl a book and a train each as a momento of their special day and have got their tickets and the seat/carriage reservation signs to put in their books (which I must get and update)

Hope everyone is having a good weekend despite this awful weather

Love
Karen x


----------



## Jo

Karen
Glad you had a nice day, shame about the weather  and the football , but I am sure it will be a day you will cherish  

Love Jo
x x x


----------



## wynnster

Hi All

Trying desperately to keep up with everyones news   Hope you're all doing well

Karen - Glad you had a nice day and glad the girls got some lovely momento's - shame about the weather  

Jo - We was really hoping to get to Seven Sisters this weekend but we haven't been able to get booked in anywhere with electric and as the weather is supposed to be pants i need me electric comforts   so we're going to Suffolk instead as DH managed to book a pitch with electric hook up! Woo Hoo - Cant wait and i mustn't forget me wellies  

Nats - Hope your dates are confirmed soon to meet your son   What a lucky boy Snugs is  

Hi to everyone else too

Kim xxxx


----------



## Boomerang girl

right, record fast post, totally knackered with strawb on lap- she has attached well and presently does not give me a second alone! I do everything with her by my side including shower snd goto the toilet!

please pray for some sunny weather, she is an outdoor girl and fed up with being cooped up indoors!  I'm hoping today she will nap in her cot instead of her buggy so I can get some sleep too!

love boomer
x


----------



## Mummyof2

Karen - glad you had a nice time on the railway.  This rain never seems to stop does it!

Everhopeful - so you are back on the adoption trail again.  Hope it is a swift journey.

Cindy - glad your application is starting to progress finally.

Superal - I hope you found that brace!  My ds lost his second baby tooth on Friday but didn't bring it home from school as it rolled under a table and it was too dark to find it.  He didn't even mention it to me until I noticed the gap on Saturday!

Boomer - aaaah how lovely that strawberry has attached so quickly to you.  Surely this rain must pack up again soon!

We have heard nothing further from our sw.  Not had a confirmation letter or phone call yet and it will be 2 weeks since panel on Thursday.  More waiting then .............  

All the best to everyone.


----------



## Ruthiebabe

Hi all,

my last week at work....how cool is that! I keep forgetting that in a week we'll be meeting Boo. Got more than a few thigns to finish up first though.

Karen, lovley to see you had a great day. Shame anout the weather though, but I'm sure you'll make up for it when the summer really starts.....whenever that might be!

Boomer....loved you post...thanks for letting us know how its been going.....I'm using you as my guide for this, so keep us updated whenever you can!

Andrea....i'm afraid my DH dispairs of me and my ability to misplace thigns.....when we were kids one of my best friends had braces and she must have lost about 10 sets of them, so your DS is not doing too badly if its ony his first set!....yuck about having to go through the bins though!

Jennifer/Ever.....isn't waiting great ! .....hopefully it won't be too long for you though.

hope everyone else is good,
XXXRuthie


----------



## naoise

Hi everybody, hope everybody had a good weekend.

Boomer your post was great lovely to hear that strawberry is getting on well.

Karen your day out sounded great,

Nats hope you get a date to meet Snugs soon. 

We went to Dublin for the weekend for a concert, the weather turned out really nice on 
saturday night so at least we didn't get rained on. We haven't really happening with us at the minute I am still doing my course just two more sessions and then I am finished thank goodness.

Hi to everybody else hope all is going well.

LOL Keli


----------



## Lauren

Hi everyone - what has happened to our summer?!?!  This weather is truly awful and really does beg the question "why on earth have we got a hose pipe ban"?!?!

Boomer - your post was so lovely to read.  Glad all is going well with Strawberry and she has attached so well to you.

Karen - your day out sounded lovely and a real memory to treasure, just a shame about the weather and of course the footie result.  Have to say although I'm not really a supporter, being from Hertfordshire, we were pleased about Watford!

Everhopeful - that's great that you are going for a 2nd child.  Lets hope your LA gets their act together and moves things along quickly for you.

Ruthie - hope you manage to get everything done in your last week at work.  You must be soooo excited.  At least a busy week will make time fly past a bit quicker.

Jennifer - the waiting is so frustrating isn't it?  You'd think we would get used to it, after all most of this process consists of waiting but it doesn't really get any easier.  Hope you hear something soon.

Nats - hope you have your dates sorted for meeting Snugs (cute name!) very soon now.  I can't even begin to imagine what it must feel like to be so close to meeting your little one.

Andrea - hope you found the brace (although doesn't sound very likely if it went in the rubbish bins!)  You have to remember that in years to come you WILL laugh about things like this however infuriating they are at the time!  I don't envy you having to rummage about in rubbish bins!  DS was probably hoping you didn't find it cos probably didn't want it back in his mouth after coming out of the rubbish!

Alex - glad you have got confirmation of your panel date.  Your LA really do seem to be very efficient.

Momo - glad to hear things are now moving ahead for you.  Hope your adjusting to being back at work.

Hi to everyone I've forgotten - I'm sure they are loads of you its so busy on here now!  The only news we have is that following on from changing to a domestic adoption our SW has now sent us the Form E for a child we had expressed an interest in when she showed us the list of children in their care.  I'm not really sure what the situation is cos she's sent us the form and arranged for us to go and speak to the agency Medical Advisor on Friday to discuss any concerns we may have from the Form E but at the same time she keeps telling me to keep my feet on the ground, not to think too much about this little one cos you never know whats round the corner and just use this little one's form as an example of the sort of children they have.  My SW is extremely cautious about giving too much away and getting our hopes up but I really don't understand why she would send us so much info if there's no chance of a possible match.   

Oh well I'm sure it will all make sense in the end!  Is a bit like having a carrot dangled in front of your nose though!

Take care everyone.

Lots of love
Lauren xxx


----------



## superal

Hi all

NO we haven't found DS brace & I haven't even bothered to ring the orthodontist today as I'm worried about how much it will cost to get a replacement.  DS knows he's in the bad books as his playstation has been taken off him!

Nat's - Love the nickname you've given your DS.......Snugs!

Pam - I hope you've got some good news today about Chunk!

Karen - The weather may have been a disappointment for you yesterday & the football BUT it was nice to know you all had a wonderful time together.  I know what you mean about keeping up with their books, I've still got things to stick in DD's book & she's been with us now nearly 5 years!

Boomer - Glad you found the time to pop in & let us know how you are all doing.  It must feel so different having another person to look after & especially one who follows you around & sticks to your side all the time.  It's great that she has bonded so well & she must really love her Mummy if she's willing to follow you into the loo! (Been there, DD was exactally the same, it got to the point where I'd say you sit by the door & I'll leave the door open just a little bit, it will pass HONEST!) 

Lauren - I really think it won't be long until you are posting on here to tell us you have a match, your SW is doing a great job & you must feel as though you are so close.

Ever - great that you are going for  child number 2, you'll be able to join Cindy as she goes through it all again.  Having done it I hope it's as quick for you as it was for us. ( 9 months from approaching SS to DD moving in - age 9 months!)

Ruth - hope your last week at work is a good one, are you planning to do a get together with work colleagues before you leave?

Jennifer - waiting is the hardest part of all but think positive & you never know what is around the corner.  There has been such good news on here lately I'm sure you'll be adding to that list very soon.  Your DS & our DD are of a similar age but she hasn't lost any teeth yet & with all things as they are at the moment with DS & his teeth I bet she's glad she hasn't!


Keli - Glad you had a nice time in Dublin, who did you got to see in concert?  We've booked tickets to see Shayne Ward in February next year as DD loves him (mum thinks he's pretty cute to!) I wish we'd never told her though as ever day she ask if today is the day she's going to meet Shayne!

Laine - How are things going?

Cindy - I hope you gave your DH what for when he went out with your DS stroller in the back of the car.  It's easily done though & your tails about DS running out of shoe shops made us smile, it's always nice to read it's not just your children who do things like that!

Hi to everyone else, you know I'm thinking of you!

Love
Andrea
xx


----------



## naoise

Just popped on to say we have had a call from our sw and we are not going to make panel in July it will probably not be until September as there is no panel in August, I have had a good   and well I don't feel much better I needed to let it all out, I am absolutely gutted but I should have known that things were just going to well for us.

Superal  we went to see Bon Jovi, they were brilliant Jon Bon Jovi was gorgeous as usual.

LOL Keli


----------



## Ruthiebabe

Hi Keli.

so sorry to hear of your delay......its really upsetting isn't it. Don't know if you're looking for silver linings yet, but at least you know its definately going to happen.....not like IF tx. And september still gives you a few months for a match before christmas,

xxxruthie


----------



## alex28

Ruthie is right Keli - i know i would be gutted if this happened to us too......and it will happen and you will get those children you so clearly deserve and want. xxx


----------



## Laine

Hi everyone,

Pam - how did it go today with Chunk?

Alex - how are the little fur babies doing?  I have never heard of the Health & Legal issues training, will be interested to hear what it is about and if we covered it on our Prep Course.  

Boomer - aww lovely to hear your news about Strawberry.

Bunbun - nice to hear from you.  Hope you get a date for your Prep Course soon.

Magenta & Jill - another chat night would be good.

Cindy - glad to hear things are progressing for you.

EML - we needed 3 refs also.

Jo - good news on open evening dates, when in June do you go?

Karen - sounds like you all had a lovely time yesterday. Thanks for the lovely list.

Lauren - maybe your sw believes you will be a good match, after all your panel date is not too far away.  Wouldn't it be lovely if things did work out.  

Ever - pleased to read you are going to adopt again.  

Nats - hope you get a date for Snugs soon.

Jennifer - I can't believe you haven't heard yet.   Surely it doesn;t take that long to send a confirmation letter. 

Keli - sorry to hear about the delay with panel.  I would feel gutted too, however, you will get there  

Ruthie - can feel the excitement in your post...not long until you meet Boo.

Momo - have a nice time in Prague.  Hope you get a panel date soon.

Ann - lovely to hear about your girls.

Keli - how did the child abuse course go?

Viva - glad you enjoyed the info evening.

Andrea - not good news on the braces.  Thanks for letting us know how Molly is doing.

C - hope you have a lovely, romantic time in Paris.

Sanita - pleased to hear things went ok with your dh's ex.

Hello to everyone else.

We had our last HS visit today.  Our next step is to sign off our Form F which our SW tells us will be ready by the end of May.   Oh and we go to panel in July.

Laine


----------



## jan welshy

Nice one Laine, knew it would happen for ya.


----------



## Jo

Brilliant news Laine  

Just sent you a IM asking the same question  

Our open evening is on 13th June  

Hi everyone, hope you are all OK 

Love Jo
x x x


----------



## superal

Hi all

Pam - lovely to read your news about Chunk, have replied on the other thread!!

Keli - so sorry you have had your panel date put back, it is heartbreaking & hopefully knowing that you've got "friends" on here who know how you are feeling plus a good cry have helped.  It's true like the others have said, at least you know you are going to panel, just a bit longer than first thought please don't give up hope & think positive    On a different note Bon Jovi....drool!! 

Laine - I love the way you just threw in at the end of your messages, oh yes panel date in July!  Excellent news!!

Hello to everyone else, 'm off to ring the orthodontist about a replacement brace for DS!

Love
Andrea
xx


----------



## wynnster

Typical Laine 'oh and we go to panel ...' 

  Great News Laine     

Kim xxxx


----------



## Mummyof2

Keli - as you may remember our panel date kept being put back as our sw had other commitments    It is very disappointing isn't it.  It took us 18 months to get to panel in the end but we got there finally and so will you.  Hugs to you.

Andrea - hope that replacement brace isn't too expensive  

Laine - congrats on finishing your home study and getting a panel date - July will soon come round   

My sw rang me yesterday to say that it is official - we have been passed at panel following the recommendation.  Got a couple of congratulations cards from friends sent through the post so that is nice to see on the top of our TV    Our sw is sending off our application to join Adoption UK as once you have passed at panel our LA pay for your subscription so that is a very useful offer.  Can't wait to see those children's profiles  

All the best to everyone and sorry to those I've missed off.


----------



## Nats

Crikey where do I start!!

KJ - Firstly, my dh is very enviosu of you and your 72 camper called Heinz. When I read the meassage to him he laughed!.   I did say that maybe one day when snugs is a bit older he can have one.....as it is we have had to postphone going to the vw camper meets this year as our little chap need the time to settle in. Do you ever go to any of them??.

Ever - I hope you get some news soon, I agree that its frustrating at time all this waiting and it obviosuly doesnt get any easier the 2nd time around!   ...congrats on the first year too!

Jennifer - At last the final bit of news you had been waiting for!, lets hope the next part isnt too long a wait for you either, im sure you will be keeping a close eye on those profiles!

Andrea - Sorry there was no miracle find on the brace....and I really hope it isnt half as bad as you thought for a new one, its awful that you have to pay really!. Hope dd is a ok too!

Jo - I bet you are counting down the days till your open evening. I bet you cant wait now.

Laine - FAB news on the panel date......I bet you must be a little bit excited!, you can share you joy with us!!!..   Mrs calm or what!! LOL

Keli - Im sorry to hear of your delays....these things can happen but all I can say is that once August is here you go to panel the next month anyway!....keep positive, I know its hard cause we waited 13 months to be matched!. Enjoy yourself.

Lauren - SW's seem to have thier own little plans going on dont they!. I think every sw knows what our limits are and as you say the fact that she has sent the details must mean something, I hope the meeting goes ok. Maybe she is just trying to keep you focused...but its so hard because this is such an exciting time when you get to read or hear about a possible match!...hang in there

Boomer- as always its lovely to hear about strawbs........its meant to be getting better next week..so im sure you will soending many an hour outside in the summer!...I wil do my sun dance now for you!   

Kimmy - you are next on my list....an IM will be on its way very shortly...I just couldnt neglect my fellow Essex Girl!..  

Ruthie - Oh my god, how exciting!, in theory I should have 2 weeks and 1 day left at work, it still seems all rather bizarre!. I hope you manage to get your little bits and bobs done!

Hi and huge apologies to anyone I missed!

As for us, we have our planning meeting next Tuesday.....I have to take along our family book and a piece of my clothing for snugs to get used too....oh and some bedding!
You know how they say some things are so close yet so far!....    

Off to the hospital tonight as Jen (flippy) had her twins yesterday....cant wait to meet them after I have been watching her belly grow for the past 9 months!....Snugs already has a long list of friends when he joins us!

Natsxxx


----------



## superal

Just popped in to read the latest news and have a break from house work, how come house work is never ending?

DS replacement brace will cost................£57.00!!  That's a relief as when he had them fitted the orthodontist said they can cost up to £250.00 each.  Still cross at him though, I've still not got over routing through rubbish bags at a summer fair!  (Can't stay cross at him to long as he is a good lad normally!)

Nat's thanks for asking about DD, she is fine, we have an appointment for her next week at the hospital to sort out her lazy eye, the one we can't seem to notice is lazy but we'll see what happens next week.

Got to go and put a bird back in it's nest now if it'll let me & it's parents don't peck me!  The nest was being attacked by a magpie & the baby bird had tried to fly off & promptly hit our kitchen window.  It's now been 2 hours since that happened & the poor thing is still hiding under our guinea pig hutch outside.

The things we do!!

Love
Andrea
xx


----------



## superal

Nat's I spoke to soon, I've just come home after picking DD up from school.

She was pushed over today at dinner time in the playground by a boy in her class & her nose is a right mess, she's grazed all her nose & it looks really sore.

I can't tell you what I wanted to do to that boy   as I know accidents happen but from what the teacher has said this boy did it on purpose because DD wouldn't do what he wanted her to do, as in play a game with him!

DH will go mad as although we are biased DD is very pretty & melts everyone's hearts who meet her & she looks like she's gone ten rounds with Mike Tyson!

I know in a weeks time it will be scabbed over & looking a lot better, so I'll stop moaning!

Love
Andrea
xx

PS Didn't need to return the bird back to it's nest as it started to rain & it got fed up of hanging around & has managed to get back to it's nest by it's self.


----------



## sanita

Andrea, sorry to hear about DDs playground incident.  And it sounds like you'll need your skills to calm DH down when he gets home.  I hope your little angel is soon looking gorgeous again.

Nats, good luck for the planning meeting next week.

JenniferF, congratulations on being approved.  I joined Adoption UK a couple of months ago and get Children Who Wait magazine.  It comes out at about the middle of each month.

Laine, well done on finishing HS.  Your panel date is just around the corner now.

Keli, Sorry to hear your panel has been delayed.  Try and hang onto what all those who have adopted say "It will be worth it in the end".

Boomer, Thanks for the lovely post.  It really helps those of us that are going through the process to know that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Ruthie, Hope your last week at work is going well although I expect it is stressful trying to tie up all those loose ends when your mind is so totally focused on next week.

Lauren, I'm intrigued by what is going on with you.  As you say it's one heck of a carrot to be dangling if there not serious.  Surely they wouldn't play with your emotions like that?

We have now had our first HS visit and we have our 3rd prep day on Friday.  I am really enjoying the prep days, we have a good group and the trainers and SWs are an absolute font of knowledge.  DH has two children from his first marriage, but he is also learning lots of new parenting tips.  The downside has been the amount of homework after our first HS.  I knew we would have homework, but there is tons of it.  I spent most of the weekend on it so at least I've made a start and it's not so daunting once you get into it.

Good luck and apologies to all those I have not mentioned.


----------



## alex28

just a quickie (ooh-err!)

Laine - well done on finishing your HS!!! Hurrah!!!! and blimy your SW must be good, our HS finished at end of April and she has not finished ours, although did say it would be done the end of May too!!! We have panel in a month and when she first told us this i was like "how long" but it has flown by really!!  Lets hope this summer is good for us all!!


----------



## Viva

Just popping in quickly tonight...great news Laine about your panel date...you must be pleased.
Andrea, sorry to hear about your DD's incident at school today, I'm sure it won't be long before it all heals beautifully! Your litle baby bird story made me smile too.
Jennifer, enjoy looking at the childrens profiles...hopefully it won't be long before your looking at 'your' childrens profiles.
Hello to everyone else.
Good night
Viva
xxx


----------



## cindyp

I don't normally like to follow trends but it's just a "quickie" for me tonight too   

DS has a tummy bug so it's been diorrhea day today, lovely NOT   , at least it's another 60 hours until we go on holiday so hopefully he will be over it by then.

Laine, congratulations on finishing your HS and getting your panel date, just a few weeks and we'll be having to celebrate more approvals   

Andrea, sorry to hear about your DD, I bet your DH will be wanting to lock her away in a tower where he can keep his little princess safe.  It's so awful seeing your children getting hurt.  As you say hopefully it will soon scab over and she'll be back to her gourgeous self.

Jenny, enjoy looking at those profiles although I warn you it can be a bit sad sometimes.

Nats, "snugs"    I bet you can't wait to get through all the meetings and actually to the meeting.  It won't be long.

To everyone else hope you are all well, am keeping up with the news but there's so many to respond to.

love
Cindy


----------



## naoise

Hi girls just wanted to say thank you very much for your replies I am so lucky that I can come onto the board and have a moan and you all know exactly where I am coming from. I went to my course tonight and was chatting to another couple we were on our prep course with and they are at the same stage as us except they have been waiting to adopt for three years now so my delay to September doesn't sound so bad.

Andrea I hope your dd heals very soon,

Nats it is soo exciting to hear about your snugs you must be over the moon.

Jennifer I remember that your panel was put back and I know we will get there in the end you are the proof.

Sanita I'm glad to hear you are enjoying your course you are well underway.

I'm off to bed up at 5 in the morning.

LOL Keli


----------



## lisaw36

Hi ladies,

Sorry it has been so long since I posted on the board but wow what a lot has happened - Boomers particularly love hearing about you as we are with same LA and I can sooooo identify with your stories. 

Karen, we are at HS stage now - 4 meetings with sw so far - one to sign all forms, one each of our individual profiles and one to one meetings and one on relationships and partnership.    Out of our 7 references (6 friends, one family) only one is outstanding and both our work references have responded too.  Also my ex hubby sent a very nice reference which was such a great relief (you never know ......).  We have another two scheduled for this Wed and next Wed and then we start on the "yes", "no", "limited" section of the form F1 which I think will be a bit harrowing.  

Does anyone know of a good family tree website that is easy to use?  I managed to do the Ecomap myself but can't quite get to grips with the family tree.  Any help gratefully accepted.

Anyway enough about me. Keli sorry you have been delayed - these disappointments are so hard to take when our hopes have been allowed to be raised.    Hope you are ok. 

Laine, well done - so lovely. 

Love hearing the stories of the new mummies - well not so new for some, the time really does seem to fly - I bet your feet don't touch the floor. 

Oops, just been caught at work so will have to sign off now .........  bum!! 

Lots of love to you all,
LisaW
xx


----------



## fiona1

Lisa,

Hi we too are under the same LA, although we are going down the Concrrency route.

Gene's reunited (friends Reunited web site) have a good family tree it may be work a try.

Good luck.

No news here just waiting for the 6 months to be up which will be Sept, can't wait to get going.

Fiona


----------



## lisaw36

Hi Fiona, 

We were deemed to far away to do the concurrency route.  Good luck to you on your progress. 

Lisa
x


----------



## Nats

Lisa - nice to see you are well under way with everything!

Keli - glad you are a bit happier about the delay, well you know what I mean. Its not nice but at least its not ages to wait...

Cindy - I hope DS is feeling a bit better, im sure with 60 hours to go0 he will be well on the way to making a full recovery by then!. Hope you have a fab time!

Sanita - we seemed to get hit with loads of homework over a  month and then that was it...nothing more. I hope you managed to make good headway and enjoy your prep group. Do you have many to go?

Andrea - Im really sorry to hear about what happened....I always remember that we was playing some rough and tumble in the playground at primary, but this boy somehow bit my back and left teethmarks. Course when my mum come to collect me I was standing in the classroom and there must have been about 5 other pupils left and they just wrenched up my checked dress to show my mum...right infront of the kids....I cant tell you how embarressed I was, but I was only about 7years old and remember as if it was yesterday!..  
I hope DD is all ok though, thats the main thing!

Well we have had our matching certifictae through with a note about the intros and it looks like we are still going to go ahead with them starting on 8th June and a planned moving date of 15th!!....I just cant believe we are getting so close to meeting snugs!

Oh well...hope everyone is all ok.

Natsxx


----------



## Ruthiebabe

Hi all,

nats...its weird this phase.....still waiting, but only for a few days...excitied one minute scared the next. we've been out a lot too as we're running down our "child-free" days, which has been lovely. sometime forget how lovely my DH is.

anyone heard anythign from magenta? last i read she had made an enquiry about someone in CWW.....ominous silence.....hopefully cos she's busy getting matched.

anyone suggest a good place to buy plastic beakers/plates etc??

xxxruthie


----------



## Mummyof2

Ruthie - best place I think for childrens plastic beakers/plates etc is Woollies or Asda - cheap prices.  Disney World or Warner shops also do them but more pricey.  You could also try Mothercare (Mothercare World has more choice than a straight Mothercare), Adams, BHS or Boots.  Oh and by the way when you need it, Boots have a very good choice of children's clothes that also wash well and often have great sales and you get the advantage points when you buy clothes, which you can then save up for buying nappies (or anything else of course).  You will spend a fortune on nappies so stock up when you see 2 for 1 offers is my advice!

Cindy - hope littlie is better.

All the best

Jennifer


----------



## wynnster

Hi All

Great to hear how everyone is progressing although I must admit to finding it really hard to keep up with you all  

Nats - Hope you're enjoying your time with DH before the madness begins   So chuffed it's all coming together for you and hope 8th/15th June is hear before you know it  

Sorry no long list of personals, but just know that ALL of you and your stories are such an inspiration to me still and I love reading your progress  

We've received our letter from the LA to say they've refered us to our local Agency and now we've had a letter from them saying they're allocating us our SW who will be in touch asap to arrange our initial meeting    Feeling excited but nervous  
Starting to get a bit down about our house though, still hasn't sold - well we did sell it then the silly woman pulled out and we're back to square one!  We was hoping that by the time the SW came we'd have sold our house and we'd know the rough date we'd be in the new house    I know there is nothing we can do, does anyone want to buy a 3 bed house in Essex  

Take Care All

Kim xxxxx


----------



## magenta

hi guys,

Wow...what a lot of wonderful stories and positive adoption journey experiences...what a way to cheer up and evening just by reading a message board!

i promised i would be down to cook dinner at 6.30pm and it is now 7.20pm so no time to launch into individual messages - just know i am reading with interest and sharing your joys.

thanks for missing me Ruthiebabes...what with everything else going on I thought you'd be too busy to notice my absence.

Well our sw came round tonight with a verbal report on CWW child and we are happy to swap forms so that happens next week and then we will be considered along with all the other applicants (apparently response has been very good - so not sure how many families we will be up against). Just hope they are interested in us as we are definately interested in the child.  there is quite a big geographical distance so we know that will be a negative (certainly in terms of sw visits) but we hope our form F will counteract that (crossed fingers, prays and generally sends vibes).  We won't hear any more for at least another week so just got to go back to waiting.  still very early stages...way before linking/matching but it feels like we are going somewhere.

magenta x


----------



## Lauren

Fingers and toes crossed for your Magenta.  Must be tough waiting with everything pretty much out of your control but I guess what will be will be and if you are meant for this little one it will all work out.  And if it doesn't that is because the little one who is really meant for you is just round the corner!

Just a quickie from me to say good luck to everyone who has impending important dates coming up.  I'm off on holiday tomorrow, a week in Morroco with dh, 3 of my step children, dh's brother and sister in law and their adopted son.  Am really looking forward to it cos with four adults to four children I'm sure there will be plenty of time to relax and chill out!

We're off to see the medical advisor this afternoon about the little one we had expressed an interest in.  SW is still giving mixed messages, now saying we have been earmarked for this one but still keep our feet firmly on the ground cos you never know what's round the corner!!!  Arghhhhh - what is she trying to say?!?!?  Am actually glad am going away for a week now so I can take a step back before I become completely obsessed!

Have a great week everyone and I will catch up when I get back.  Can't wait to hear everyones news - so much happens on here in a week!

Lots of love
Lauren xxx


----------



## Mummyof2

Lauren - hope you have a great holiday


----------



## alex28

Lauren -  have a lovely holiay - mmm morocco - you lucky bugger!!!  

magenta - great to hear from u as always.  Hope you get some news in a few weeks time to share with us. xx

Kimmy - hope your SW gets in touch really soon, each step really is a milestone and you get so excited about the little things.......hope your house gets a sale soon too!!

Ruthie, Nats, Pam etc - hope all is going ok and you are not getting too excited that you will burst.....tell us your news as soon as you know it - WE DEMAND IT!!!!!  

hope everyone else is ok.....news from the Alex houshold is that we got our Form F today, all typed up bang on time, she said we would get it by the 27th May. our SW is fab i must say.

anyway spent an hour reading it and apart from a few minor errors and some other things she has put it all seems ok.  Are you allowed to change some things?? for eg she comments that i said "a friends child's behavioural problems are in my opinion to do with my friends lack of parenting skills and interest in her child"  When reading this it comes across as really harse and terrible.  I did not exactly say this but when chatting etc you know what i mean.  Its just i have a friend whose more interested in making sure her house is clean than playing peek-a-boo with her baby and children.  Theres hardly any interaction at all - any idea of what to put to make it sound less harse or can i just delete what has been put?

well i hope everyone has a fab BHW, its my birthday over the weekend - not the whole weekend of course so we are out with friends sat night and then quiet day sunday and possibly BBQ on monday if the weather stays good.

enjoy yourselves what ever you are up to


----------



## Mummyof2

Alex - enjoy your birthday and the weekend.   

Re the Form F, as your friend isn't going to read what has been put about her, I would just leave it.  Your sw wouldn't have put things in that she didn't feel was relevant and put you in a good light.  Congratulations on getting the Form F1 so promptly and with so few errors.


----------



## KarenM

Hi Girls

Just to say I have been reading all your news but have had a busy week at work and my assignment to edit and bind for Tuesday.  I was going to do a post now but Rich and I are on our second bottle of red    so it wouldn't have made much sense.  I will do a catch up tomorrow when I am more compus mentis.

Karen x


----------



## fiona1

Hi All,

Nothing to report here, just waiting very patiently.

For those of you with older children i took Elliot to see "Wild" at the cinema today and it was fab. well worth a visit.

Fiona


----------



## Barbarella

Hi Everyone

I've just got back from Paris... (which was fabulous, of course... lots of sightseeing and meals/drinks/coffees sat in the street outside lovely bistros and French cafes... wonderful!!!).

Anyway... so sorry I can't do personals (except hoooray for Laine's panel date... ), but I just wanted to share my news with you....!!!  

On the way to the train station on Weds, our SW called.  They had a potential match.  A sibling group of 2 - little girl 18 mo old, and little boy 3.5 yrs.  Our SW told the children's SW that we ideally wanted younger and only 1 (perhaps) especially at this stage.. and the SW said they would offer us practical and emotional support.  We were in the car with my Mum and Dad, and dh sort of got the gist of it while I was on the phone.  Anyway, I told SW we would let her know when we got back from Paris... but she wanted to know asap, so they could go to other couples if we didn't want to take it to the next step.

Well, we kind of only had half an hour to make our decision, not wanting to talk about this on trains etc...!!  So, we went with our gut instinct and said no.  We both felt it was too early to take on a sibling group of that age, having only just been approved.  So, in complete honesty.. it was the age and the fact that it would have closed doors for us to be matched with a younger baby.  Of course, we know that 18 mos isn't that old, and had she been on her own, we would have probably said yes.  But we only want to adopt 2 children and with a sibling group we really would love a baby under 12 mos.  It all sounds so shallow I know.. and maybe we're just trying to put meaning to it when the fact is, it just didn't feel right.

I also know that this sibling group would have been someone else's dream match... and I feel that they deserve that.. rather than with us who would be uncertain.  

Had we not been going away, we could have thought about it a bit more and perhaps got some more information... but it obviously wasn't meant to be...!!  

Anyway.. if anyone has been through this (have a feeling Pam went thru this a while back... but I know you are busy hon...  ), I would love you to share your story with me.  We obviously spent half our break sighing and wondering if we'd made the right decision (although we know we did) and the other half feeling on cloud 9 that we'd been offered a match this soon.... although that's bitter/sweet really..

Love and luck to all....

Love Cxxx


----------



## superal

Hello everyone,  hope your enjoying your bank holiday weekend.

I'm supposed to be helping DH with some thing but whilst he's doing a job I can't help him with I decided to check in on everyone so had better only make this a small(ish) message.

Just wanted to say to Barbarella that I read your message with excitement and then got annoyed, NOT AT YOU!! (please don't think that!) at your SW!

Surely your SW must have known you were going away and to tell you how she did about a possible match in the way that she did was very unfair on yourself & your DH.  I think under the circumstances you were under you made the right choice and you should be congratulated on that!

It's exciting though to know that you are being considered for children & quite young children at that.  I'm sure it won't be long before you get another phone call to say that they have you your perfect match and the right age for you both.  I think it is important to stick to your guns about what you believe in and the children you said no to were not the right ones for you but will be for another couple.

I hope the news from your SW didn't put to much of a dampener on your holiday & that you have a bright and happy futrue to look forward to.

Love from
Andrea
xx


----------



## Barbarella

Hi Andrea

Thanks for that .  I know what you mean, but she knows us very well and wouldn't put us through anything we couldn't handle.  She kind of knew the answer, but she said she had to ask us as the children's social worker was insistent that she wanted us.  Our SW said she couldn't make that decision for us, but the child's SW wanted to know asap, so it was really her who was pushing, not ours.  She apologised for the timing.

No, it didn't put too much of a dampener on our break... gave us something to get our teeth into conversationally and we knew we'd made the right decision and that we had made another couple's day...!    

Love Carole xx


----------



## superal

Dear Barbarella (Carole)

I'm glad that your holiday was not ruined and it's nice to know that your SW knows you so well and just unfortunate that she was being pushed by another SW for an answer.

Like you said she could not make that decision for you, it had to come form yourself & your DH and I still think under the circumstances you made the right decision.

I hope you get that important phone call very soon to let you know about your forever family.

Love
Andrea
xx


----------



## Ruthiebabe

Hi all,

hope you all had lovely weekends....wety an all as they probably were. Been mentasl here today doing a bit of a spring clean.....still loads to do thiough. Finishing work on friday was weird, but had a lovely evening out with friends that night. All set for tomorrow....i think. not sure if I'll be sleeping much tonight, but will let you know how our first visit goes......here's hoping he doesn't take an instant dislike to us  

barbarella.....sound slike you mad a good decision. hopef uly not to long a wait for the "right" phone call. Alex.....good news on the forms beign finished. we worried about somethign we wrote about DH's sister. But it was useful for panel to see it, althought they took it out for pasing the forms around for matches.....if you're really worried, have a chat with her (your SW that is) and see what she suggests.

well, i'd better get back to my daydreaming about what tomorrow is going to bring....


xxxruthie.


----------



## Suzie

Ruthie   for tomorrow! You must be feeling like you want to explode with excitement! Fantastic! 

Hope you have a lovely day 

love
suzie xx


----------



## Mummyof2

Ruthie -    Good luck for tomorrow


----------



## keemjay

Ruth, have a great day today, I'm sure he'll luuuurve you  

kj x


----------



## superal

Ruth - have a fantastic day today and let us know when you can how things went.

Love to you all!

Andrea
xx


----------



## alex28

Hiya Ruth
can wait to hear your news. xxx

THanks for all your advice about the form F, i have changed the words on some things so it dont not sound too harse and hopefully DH will possibly be home tonight to sign his bit and then i will send it back off to SS.

4 weeks today..........eeks!!  Did any of you buy your SW something to say thank you - even if just some chocs and a card

oh dont know if any of you believe in oracle cards etc - if you do you will know what i am wittering on abot but did it today with 2 questions which were "will we have to wait long for things to happen" and it said "you will 2 bits of news on the same day and this will be very soon"!! and the other my friend asked was "will she have the longed for baby" and it said "yes, she will have a baby very soon"  Spooky!!!! everytime i have asked it things its always been very accurate so it will be very interesting to see if the above makes sense when it comes to placement time.

I ahve been talking to friends about panel etc and dont know about you other ladies who have been to panel but do your friends assume you will get your children pretty soon after panel??  Ours do, they have asked how long and we reply "it could be a week, months or even years we have to wait for the right child/ren" and they are so surprised like they think once you have passed panel you get the children immediately!!

Barb - sorry you had a hard decision to make recently - i really dont know how you are feeling but trying to put myself in your situation and what we would do........only you know whats right for you and DH.  Glad Paris was nice......we are off to France to see my dad who lives their in July and plan a day trip to Paris on the TGV - its about 2 hours from where they live - cant wait.... xx

Hi Karen - hope you enjoyed your red wine - i drank a few glasses last night -- the first alcohol since Jan and hours later had a banging headache!!!! Hope the assignment is all done. 

Hi to everyone else and hope things are going fine, thinking of Molly, Boomer and Pam. xx


----------



## superal

Hi Alex

Yes we bought our SW a box of Thorntons chocolates when we'd been passed at panel, she did such brilliant job we just wanted her to know how brill we thought she was.

Once we had our son placed with us we also bought her a broach to say a big thankyou, she still wears it now......she loved chocolates and broaches so we knew what to buy her.

On the friends front thinking as soon as you've passed panel that you'll get your long awaited family.......Yes they all seem to think that, you also get them saying "theres so many children out there for adoption, they must have one for you!"

Oracle cards seems interesting, haven't got a clue how you do them but HEY what brilliant answers let's see if they come true, it would be fantastic if they did.

Still loosing the weight, your doing really well....I'm sure you were lovely though before you lost the weight but I bet you must feel so much better, don't ask how my diet's going,...it's gone!

Love
Andrea
xx


----------



## KarenM

Hi Girls

I know I keep promising to catch up but I have been so busy with uni.  Assignment done and now we have to peer review a selection of other students work, talk about how to set us all in a tizz.  We have to hand in ours on Thursday after its been read by about 5 others.

Ruth - good luck for today.  Can't wait to read how you got on.

Alex - we brought our SW's a present on the adoption day and then they came and joined us for cake and champagne too.

Sorry for the brief message but have some other people's assignments to read.  Better not do it over tea as I don't want to get chilli on them!

Bye for now
Karen x


----------



## Ruthiebabe

Hi all,

thanks for all the positive vibes...they definately worked. It was a very strange day. I was really nervous before we went over to Boos' FP house. Of course it is half term so the whole family was there. At first he was just your typical 2 year old and wasn't that bothered with us.....much more interested in what his 5 year old FS was up to. But in about half an hour he was showing me his bedroom, and we were playing ball. None of us are sure what to encourage him to call us so have gone for mummy ruth and daddy michael...bit of a mouth full, but not too bothered.

i don't know how to describe the feelings i went through (too many of them for my little brain)...bear with me cos i'm treating this a bit like a diary where i can get all my thoughts out, but to start with, all i could think was "OMG....here is this cute little boy, and in a few weeks he'll be moving in with us, and he'll be my son".....was a bit freaky. I kept thinking i should just fall in love with him, but them copped on and realised that him liking us and us thinking he was great was a really good start. I think my brain is not letting me get too carried away.....still in safety mode......he really is such a cutie. we got big sloppy kisses when we left today. thanks again ladies.....will keep you up dated.

Alex: all sounds good about the form F. we didn't get our SW anything, but we'd swapped SW half way through, so while ours was lovely (and completely dippy) we didn;t feel that bonded with her....go with your heart. Also, we spent a year after panel saying "no, no news yet".....you hopefully won't have to spend too long in that phase!

hope everyone else is well,

xxxruthie.


----------



## Barbarella

Hi Everyone

Awwww Ruthie... how lovely... I'm over the moon for you.

Thanks Andrea.. 

Thanks Alex... it wasn't as hard as I thought actually in the end... we feel ok now, knowing that another couple is over the moon.  

We are seeing the SW on Monday, for a catch up... she's so lovely.  Alex.. when we were doing the HS, we bought some nice mugs and our SW commented on them as they were nice trendy ones.  So we bought her the same mugs as a present when we went to panel.  She was over the moon but said she felt awkward because she was just doing a job she loves.  I actually miss seeing her, she's almost like a friend now... I am hoping we can stay in touch eventually, but not sure on the etiquette.  

Karen - think it's lovely your SW came round for cake and champagne... !  Hope life slows down for you soon.. you are superwoman..!!  LOL.

Anyway, no more news from this end.  Just trying to finish off bits in the house... although it won't all be done, but trying our best.  Back to work on Thursday... 

Love and luck to all...

Cxx


----------



## superal

Hi Everyone

Ruth - what a lovely day you had.  Mummy Ruth & Daddy Michael may seem a mouth full for now but I bet in a few days time it will be Boo calling for you as Mummy & Daddy.  If you can, I know what hard work introductions are, try to keep a diary of your own to keep to show Boo when hes older.  We did this for DS & he thinks some of things I put in it were hilarious but they were true and what happened at the time.  One example I can give you is he told me I smelt, thinking I was in for a lovely compliment I asked him what did I smell of, thinking he'd say Roses or something sweet smelling.........NO he told me I smelt of dog Pooh! I learnt my lesson not to ask a nearly 4 year old for a compliment! 

Barbarella - We still have regular(ish) is there is such a word! contact with DS SW, he's been with us 9 years now & I know if I pick up that phone and ring her she would quite happily talk for ages!  We were lucky enough that she gave us her home phone number and we know where she lives as we have visited her.  If your SW is great like ours is then they will want to keep in contact to.

Karen - Your superwoman like Barbarella says, I don't know how you manage it.  I know come September I'll be juggling 2 children, a family life, 2 dogs, part-time work,Rainbows and completing a Diploma in Pre School practice so will be coming for you for advise as to how to keep going.  I'll take your advice about not reading work whilst eating over it though as it would be my luck to drop stuff all over the work.

Pam - hope everything is going just fine for you & your DH and your enjoying your time with Chunk.

Boomer - Hope your OK and Strawberry is settled in with you & your DH.  Have you managed to go to the loo by yourself yet?  

Molly - I know you are busy with Peggy and everything is fine but can't wait to see you posting a little message on here for all of us.

Fiona -  I've seen wild advertised and because my 2 are on half term I might treat them to go and see it.

Magenta - Have you any more news yet about the child you saw in CWW or BMP can't remember which one you said, SORRY!

Hello to everyone else, for those of you still waiting I hope you get to hear something soon.

Right off now to buy DD some "playing" out trainers!

Love
Andrea
xx


----------



## Mummyof2

Ruth - sounds like a good day was had by all.  I'm not expecting to fall in love with my child to be.  I think that will take time.  After all I didn't fall in love with dh at first sight nor my natural ds so I don't expect my adopted child to be any different but as you so wisely said it is great that you think he is cute and he likes you and was happy to give you a kiss.  Fantastic news.

Alex - we sent our sw a thank you card when we passed panel.

Nothing new here.  Keeping busy as it is half term.  Ds has just chalked car pics all over our patio flagstones so now we are very colourful    Rain will wash it away so we have just taken some digital camera pics for posterity.


----------



## Viva

Hello Everyone, 
On annual leave this week which is wonderful as doing very little...of to Centre parcs this weekend for my DMILS's 60th birthday which should be relaxing. Still trying to find an agency and get first interviews lined up. Our Local Authority has now come back and said they recommend us to try other authorities nearby as DH teaches in one of the Secondary schools in the borough and this could limit the Children we could be matched with as they'd automatically rule out any that could be liked in any way with his work. So, just finished another round of calls to nearby LA's. Still waiting for the one voluntary agency we contacted to get back to us with a date for an interview. I never thought that adoption would be a quick process but surprised by just how long it's taken to get to the point whereby we can even make an application to an agency! DH tells me I need to be patient and more realistic in terms of how long things will take and how complicated things are likely to be, I'm sure he's right but patience has never been my strong point!!!!

Ruthie, it's good to hear that your first visit went well, I can't imagine how you must be feeling at present! Hope today went well and looking forward to the next installment.

How's it going other new Mummy's? It's so encouraging how many there are at the moment. Molly, Boomer and Pam, I'm sure you're alll having a wonderful albeit busy and tiring time at the moment, looking forward to hearing more when you have the time!

Barbarella, I'm sure you did the right thing and that your SW will see it as a positive thing that you are determined to say Yes to the Child that is just right for you...hopefully it won't be too long!

Karen, all the best with your college work...what course are you doing? I've studied quite a bit whilst working  can't imagine how you find the time to study, work and look after to lovely littlies! 

Alex, good to hear that you've gt your Form F finished, I'm sure your 4 weeks to panel will go fast!

Lauren and Magenta, lookign forward to hearing how things are going with regard to your potential matches.

Hi to everyone else.
Love Viva
XXX


----------



## magenta

ohhh ruth...you made me want to have a wee cry.  he sounds wonderful and i canonly dare to dream that I will get a day like yours sometime in the future.

How are all our other 'new mums' getting on.  Has anyone heard from Boomer, Nats or Pam?

How are the post approval girls.  Any news?

no time for a pile of personals but glad to hear all your news about possible links, form Fs and ongoing prep courses and homestudy meetings.

karen - a special 'hello' to you.  you sound swamped...have a hug ((karen)).

No news here.  we sent off our form F to 'CCW child's' sw but I think she only works 1 or 2 days a week so it might be next week til we hear anything.  We have asked to see his full papers but I guess they only send them if you are shortlisted and there was a lot of interest.  so nothing to report.  it might yet work out but i am not holding my breath.  shame really cos he sounded so right for us.

magenta x


----------



## naoise

Hi there everybody, I have no news I'm afraid that is why I haven't been posting, but I have been trying to catch up with everybody's news.

Magenta hope all goes well with the forms, there was a few children in this month's cww who interested us as well but we are definitely to far away to be logical.

Ruth it just sounds magical what you are both going through at the minute and I wish your new family all the best.

Viva hope you enjoy centre parc a holiday sounds fantastic.

Jennifer I can just imagine the pictures on the flagstones I'm sure they were lovely.

Everyone else that I have missed I hope you are all well and enjoying the nice weather.

LOL Keli


----------



## Pooh bears mummy

Hi Everyone,

trying to keep up with all your news is soooooooooooooo hard but i just want to send you all a big hello and hope you are all keeping your chin up.

Ruthie, i hope intro's are going well, your little man boo sounds like a little cutie pie, i hope you are having a fab time getting to know yours son. 

Boomer mummy hope life is going well for you. 

Nats, not long now, yipeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Well for us it is 12 months this week since we met pooh bear on the 3rd of June OMG time sure does fly when you are having fun, I can't imagine life with out him now. He is such a happy and sweet little boy and getting more loving and cheeky by the day  he is such a flirt with everyone and it make it soooooooooo hard when you are telling him off because he give you one of his sweetest dimple smile and your heart just melts.

We had a fab day on sunday at his christening, the weather stayed fine so the garden party was a success, i was a bit stressed at first and for once pooh bear was a bit of a grump at first,  so the church part was a bit stressful but white choccy buttons saved the day. I also saved the order of service from being whizzed into the font  . He looked so sweet in his little suit and tie, and my mum had made in a waist coat and teddy from my wedding dress. It was also our wedding anniversary this week, 8 years but at long last we could celebrate as a family. We went out for the day, on a tram into the city and then lunch and champagne at Harvey Nicks followed by a ride on the wheel. 

Pooh bear has also learned to wink this week  but it is more of a blink  .

Off to check out about the meet up as a friend of mine lives down that way so i am hoping to make it.

PBM.xxxxx


----------



## Ruthiebabe

Hiya,

we had another lovely day today. He was over here with us, so away from the stress and distractions of his FP house. He settled in straight away, and DH was a few minutes late, so when he arrived Boo dragged him by the hand upstairs to see his bedroom and his bed with Thomas the tank on it.....such a sweetie. Also quite a cheeky monkey.....he was taking the mickey out of me. We were playing with a toy with wooden shapes and holes. He got the hang of it really quickly, and then started trying to put the shapes in the wrong holes saying "this one" with a big cheeky smile on his face. He also started calling me mummy yesterday. We were playing on a slide and he started saying "mummy's turn".....so i took my lardy **** and climbed the 3 step and duly got myself wedged in the slide.....very funny   

only downer is the FM.....she's finding it quite hard. I'm really trying to be supportive, but it didn't help that today when she left he just gave her a kiss and said goodbye but when i left he started crying....broke my heart to leave him today.......but we've got a full day with him tomorrow, and given how tired i am it won't be long in coming.

One thing i did think of to write on here is for those of you worried about having very young children. If you'd asked me before I'd have said I'd love to have a younger child, but having met Boo, and spent time with him I wouldn't have anybody else. That he alreay knows how to walk really doesn't matter, cos I'll be teaching him his alphebet, and how chat, and all the other brilliant stuff.....anyway i think i might have fallen hook, line and sinker here, so you'll have to humour me!

hope eveyone is well, better go make some dinner,
XXXRuthie.


----------



## naoise

Hi girls

Ruthie I have just read your post and I have a little tear in my eyes, it all sounds like it is going so well, I'm sure you melted when he called you mummy, I know what you mean about the age I don't think it will matter to us how old the children we get are as it doesn't matter their age you still get lots of first times to experience. I'm not going to say enjoy tomorrow as I know for sure you will.

LOL Keli


----------



## superal

Hi Ruth - just wanted to say what a fantastic post, had tears in my eyes reading it as it brought back so many memories of when we met DS, a bit older than Boo though he was 3 years 10months old and I have to agree with you about the bit about adopting a younger aged child than that.  We are lucky, I know we are, we adopted a fit and healthy lively little lad and then went onto adopt a baby girl and I wouldn't have done it any other way either. 

Everything you say about teaching him things will be magical for you and him! What does it matter that you weren't there for his first steps, as magcal as it is you will experience a 100 more magical moments with your son.  I'm so pleased he called you Mummy today, I didn't think it would be long before he dropped the "Ruth" bit!   

On the Foster Mum bit, as hard as it may be for her, you have to concentrate on Boo & getting to know him.  From you say I don't think introductions will be much longer and that may be best for the foster Mum.  I do feel for her as I've experienced handing back a baby but in time she will learn how to deal with things and she will have another placement to look after soon enough, just carry on doing what your doing.

PBM - Glad Sunday was such a lovely day for you and how lovely of your Mum to make your son a waistcoat out of your wedding dress.  I would like my Mum to make our DD a first hold Communion dress out of my wedding dress when the time comes. A year nearly since you met your DS, where does the time go.

Magenta - got my fingers crossed for you that you hear some positive news soon.

Been to the hospital with DD today over her "lazy" eye and I can't really post details on here but we are a little concerned, she has to go for an eye scan & they kept asking us a 101 questions, I just feel sick!
I'm a worrier!

TFN
Andrea
xx


----------



## alex28

Ruthie - aw you made me have tears in my eyes too!!! im soooo glad its going to well.  Any idea of a def move-in date yet?

PBM - the christening sounds good and glad it all went well.

Andrea - hope you get DD eye sorted out - im sure it will all be fine.

xxxxx to the rest of you!


----------



## keemjay

ah ruthie, i'm also sitting here feeling all choked up, its wierd, i dont get emotional listening to mummies talk about meeting their own babies for the first time when they give birth, but on this board every new meeting gets me going, its all soooo special. interesting what you say about not being worried that he isnt younger as you may have hoped in the past..guess it means he's right for you in every way..and i guess we're all going to know that feeling one day soon 

kj x


----------



## KarenM

Hi Girls

Well 2 and half day of uni finished and that's it until September, although we are meeting informally between now and then as I need some encouragement for my dissertation.  It's absolultly knackering but it will be worth it.

Kimmy - Sorry to hear about the house - even after going through adoption, moving house has always been the most stressful thing I have done.

Magenta - Wow hope you get some news soon on the CWW.  

Lauren - you will be sunny yourself in Morroco, hope you are having a nice time.

Alex - glad you had a good birthday.  Not long now for you to wait for panel.  Interesting oracle cards not heard of them but have to say I am a bit of synic.

Barbarella - Glad you had a nice time in Paris.  Great news on getting a match so soon, but if you don't feel right then it is best to say for the benefit of all involved.  Andrea is right about the Sw, fancy not giving you enough time to think about one of the biggest decisions in your life.

Ruth - so glad things are progressing well with Boo.  My two's FM's were the same and for one of them, this was even after 30 odd years of doing it and my little one being her 137th child.  And so right on the age thing, I can think of so many firsts I have experienced.

Andrea - good luck for the study all I can say is you need a good study plan and a very supportive DH.  Hope you get DD's eye sorted soon.

Viva - good luck with finding an agency.  I am doing a Masters degree at uni - thanks for asking.  Have a lovely time at Centre Parcs.

Keli - hope the home study is progressing well.

PBM - glad  the christening went well and that the weather held out for you.  Time flies doesn't it.  We are now this week at the 18th & 19 month anniversary of our girls moving in.

Well things have been a bit hectic here what with work, uni, family etc etc.  We  are off on our hols in 3 weeks time so I can't wait, really need the break.  My MIL/FIL have just got a 13 week old puppy - he is gorgeous.  He is a Golden Retriever called Jasper (we have two 10 year old ones) They were asked to take him to nursery when they picked the girls up on Tuesday, so on Wednesday Jasper went to nursery!!

Not much else going on.  To those I've not personally mentioned hope you are doing ok.

Bye for now
Karen x


----------



## TraceyH

Hi All

Wow, we have only been away for a week (in Cyprus) and so much has happened here.  Good luck to everyone.

I was wondering if anyone who has been approved and awaiting a match has had to complete the new Form F.  We were approved at the end of November and are awaiting a suitable match and our SW has sent us Part 1 of the new Form F to complete the parts that she couldn't.  We have also had to provide the name of a family member as a 3rd referee who will need to be interviewed and also photos.  We also have to provide an exact chonology of addresses since birth.  I moved around with the Armed Forces for 15 years and it would be hard to recall the exact addresses.  It all seems a complete waste of time (for everyone) and I really can't see the relevance of it all as we are approved.  The SW assures us that our original form is still in circulation whilst all this is going on. 

Whilst I am positive about going down the adoption route, it does test your patience at times - and this week my hormones are raging which doesn't help.

Sorry for the rant, but it sometimes feels that we are never going to get there.

Tracey x


----------



## Jo

Hi Everyone  
So much going on here !!!!

Ruth - Sounds like you are in lurvvveeee  , excellent, you post made me have happy goosebumps all over 

Hi to everyone else, I am so busy at the moment,decorating, as we have Pauls half brother coming over from New Zealand in 2 weeks for 3 weeks !! they haven't seen each other for nearly 30 years, so think it will be an emotional time 

I am reading everyones post, but haven't got time to post to you all 

Have a good weekend everyone, think the   might show itself this weekend.

Love Jo
x x x


----------



## Nats

Hi everyone...

Ive been awol for a few days, but we are trying to get all ou bits and bobs sorted!...  

Anyway we had the planning meeting which went well....and we start intros on Thursday and he will move in on 14th June!!...as one of my friends said....im on the 2WW  .
Great news is that as we will be a few days in into the meetings, on his birthday we are having snugs with us most of the day and then going back for a little birthday/goodbye party and fp house....we are well chuffed!

Anyway I have to dash, work to be done, I only have 4 days left now and feeling a bit scared and sad about it all....having said that I am still going ot be working from home doing bits and bobs when I can!

Ruthie - Just wanted to say that its been great reading about your intros, everyone I know has had such a positive experience when doing them..I dont think I will start to panic till next week tho!  

Take Care all

Love Natsxx


----------



## superal

Nat's - lovely to read your post, not many more days now until you meet your son.  It will be lovely to spend his birthday with him & you'll have himhome in time for your DH first fathers day!

Thankyou to everyone for your kind wishes over DD, hopefully I'll be able to post more news next week and hopefully it will be good news    & I can stop worrying!

It just seems bad news after bad news at the moment! 

Andrea
xx


----------



## keemjay

great news nats..and how perfect you get to spend his birthday with him     roll on thurs...

traceyH - I'm presuming we doing the new formF but so far havent been asked for addresses - what a mare..and like you say seems rather irrelevant...but then so is a lot of the stuff we are wading thru at the moment in our homestudy..its all a means to an end but sometimes you just feel like saying 'for gods sake, is that REALLY IMPORTANT? gosh obviously needed a rant myself lol 

andrea - hoping all is ok with DD, I'm worried for you 

nothing much to report this end..homestudy plodding on..fairly intense..we have 1 meeting a week till end of june and by then we should have covered everything..we only have 1 meeting July and then paperwork has to be in by aug 14th or something. Panel is booked for aug 31st, feels like its whizzing..keep waiting for something to fall down. our LA has 2 panels a week, tues and thurs..aparently the thurs panel are nicer so she has booked us in for a thurs..as much as for her as for us cos she's not been to panel many times....

have lovely weekends everyone 

kj x


----------



## Ruthiebabe

Hi,

Nats...this is a stupid thing to say, but try not to panic......i did a lot of that and in hindsight it was a big wastes of energy.....he's going to love you!!

Tracey....what a complete pain in the **** about the new forms.....sounds ridiculous to me. Unfortunately we're at their whims till the ink is dry on the paper, so what can we do!!

Karen......or should i call you superwoman....heres to a brilliant summer, as you deserve it!

Another lovely day with Boo today.....but more stresses with FPs......can't wait for the next week to be over so he's home with us and all we have to think about is him.

xxxxxruth


----------



## fiona1

Hi All,

Hope you are all well, so many of your journey's are positive at the moment.

We have made our decision public today, we live in Guernsey and are moving back to Kent in order to do Concurrency. I am so excited, but so sad aswell. My mum and dad are putting on brave faces, but are gutted that we are moving. I feel so guilty, but know we have to do this for our family. Elliot wants a brother or sister and tells us so!!!

It's weird when people ask why we are moving...what do we say, everyone knows about fertility treatment, but i almost feel that adoption is more personnel i don't know why. We have had to sell our business and that's what became offical today. 

I just want this all to be over and to have our family of 3 (i haven't told DH yet that after adopting 1 we will be going for another!!!) Once my family is complete i will know all this up heavel will have been worth it, and when my family see how happy we are they may understand why we moved away and hurt them.

Sorry for the gloomy post.

Fiona


----------



## Mummyof2

Nothing much happening here.  We are just enjoying the fantastic sunshine and debating whether to buy a blow up pool for the garden!

Karen - that pup sounds sweet.  I used to have a dog called Jasper but he was a jack russell.  Glad you can have a break from uni now.

Tracey - we had to do the Form F1.  I moved around with the RAF when I was a child so had 39 addresses!  I had to list them all with dates and addresses!!  I had to ask my parents as I couldn't remember and some were a little vague as my parents couldn't remember that well either.  We had to provide 3rd referee (my mum) and photos (used photo booth).

Ruthie - sounds like you are all having a lovely time except FM.

Andrea - hope all goes well with DD and her eye.  Hugs for the worry.

PBM - sounds like the christening was a lovely day.  Great news.

Nats - how lovely you get to share his birthday.  All is going well by the sounds of it.

Kj - two panels a week!!  Our LA has one a month.  Yes HS is very intense.  I was glad when it was over.

Fiona - well done on taking such a huge step as moving and giving up your business.  Hope all goes well for you.  You can always move back after the adoption!

Hi to everyone else.


----------



## wynnster

Hi All

Hope you're all enjoying the wonderful sunshine  

Finoa - Wow what a huge step for you all, well done on making that first step though and good luck with telling people, I hope they are supportive of your decisions.

Jennifer - Go for the Pool!!!! and when can we come round for a paddle ?  

Ruth - Sorry FP's are being a strain, Hoping your week passes quickly so you can bring Boo home  

Andrea - Hope you get some good news about DD eye soon and you can stop worrying   Must be a stressful time for you.

Nats - Oh how magical spending Chunks first Birthday with him - Woo Hoo! Have a great time, jelly and ice cream all round  

Jo - That will be an emotional time i bet, tissues at the ready! 

Sorry haven't time to post too many personals as off our down the pub, making the most of couple time   and no more worries of drinking too much to damage eggs and sperm   but hope you're all ok and having a great weekend  

Kim xxxx


----------



## Laine

Hi everyone,

Catch up time for me… 

Jo - your open evening is on my birthday    How’s the decorating going?  Going to be great for Paul seeing his brother after all this time.

Elaine  - thanks for your support  

Jennifer - nice of your LA to pay for the subscription to Adoption UK.  Pleased to hear you are officially approved.  Go for the paddling pool!

Andrea - glad to hear the baby Magpie managed to get back into it’s nest.  Sorry to hear about your dd and the playground incident.

Sanita - know how you feel about the HS homework, we had tons too.  How is HS going for you?  

Lisa W - did you manage to do your family tree?

Nats - not long until you meet Snugs, can’t wait to hear all about it.  Oh and being with him on his birthday too, how wonderful  

Kimmy - any news on the sw and your initial meeting?  Sorry to hear your house hasn’t sold yet.  Are you hoping to stay in Essex?  Enjoy the pub.  

Magenta - hope you receive good news on the littlie from CWW.

Lauren - How was the holiday in Morocco?  Any news on the littlie, how did it go with the medical adviser?

Alex - wow your sw was good with the Form F.  Did you alter what you weren’t happy with?  I know what you mean about friends/family assuming you will be matched soon after panel, I keep on having to explain that it might not be the case.

Carole - glad you enjoyed Paris. The decision you had to make was a toughie but obviously you made the right decision for you two.  Hopefully you will hear again soon.  How did the catch up with your sw go?

Ruthie - loved reading about your days with Boo, so thrilled for you.  Not long until he is home with you and no more stress with the FP’s. 

Viva - how was Centre Parcs?  Have you heard anything about the initial meeting yet?

Keli  - hi there!

KJ - glad to hear HS is progressing for you and that you have a panel date booked.

PBM - nice of your mum to make an outfit for PB.  12 months has flown by eh?  Christening sounds lovely.

Karen - sounds like you have been studying hard, will be well worth it in the end. Where are you going on holiday?

Tracey H - How was Cyprus?  I can’t believe after being approved in November, your sw asks for more info now, don’t blame you for the rant.

Fiona - not a gloomy post at all.  Very positive for you all and a hard decision to have made.  Good luck and as Jennifer says, maybe you can move back to Guernsey at a later date?

We have to collect our Form F from the LA office on Monday for sign off.   Be interesting to see what it says as we have done so much homework towards it.  Going to make a start on our family book for panel this week.  Already have a nice book and lots of lovely papers/embellishments from my card makinjg/scrapbooking.

What a lovely day today, let’s hope it continues. 

Laine


----------



## Mummyof2

Laine - hope you collected the Form F1 ok today and it was as expected and you were happy with it.  Just noticed your snugglepie banner is almost at the end of the 12 months - when that happened with mine I worried it would stay there after a year but it goes back to the beginning in case you were wondering    Still keeps your written timings correct though.


----------



## saphy75

just a quick post as chunk is fighting sleep tonight and dh is getting him settled. 

nats great news you'll be meeting your son soon, try and get loads of sleep as the intro's wipe you out  

sorry no more personals, i'm finding it a struggle to keep up with you all as chunk is very demanding (in a good way)

pam xx


----------



## cindyp

Go away for a week and boy do I miss a lot   

Pam, great the hear that you've got chunk at home with you.  Everything sounds wonderful (apart from the inevitable sleep deprivation which you might as well get used to   )  Can't wait to hear more.

Ruth, you sound like you are having the best time with your DS.  Don't worry too much about the FM, I know it is difficult, our DS was the first placement for his foster parents and it was very difficult for them to let go.  The intros will soon be over and she will just have to look after herself, your main concern is your son.

Nats, great news that the intros will soon be starting, Pam's right try and get loads of sleep while you can.

Jennifer, go for the pool     Great that your LA is paying for your subscription, I had to pay my own for my BMP.

Andrea, so sorry to hear about DD, hope you get some more postive news.  Keep us posted.

Karen, sounds like you've been up to your ears in it as usual, at least not long till your hols, going anywhere nice?

Fiona, what a huge step to take, hope it all goes well for you.  Having moved counties myself I know how stressful it can be but we did get our gourgeous DS out of it.  Hope you have similar luck and as Jennifer says you can always move back.

Laine, Form F finished, it hardly seems a second since you started posting here.  You must be so pleased to be so close to approval.

PBM, you made me smile with the "winking" description, my DS was doing exactly the same blinking thing at tea.  It looks so cute when they do that.

Kimmy, enjoy the drinking, it won't stop post children only you won't be able to go down the pub and believe me the hangovers will be harder to deal with.   

KJ, congratulations on getting a panel date, not long till the end of August, make the most of it.

Jo, hope the decorating is going fine, 30 years is a long time hope you all enjoy the reunion.

Tracey, rants are perfectly allowable, it does make you irritated that all these children need parents and we are forced to fill our forms and jump through hoops.  

Magenta, any news yet, keeping our fingers crossed for you.

Viva, so sorry it's taking you so long to even get started.

Carole, it's not an easy decision to make but it was obviously the best one for you.  The right children will come along and you have to be sure about it.

To everyone else I've not had time to do personals to, hope you are well.

Fortunately DS managed to get over his tummy bug and we had a nice holiday in France, weather could have been better but the place was lovely and we did manage to get on a beach for 3 afternoons.  We shared with our friends and their 2 children who are 7 and 4 and it was interesting seeing DS interact with them.  He was a bit jealous with the younger one as she was very cuddly and kept coming up to us.  He doesn't like to share attention, especially his Dad's, but it's something he will have to get used to.

Met our SW today who seemed very nice.  She's hoping to complete our HS in 4 visits as it is more a matter of making revisions to our old Form F so we could be completing our HS in the next couple of months.  Been left with homework already so it's back on the treadmill     Unfortunately Junior is under the weather so he wasn't on his best behaviour but she's said she's happy to do a couple of the visits in the evening after he's gone to bed.

Hope everyone had a great weekend.

love
Cindy


----------



## Mummyof2

Cindy - that is great news - that your HS could be completed in only 4 visits!  Glad you had a good holiday in the end.

Pam - glad that Chunk is settling in so well.  Fantastic.

Bye for now


----------



## Nats

Hi Ladies

Thanks for all the good wishes, its hard to believe that in 48 hours time we will be meeting snugs!.

We put the stair gates up last night just so we could get used to them and you never realise how much you walk in and out of a room!    .
Our little dog doesnt seem to taken by them, but lets face it he has a bigger shock to come next week!..  

Havent really got alot of time for personals as I am trying to tidy up all my lose ends at work, tomorrow is my last day so only 10 hours left   

Pam - Totally fab news that Chunk is well...you sound very happy.

Ruth - Thanks for your reassuring words too....I still havent gone into panic mode yet. Hope everything is going well for you and dh.

Will let you know how it goes on Thursday.

Love
Natsxx


----------



## Mummyof2

oooh Nats - not long now


----------



## jan welshy

Hiya all,
Just a very quick note to say we had our first meeting and it went very well. Forms have arrived to begin filling in. This is only the beginning and a journey ahead of us we have no idea how long it will take but we finally feel are going forward again rather than languishing on the IVF plato.
Hope you are all well.
Sorry the post is all me, we, me, we.
Love
WelshyXXXXXXXX


----------



## Ruthiebabe

Hi all,

moany message coming.......

we've had some really dissappointing news today, and are really pi$$ed off. We were aware all along that FM was very anxious about Boo leaving her, and she's said a millions times that she doesn't think 2 weeks is long enough. So having prevented us from putting him to bed as we were supposed to on saturday, she has now told her SW that she doesn't think DH is committed to the match as he was 15 minuites late one day (never mind that she was 1 hour late another day). And also because I've done more of the pick ups than him......so it looks like she has succeed in making the intros longer, as they want to give us a few more days so we can be sure we're happy..........we're both really upset, especially DH. We couldn't love Boo more if we tried. He has a great time here, he's always happy to leave his FP house to come with us. He's starting to get upset when we leave him back.......apart from not havign put him to bed (because she wouldn't let us) I don't know what more we can do.

We spoken to our SW and she's really sympathetic and thinks it is ridiculous. Shes going to feed back all the stuff we've now had to tell her.....eg that FM was upset cos Boo didn't cry or even make a fuss when she first left him here. It feels really petty. But our SW doesn't think ti will change the managers minds as they always err on the side of caution

anyway better get on and make dinner, and sorry for beign a moaner.
xxxxruthie


----------



## naoise

Hi everybody

Ruthie I can't believe Boo's fp how could she do that does she not think about anybody elses feelings, I am sure you are both devastated, she is just being really petty. Sorry things are bad for you just now.

Welshy glad to hear your first meeting went well.

Cindy glad you had a good holiday though sorry to hear that your ds was ill.

fiona hope all goes well for your move and hope your family get used to the idea soon.

We have nothing to report all is really quiet as our sw is on holiday.

LOL Keli


----------



## Mummyof2

Ruthie - oh dear, what a major disappointment.  I guess it is probably just a personality clash or something with FM but unfortunately it sounds like FP are god during this time.  Just go along with what is expected and rise above her pettiness.  Think long term and of completing your family.  You will be the winners here as long as you keep your cool.  Hugs to you both.


----------



## alex28

Ruthie - so sorry things are going as smoothly as they could be.  What a mare eh!!! Hope things work out soon for you all and little un is at home with you guys as soon as possible.

Just a quick one, we have Health and Safety and Legal lssues course tomorrow plus lunch (courtesy of LA!!) and then we get to meet the post adoption support workers which will be nice, also will be good to meet others at the same stage as us - we never met anyone local to us on our prep course that we felt we wanted to keep in touch with so hopefully we will maybe meet some tomorrow. 

Hope you are all well and enjoying this glorious weather.......


----------



## magenta

Oh Ruthiebabes..huge hugs.  you must be devastated...to have come so far and be held back at the very last gasp by an unsupportive FP.  We know you are right, you know you are right, your sw knows you are right....just remember that eventually she *has* to let him go and he WILL be your forever son.

Welshy - glad your meeting went well. We really got a lot out of our first meeting and it felt like a proper 'step' on our journey to parenthood.

Nats....if I don't see a post very soon with all your news I might just be forced to stamp my feet and go in a huff! please keep in touch and let us know how things go with your new wee one.

Alex - enjoy your course - lets hope you meet some friends tomorrow.

Jilldill - any news? Any holiday/honeymoon plans?

to everyone else...big hugs and love! have been reading just no time to post to everyone today.

no real news from us. we got littlie's papers through and to be honest i am no closer to deciding or knowing if he is right or not. Lots of questions over 'future potential' and i am just not sure whether or not that bothers me. maternal side says...hey...you'll love him whatever the delay/disability and my rational/logical side says...but what if there is a 'better' child out there - maybe we should pass on this one and wait for another child with difficulties in other areas that you have experience in.  Anyway...as ever, i am rambling. he is a super wee chap - just not sure if i am quite so excited now that i have all the info in the form E.  Need to get external advice and work out 'best case senario' and 'worst case scenario' and 'best guess scenario' and look at our ability to cope and thrive with all eventualilities. obviously his sw could rule us out and decision is made for us but we've not heard so i presume we need to say if we are still interested.

magenta x


----------



## Barbarella

Hi Everyone

I'm so sorry I can't do personals.. am in a bit of a quandry at the moment... 

Do want to say though to...

Pam - fantastic that things are going so well with Chunk - can't believe it's going so quick. 

Nats - great news from you too... best of luck for meeting your little one.

Ruthiebabe - I cannot believe your FP.... I thought they were all supposed to be able to let go. I know someone who has been turned down because they didn't think she'd be capable of letting go.  It makes me mad.  Am so sorry you are having to deal with this.  She sounds very bitter and jealous to me.

Right - my news.... we had a catch up meeting with SW last night.  She asked how we were after our decision the other week, and we said we were confident and fine with it.  Anyway, just chatted for an hour or so and booked another session in for 6 weeks time.  

Imagine my surprise then to receive a phone call from her this afternoon to tell us we've been selected for another child.  We just can't believe this.  It's a little boy, aged 1 yr.  He is right at the upper limit of the age we would like - which we discussed in detail yesterday with SW - but we both have decided to go to the next step and find out some information.  Last time, it didn't feel right at all.  This time we don't know... but we are wanting more... so that's a good sign.

At the moment... this early on... we just can't seem to let go of the baby we were hoping for.  We didn't expect things to happen this quickly and as a result, aren't prepared for this.. sounds stupid I know.  I just feel we are so focused on age at the moment... was anyone else at this stage??  

Anyway, again... we will see what we feel.  We will be meeting with our SW and baby's SW next week to find out more, and we can but see how we feel then.

We're a bit shell shocked by it all really....

Anyway, thanks for listening and apologies again for not being able to do proper personals.  Am not getting much time with DH at the moment, so like to limit my time on the PC.  Thanks to everyone for understanding about the last decision, sorry to sock another one to you already.

Love and luck to all... 

Love Cxx


----------



## Viva

Good Evening everyone...

Ruthie just wanted to send you a   I can't believe how Boo's FM is being...but you and your DH were matched with him so his SW must be convinced that you are both committed to loving him...hard though it is now in a few weeks I'm sure you'll have forgotten it and Boo will just be really happy being with you.

Barbarella, it's great to hear that you've been selected for another child, I'm sure you'll just know when you get the details of the child who is 'right' for you. As we are being constantly told by all the SW's we speak to that it's hard to get matched with a young child, (we are saying at the moment we want to be matched with children who are pre-school, I find it encouraging that so many of you are being matched/selected for pre-school age children, they obviously are out there!

Magenta, sounds like you are doing all the right things now you have your littlies information, it's hard when there are no absolutes...although of course there aren't even if you have your own children, but it's that knowing a bit but not everything that can be strange. I'm sure that whatever decision you make though it will be the right one.

Alex, all the best for you health and safety course tomorrow, hopefully you'll meet soem great people that you'll just 'clink' with.

Welshy, I can't believe how quickly things are moving for you, it's great, you must be feeling like you're really getting somewhere.

Nats, I don't know how you'll ever get any work done tomorrow, you must be so excited won't be long now until   arrives.

Cindy, glad you had a good holiday and that your HS won't take so long this time around...hopefully won't be too long before you get to extend your family! Hope your DS is feeling better soon.

Pam, great to hear that all is going well with Chunk, hope you're still getting loads of cuddles and hopefully some sleep too... 

Laine, hope that you get your form F sorted OK..has the fun commenced yet with your family book yet?

Hi to everyone else...off to spend some time with DH..will hopefully catch up some more tomorrow!

Bye for now
Love Viva
XXX


----------



## jilldill

Hi Everyone,
I haven't written for a while, just feeling abit low about everything.

Magenta, hello back hope your ok. No holiday plans I'm afraid, too many problems keep croping up. You have another quandry on your hands send a pm any time.

Pam, I can't believe how well it's all going for you you must be just floating at the moment.

Nats, hope it all goes well keep us up to date with it all

Ruthie I am really sorry about whats going on it's awful that you should have anything take the shine of this time for you, take care

C, it's all still moving for you fingers crossed for you

Welshy, really glad to hear the meeting went well it must have given you a boost

Alex, yes meeting some friends in the same position would be great, I hope that happens for you

Fiona, good luck with the move, it's a big step but one closer to your dreams

Andrea, I hope things are getting better at home

Tracey, how are you doing? I will send a pm soon

Cindy, are you ok any news?

Kelly, isn't it annoying when they go on holiday! You just feel things are at a standstill

Laine, how are you how's it going?

Mandy, we haven't spoken for a while I hope your DS is doing well take care

Jennifer, How are you and DS?

Boomer, how is Strawberry doing?

GillyWilly, I haven't seen you here for a while is evrything ok?

Ann and Karen how are your girls? loving this weather I bet!

Ange K any news your end?

Jo, is the decorating finished yet?

PBM, how are you and yours?

I know I will have missed someone out, it seems impossible to say a personnal hello to everyone as there are so many of us (isn't that great). I hope everyone is ok and enjoying the sun. Can't wait for kick off on Saturday!!!!!!!

Love to all JD xxx


----------



## KarenM

Hi Girls

Pam - glad to hear that Chunk is settling in with his new mummy and daddy.

Cindy - glad you had a good holiday, we are planning a Key Camp holiday to France next year, but for now it is Scotland later this month and Cornwall in September.  Good luck for your next home study and hope you don't have to wait to long.

Nats - what a great feeling, finishing work and meeting Snugs

Welshy - great news that you are officially on your journey.

Ruth - we weren't allowed to put our eldest DD to bed either as she got quite stressed out by it and wouldn't settle.  One of our FM's was a bit negative (think I posted about it before)  I am sure it will all come good and Boo will be home with you soon.

Alex - enjoy your course.

Magenta - My advice would be to try and speak with the childs SW as quite often the Form E is out of date and the SW knows more detail thatn what is written.  Good luck wth whatever you decide.

Barbarella - great news on another match so soon.  12 months is still very young and you will still gets lots of firsts.  I am sure you will come to a decision that is right for you and dh

Hi to everyone else.  Off to spend sometime with DH as we've been in separate rooms watching TV for the last week due to me watching X factor!

TTFN
Karen x


----------



## Barbarella

Viva said:


> Barbarella, it's great to hear that you've been selected for another child, I'm sure you'll just know when you get the details of the child who is 'right' for you. As we are being constantly told by all the SW's we speak to that it's hard to get matched with a young child, (we are saying at the moment we want to be matched with children who are pre-school, I find it encouraging that so many of you are being matched/selected for pre-school age children, they obviously are out there!


Viva... we were told this at the beginning and our prep course. I had to remind DH today that this time a year ago, we didn't think we had a hope of being matched with a 1 year old child. I think we are being too fussy (as I'm sure everyone else is thinking about us...) but when you get there, you realise there ARE small children out there and we've been recommended for as young as possible.

I suppose it's just letting go of that dream.....

Thanks for the mentions girls...

C xx


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## keemjay

ruthie - so sorry things are hicupping, how frustrating for you. i think everyones said all the right things already but just wanted to say i'm thinking of you..it must be sooo hard 

barbarella - i dont envy your decisions..i'm dreading going thru that process myself..so many different ways of looking at it..totally understand wanting to hold out for a younger one, dont think its being fussy at all, you know what you want and whats been recommended...all i can say is go with your heart..hope you and dh can come to a decsion together

nats...one more day to go, one more to go  hope it all goes fab tomoz and your last day at work is ok too..we're off to the isle of wight festival in our camper so look forward to hearing all about it on mon...

all well this end..another sw visit on mon..did our support network, dog questionnaire and safety form..its all cracking on fine still..

have good weekends everyone, must go and get packing as we leave tonight 

kj x


----------



## Mummyof2

Barbarella - we were told on our prep course that the earliest anyone can get a child is aged 9 months due to all the red tape so 12 months doesn't seem that far along from that?  Know what you mean about letting go of dreams though.

Nats - not long now!  

jilldill - sorry to hear you are feeling low.  Send me a pm if I can help.  Ds is fine thanks for asking.  He has gone back to school after being on half term last week.  He is getting very excited at the summer holidays and then being in year 1 when he goes back as he is getting closer to being a grown up when he is aged 10 (don't know where he got that from  ).

Andrea - how is your dd's eye?

Laine - did you get the Form F sorted ok?

Karen - have fun with dh  

Nothing new here.  Decided against the big swimming pool in case new one falls in - more worry I can do without   Once these littlies start exploring it is hard work and you need to have eyes in the back of your head


----------



## superal

Hi everyone!

trying desperately to catch up with everyone's news & DD is calling for me so will try to make this as short(ish) as possible.

DD is FINE!!  I can now start to relax and stop panicking after last weeks hospital visit to the Ophthalmologist.

DD has now got a brand new pair of Barbie glasses that she has to wear all the time to help her eye sight.

Don't get me wrong I was not worried about her wearing glasses, she looks really cute!

We were told last week that she had calcium deposits on the back  of her eye nerves, known as Drusen.  We are still not 100% sure what this is but the consultant has reassured us that we shouldn't worry!  Easier said than done!

Busy looking up on various websites to find out more about optic nerve drusen!

We were thinking the worse..........something that NO parent wants to think and am so grateful that it is not what we thought.  The panic was over the fact they wanted to see her again so soon, 6 days since her last appointment, that's really quick for our hospital!

DD still has to go for an eye scan in the next month but the consultant said it is just a precaution & if it was anything to worry about he'd have her seen the next day, so thats really good news.

Will try to catch up more with everyone later.

Love
Andrea
xx


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## Ruthiebabe

Hi all,

thanks for the kind words. meeting over and he's moving in next thursday....still a few days longer than we though but not as long as the FP wanted. Can't wait now! He's out playing with Daddy watering the plants (not with a hose of course!). FM had a few tears and we had a quick hugs when we left aftyer the meeting, and she explained how hard she was finding it....makes it a bit easier knowing that that is whats going on rather than us just assuming it.

Anyway....nuff about me, sorry to be a moaner, its just i was imagining all sorts of stuff, like them not lettign us have him.

Andrea, so pleased DD's consultation went well....bet she looks like a real cutie pie, and thanks for being so kind over the weekend.

Barbarella, only you can make the decision over your child, but I think we all know what a "freak" event it was for Pam (in the best possible way) to get such a young. You may be waiting for years for that to happen again, and with a 2 year old here currently checking out the toilet (literally) you'll be so in love with whatever child you get matched to their age really won't matter. But as i said before, if you find waiting easier than thinking of not getting a tiny baby then you've got to go for that.

Same thoughts really for magenta....follow your heart, only you can know what will make you family work.

Nats.....you probably won't get much sleep tonight, but make sure you get enough to take in every minute tomorrow and to let us know how it goes.

better goxxxxxxxxxxruth


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## superal

Got a few minutes to say hi to a few people!

Nat's-  Good luck for tomorrow, I can't beleive you've waited all this time & now tomorrow you are finally going to meet your son.. Take your camera & some tissues!

Barbarella- Have sent you a PM.

Ruth - Sorry to hear about the delay in Boo moving in, have also sent you 2 PM's you lucky thing!!!

Karen - Hope your OK & the girls are find, have you got any words of wisdom for those still waiting for placements?

Magenta - It sounds promising that you have the details of this little one but if it does not feel right then it's best to say No now rather than later.

Jennifer -  Hope you hear something soon.  I had to re-read your message twice about the pool, at first I thought you meant you might fall in, after a glass of wine or two that's what I would do!

Jilldill - sorry you are feeling a bit down at this moment in time.  is it anything in particular that we can help you with or is it because of the waiting game which we know is hard?

KJ - Have a lovely time where ever it is your going!

Viva - Hope you are fine.

Laine - How are you?

Sorry no more personals. I'll be thinking of you all though, especially LB who has been abscent from the boards for a while.

Love
Andrea
xx


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## Barbarella

Hi everyone

Thanks for your kind words and support.  It is such a hard decision, and one not to be taken lightly.  When I'm talking about a young baby though, I am talking around 9 months old.  I know a direct placemment or any younger is so rare and we're not prepared to wait that long.  

Jennifer - you are right - 12 months isn't that far off 9 months, but we were thinking that by the time we would get him, he would be 14/15 months.  

ANYWAY..... have spoken to SW today.  We have an appt to see child's SW on Monday am.  DH and I have talked and we are definitely erring (is that spelt right, I keep using that word..lol) on the postiive side, and thinking perhaps a bit more realistically.  We're both going to the meeting with an open mind.  So we'll see what happens.

Does anyone know if you find out the name on the first meeting, I know you don't get photos.. but it would be nice to have a name?  

Thanks again everyone... 

Jilldill.. I hope you are feeling better soon... ((hugs)) to you. 

Speak soon.

Love Cxx


----------



## magenta

Barbarella,

We have had names for the all littlies we have looked at so far. And photos too.  It certainly helps for you to see them as a 'person' rather than 'child x' as it were.  it also makes it harder for me to say 'no' because i have seen their photo and know their name and it is all a bit personal for me by the time the info comes through.  Sounds like you are further into things than us though and the child's sw is interested in you too so I suppose it will be actually quite good to get a name at your stage when things are more 'solid'.

I am setting up a meeting with our SW for next week to talk about CWW child and also about 'realistic' expectations of adoption.  I guess being on here and talking to so many of you who are with LAs rather than vol orgs has got my hopes up for a child under 18months  - despite being told at every stage by our agency that they don't approve for 'under 2' because they rarely get very young children to place.  just need to ask how 'rare' is 'rare'  and how long we might expect to wait for an under two with no 'serious' issues (understanding that what i see as 'serious' might not be to others and vice versa).

magenta x

ps  - still seriously considering CWW child.  Just hard when it is all big medical terms and stuff and you can't tell what is 'medical or social work guesswork' and what is actual fact. Will ask SW next week and send questions to child's sw if we are shortlisted.


----------



## Laine

Hi everyone,

Jennifer - Thanks for letting me know about the SnugglePie banner.  I'm sure you made the right decision about the swimming pool.

Magenta - hope everything goes well with your sw next week, and that you get the answers to your questions.

Pam - how's things with Chunk?

Cindy - glad you enjoyed your holiday in France.  Good news on 4 home visits and HS being over in a couple of months.  Yes, I am pleased to be so near to approval.

Nats - hope everything goes well for your first meeting with Snugs tomorrow  

Welshy - you're on your way...glad your first meeting went well for you.

Ruthie - sorry to hear about the problems with the FM.  Pleased that you seem to have sorted things out though and that Boo moves in next Thursday.

Alex - how did the course go?  Did you meet anyone that you would like to stay in touch with?

C - how wonderful that you have been selected for another baby.  I have to agree with Jennifer on the 12 months not being far off 9 months.  However, only you and your dh know the child you want.  I know what you mean about your dreams. I hope everything goes well for you both on Monday.

Viva - have taken some photos for the family book and will be making a start on it soon.  How are you doing?

Jill - sorry to hear you are feeling a bit low about everything.  You know we are here if you want to 'talk' 

Karen - enjoy the evening with your dh.

KJ - glad HS is going well for you.

Andrea - good news on dd's consultation.

Jo - not long until your open evening.

Hi to everyone else.  

We collected our Form F at 5pm on Monday, and have started to look through it and add amendment notes where necessary.  Going to have a final look over the weekend  

Laine


----------



## KarenM

Hi Girls

Just to say I'll be away from the board until Friday night as I am away at a conference with work, my first time away from the girls    I've put everything out for dh so he has got it easy!!

Andrea - glad to hear DD is ok, hope everything goes well with her next check.  I bet she looks really cute in her glasses.  

Barbarella - we were given the names of ours before we met their SW but once we got approval for the match to progress to panel, we then had photos.  I don't know if this helps you, but dh and I were approved for 2 under 3's with at least one to be a boy.  Well as you know we have 2 girls.  At the end of the day the circumstances of their adoption were such that we weren't having to deal with loads of "baggage" so we decided to forego our desire for a little boy.

Laine - have fun finalising you form F.

Ruth - glad things have been sorted and you know when Boo will be home with you.  Is this FM's first placement?

Jennifer - we've just brought a paddling pool.  We've opted for a small one for safety reasons.

Hi to everyone else

Back soon
Karen x


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## jilldill

Hi Everyone,
Thanks for the mentions.

Hope you are all ok love JD x


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## Milktray

Is it ok for me to join in on this thread now that my HS has started?  Would anyone mind??

T x


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## superal

Hi Milktray - of course you can join us on here!!

Just a quick note to say DD has took to her new glasses really well.  Still looking up Drusen on the internet & I can see why they called her back so quickly now, it usually effects the elderly & seeing as she is not quite 6 yet, that explains the urgent referral BUT it is not life threatening & hopefully we've/they've acted in time!

Love
Andrea
xx


----------



## wynnster

Hi

Sorry short and sweet as at work and shouldn't be on here at all    Hoping you're all well (can't believe how much you can all gas     )

Just to say Nats have a great day today, looking forward to hearing all about meeting Snugs  

Thinking of you loads and loads

Kim xxxxx


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## alex28

Hello everyone!

MT - hiya again and welcome back!!!  How exciting now that your HS has started.  Im sure you will enjoy it - we did!!

Andrea - bet DD looks lovely with her new glasses - hope things improve from here on.

Karen  - hope the conference went well and you indulged in late night   !!!

Laine - hope you enjoy reading your Form F - its quite scary when you see how long it is and wonder how on earth your SW knows that much about you.  We changed some of ours and our SW called to ask why we changed certain things and we were like "well its wrong" and she said we were not allowed to change some things we had done - why send it to us to approve!!  Your panel date is not too far off now

Magenta - im a great believer in fate and what will be will be etc so fingers crossed that this is the little un for you both - and if not then im sure one will be along soon enough. good luck, xx

Barb - good luck for monday - hope the meeting goes well and you come out feeling full of hope. xxx

Ruthiebabe - ooohhhh next thursday - im so chuffed for you, despite the delay, next week you will be a forever mummy.

Nats - good luck for today - cant wait to read your news. 

HI to everyone else as well, so hard to keep up with all thats going on.

Well we had our Health and Legal course yesterday, Basically its something that used to be done as part of the prep course but now they do them seperate twice a year.  The top solicitor for LA was there talking to us about the change in new laws and then the Doctor for the LA spoke about the harm that drugs/booze can have on a child and how this can only come to light in later years etc.  Was a nice day and actually met 2 couple who were on our prep course.  One goes to panel in October and are 1/2 thru HS and the other have practically finished their HS, got panel date for July but SW has gone off on long term sick so they have to start all over again as their SW did not make any notes at all...........i was gutted for them i really was........

well just under 3 weeks to go now and only getting nervous when i think about it - keep thinking they will say no etc.......did all you other ladies have this feeling too?

anyway off to check some goods on ebay im selling.........catch u later xxx


----------



## Viva

Hi Everyone...
Quick post as I'm at work during my coffee break!

Nats have a wonderful day today...can't wait to read all about it.

Alex, I'm sure you're 3 weeks will go fast and it won't be long before it will be another   over!
Andrea, they do make great glasses these days don't they, glad to hear it was nothing seriuos and that your DD is getting used to her specs

Ruthie, such great news, glad it's all been sorted and that Fm has been able to be honest about how she's feeling

Milktray,great to hear that you're starting on your HS.

Karen have a good time at conference, hope you don't miss your girlies too much.

Laine, Hope you get your Form F finnished to your satisfaction

Magenat and Barabarella, thinking of you with your decisions to make at the moment.

As for me, have got a few information packs back from nearby LA's, we have pretty much decided we won't use our LA as with DH being a teacher (at a pretty large secondary school) in that LA that could significantly reduce possible matches for us. Sent off a few responses sayign we want to take things further and now waiting to be contacted to arrange provisional visits. Just wonderign how long you all waited to be contacted for that first interview. Seems to be taking ages, just keep being given more information which is all essentially the same as what we've already been given and can't get to the next point...not so good at being patient!  

Hope you all have a good day...sorry I didn't have time for more personnals...
Love Viva
XXX


----------



## Emcon

Hi all, 

Sorry I haven't been on board for some time, we went away for half term and the holiday was definitely what the doctor ordered for all three of us. 

There is still no real news for us, our SW called the a couple of weeks ago to just touch base and make sure we were OK, I said "Yes but still desperately waiting for match and that our son was struggling more with when is he going to get a sister (not helped that my niece is soon to have a brother/sister).  SW was very positive and said she would hope to have some more news soon.  We still haven't heard anything!

Starting to feel a bit jittery that we will have been approved for three months come 29th June, am I correct in thinking that we can then go on the national adoption register?  Our LA is also part of a group of three other LA's I presume we will have already been put into that mix?  

Should I call my SW and start to apply pressure, I am loathe to do this because I got my wrists slap for harrassing them to put us on the prep course last year, so even though we are now approved I am frightened of jeopardising our chances, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I hope all are OK, sorry for any delays some of you are experiencing (sorry I am at work so no time to go through and list you all individually, plus there are soo many of us now).  This waiting to be matched is far harder than I thought, and even when you are matched it seems to still be a mega waiting game. 

Thinking of you all at your various different stages.

Em


----------



## Ange K

Hi girls

Firstly, I’m sorry I’ve not been on here for ages – I’ve just about managed to keep up with reading everyone’s news but have not been good at posting.

We had the first session of our preparation course last week which was really interesting – there are only 6 other applicants in the group and they were all really nice. We were given loads of homework – didn’t think we’d get so much so soon! It’s taken forever to find out all the addresses I’ve lived in since I was born but I managed to finish that last night! We had to fill in CRB forms too as well as write about our upbringing – once I got started I couldn’t stop!

We’ve also got to start on our family book – they showed us some examples on the course and they were very creative – it gave me some ideas. I’ve ordered an album from a scrapbooking website with some coloured card pages so I can’t wait to get going on that. Our next session is next Tuesday night.

I must say it’s very exciting to be at this stage now. Sorry I’ve not done personals – I’ll try to be better in future! Hope everyone is enjoying this lovely sunny weather! 

Ange x


----------



## Suzie

Just popping by to say to Nats , have a fab day! meeting your son  

So amazing 

xx


----------



## saphy75

Hi all

sorry i haven't been able to keep up with you all but little man is taking up sooooo much time, but i wouldn't change a thing being a mummy is the best thing ever

Nats good luck meeting son, you will never forget that very first meeting 

got to go as little man demanding his mummy again

pam xx


----------



## Mummyof2

Em - it varies from LA to LA when you can apply for the national register but in my area it is after 3 months.  You can put yourself on and don't need to go through SW but you are supposed to notify them you have put yourself on as they will be the contact point from other out of the area SWs calling about possible matches.  Sorry to hear that your son is giving added pressure.  I told my ds we will be getting an adopted child in the winter so he is happy with that as he realises it is only summer now.  My SW told me that the average timescale to wait in this area is 4 months with a year being the longest.  Has your SW told you the average wait in your area?

Pam - great to hear from you and to know that all is going so well.

Nats - hope all is going well for you.  Thinking of you on this lovely sunny day.

Hi to everyone else.


----------



## alex28

Emcon - are you SW based

just wondered as when we go to panel we are put onto the South West Consortiunm which covers Cornwall, Devon, somerset and parts of Wiltshire.


----------



## Laine

Hi everyone,

Karen - enjoy the conference   

Jill - thinking of you  

T - I wondered when you were going to joinus on here...Welcome and good luck with HS.

Andrea - glad dd's glasses are ok for her.

Alex - our sw has asked to check sp's and to add notes next to anything we think needs changing and she will discuss it with us.  Hoping not many things will need changing.  Not long until your HS (27th isn't it?)  I know how you feel about being told 'no' because I feel the same way too.  BUT I also tell myself thatit is only natural and everyone must feel the same way    Hope you manage to sell your goods on E Bay.  Glad you enjoyed the course today and what a shame for that couple.


Viva - We were contacted within a couple of weeks of attending the open evening about our first interview.  Give it a little while then give them a  


Em - Why not  .  At least you can put your mind at rest and have your questions answered.

Ange - nice to see you posting.  Glad you enjoyed your prep course last week.  Have fun with the family book too.

Pam - lovely to hear how you are doing ... mummy!

Nats - been thinking of you today and can't wait to hear your news.

Hi to everyone else.

Laine


----------



## Nats

Ahh thanks all of you for you lovely messages, it just finishes off the most bizarre, but wonderful day for us!. I really cant thank you all enough..

so snugs!...OMG have we got our hands full...in a good way  ..he really is an active little chap, although the FM did say he loves attention and her sure made the most of us!. 
He had lots of smiles and giggles for us, he was happy to sit on our laps and let us play tickles!...
he is just learning to crawl, but is in his element if you help him to stand...and he also loves music and jiggling his body!  

We were asked to stay a bit longer by FM so we did and managed 3 hours today....he was getting tired by the time we left but we have been told that after he has dinner, he tends to get a second wind!.

He really has the most lovely smile.....we are totally exhausted, so many emotions and such a huge day it really takes it out of you...but worth every minute!

We are there all afternoon tomorrow, so have a little lay in  

Ok sorry I cant do personals I have read through them but cant think that straight! LOL

I did was to say to Ruthie- I was sad to hear about the problems with the FM and although the time scales have changed, he will be with you in no time. I am keeping everything crossed that all is going well.

lol
Natsxxx


----------



## superal

Hi Nat's - it sounds as though you have had a fantastic day & you've really enjoyed it.

Yes you will have your hands full but in the best possible way!

Love the story about him getting his second wind after his afternoon nap...........your going to have your hands so full!

Snugs sounds adorable!

Enjoy tomorrow, the visits are very tiring so make the most of what time you have with your DH whilst you can! 

Love
Andrea
xx


----------



## Jo

Nats
Have another lovely day with Snugs today.
All your stories are so exciting, can't wait to get started on ours 

Have a good day everyone.

Love Jo
x


----------



## Mummyof2

Nats - glad that all went well.  Great news.  You think he is a handful now - wait until he is mobile


----------



## alex28

Nats - sound like you had a wonderful day and there is a great bond going on between you all.  Hope today goes well too. xx


----------



## Ruthiebabe

Hi ,

nats great news about your first day.....hope you're having fun with him today in the sun....what day did you say was his birthday? Your FM sounds great!

Boo's upstairs with his dad at the mo playing. Our SW called around today and is going to try and get his move in day brought forward cos she think he's really well settled with us, who knows what will happen though.....we're putting him to bed tonight so really after that all the major stress times should  be covered (she says probably incredibly naievely!!)

anyway gotta go make soem dinner for my boys!  
xxxxruthie


----------



## ritzi

hi all,

can i firstly say i've been reading your thread for a while now and i've been so encouraged by the enthusiasm, committment and obviously joy you all share through adoption. so thank you!!

i think emotionally i'm finally realising that adoption is our path. dh knew that from the beginning but i felt i simply had to use the NHS IVF freeby so i could never say 'what if'. I feel like now it's over......but do have 3 frosties to consider.

i've called the LA and they've asked that we write to them and the application will start from there with CRB/refernce/medical checks etc..

what i wanted to ask was has anyone adopted in wales? the SW i spoke with said there was no open evening - does this sound right? she said the process would look like this:
letter
application forms 
CRB/refernce/medical checks & SW will contact us
initial adoption councilling
full assessment - min 6 months once a week visit from SW, plus 4 saturdays....
SW meet referees
Panal
matching - up to 2 years

Also would i be expected to destroy my frosties? i would be happy to commit to not have FET during the adoption process etc....but maybe in 4 years i'll want to give them a chance of life - would i be penalised for this? is there any way of not mentioning our frosties or will they demand to know this info? 

thanks for any feedback, you know what it's like - it's the unknown that the killer!!!

nichola.x


----------



## Nats

Hi

Another good day today and was there from 1-6.30pm, watched how good he was in his bath and he sat calmly whilst giving him a bottle.....but he certainly gets a second wind after dinner!
Felt today was much better, he was constantly looking for us and pretty much smiled and laughed all the day.

Back there for 8am tomorrow, so just chilling with dh having a lager!.

Ruthie- hope you get a date soon for your little man to move in, it does sound like he has bonded well and surely its unfair to move him in later than need be.
Snugs birthday is Monday and already we have a few presents from friends and family. its going to be a special day.

ok im off now

Natsxx


----------



## fiona1

Nats - You sound so happy, what perfect timing you little boys 1st birthday.

Still plodding along here, we go on holiday next Saturday to Majorca and i can't wait, by the time we get back there will be a few more mummy and daddy's on here.

Take Care

Fiona


----------



## cindyp

Nats, so pleased to read your post, things sound wonderful.  Have a lovely time on Monday, and as Jennifer says just wait till he's walking!!   

Ruth, glad to hear Boo's settling in so well, the fun will never stop and unfortunately neither will the chores   

Enjoy your time with your children.

love
Cindy


----------



## sanita

Sorry I've been missing for a while, but I've had my mum over from Spain staying with us and as of tomorrow we're off on holiday in our caravan for 10 days so I thought I'd pop on here and see how everyone was.  

Nats - Glad to hear all is going well with Snugs.  Enjoy your first birthday with him on Monday.

Ruthie - You are another incredibly happy sounding new mummy.  Enjoy.

Nichola - Welcome to the boards.  I'm not with a Welsh LA, but the procedure you've had outlined is very similar to the one I'm going through.  Have a look on the BAAF website and Adoption UK website for further initial info on how the process works.

We're still going through the prep days (4 done and 3 to go) and have now had 2 HS visits plus tons of homework.  My next bit of homework is the Family Book.  We have to have our family book done for approval panel.  I've had a trip to Hobby Craft and bought all the stuff so I shall look forward to putting it together when we come back from hols.  We shall be going to panel in either September or October - which seems ages away.   

Hope everyone is enjoying the sunshine.


----------



## Mummyof2

Sanita - I hope you have a lovely holiday.  I remember the tons of homework well     Our family book turned out really well in the end. Sounds like you have got it covered but just in case you need ideas - we used photographic paper and printed off our family book on that so the photos looked original but weren't which meant we still had the originals ourselves and also that the photos didn't have to be anchored to the page as they were part of the page.  We also found some lovely cartoon pictures on the internet of noddy, fimbles, tweenies etc, shrank them to fit and printed those off as part of the page.  We added colourful stickers to every page and also used shiny cardboard + stickers as section dividers.

Fiona - have a great holiday abroad.  Lucky you.

Nats - glad all is going so well with snugs.  Happy 1st birthday on Monday.

Ruthie - sounds like all is going very well for you all.  Great news.

Nichola - welcome to our board.  Sorry can't help you with your questions.  What you have written is the procedure we followed.  Sanita gives good advice when she suggested those websites for further info.

Cindy - nice to hear from you.  Glad all is well at your end.

Hi to everyone else.


----------



## superal

Hi everyone - 5 minutes break away from the Sun & children playing in the paddling pool!

Nat's - sounds as though visits are going great.  Have a lovely time with your son on his first birthday.

Ruth - Glad to hear that your SW is backing you and trying to get your son home to you where he belongs.

Sanita - hope you have a good holiday.

Boomer - hope things are going from strength to strength to with Strawberry.

Hi to everyone else.

Love
Andrea
xx


----------



## Laine

Hi everyone,

Nats - so glad to hear you are enjoying the intros with Snugs  

Ruthie - hope you get the moving date changed.

Nichola - welcome to the adoption thread. The procedure you have written sounds about right.  However, it seems that every LA/VA varies on some things.  I can't help with your Frosties ? either.  

Fiona - enjoy Majorca. 

Sanita - enjoy your caravan holiday.  Glad everything is going ok for you.  Good idea going to Hobbycraft for the family book.

Andrea - so you bought a pool after all then?

Laine


----------



## Lauren

Hi everyone,

I have finally managed to get a minute to sit down and say hi to everyone having got hom from my holiday a week ago and not really stopping ever since!  Sorry I can't do personals as haven't had chance to catch up with everyone yet but can't wait to hear all the news as I'm sure loads has happened.

We had a fantastic time in Morocco and it has been so nice to come back to such lovely weather here.  The only little blip was the day after we got back from hols we were round at my mum and dads for my dad's birthday and my younger sister announced that she is pg again!  I got quite down about it for a couple of days but have got myself sorted out now and feel much brighter.  I don't suppose these things ever stop being a bit upsetting.  I think it was more the fact that she is now on her 2nd pregnancy in about half the time me and dh have been trying for a family.

Anyway enough of me - I will endeavour to catch up with everyone over the weekend so I can do personals.  Am also very excited as dh and I are off to Paris on Thursday to see Robbie Williams in concert!!!  Can't wait!  Back on the Sunday and go to panel on Monday!

Lots of love to everyone.

Lauren xxx


----------



## Milktray

Gosh, where to start!

Sorry I can't mention everyone - I haven't had chance to read through the whole thread, our 14wk old puppy is taking up most of our time!

Congrats to all those that are at intro stages, (Boomer, Nats and Ruthie I know for definite!)

To all those that are still a little unsure about prospective matches, go with your hearts (Magenta and  Barbarella)

and basically a big hello and look forward to trying to find some time inbetween Home study and the puppy to catch up with everyone!

T x


----------



## Jo

Hi Everyone.
Hope you are all enjoying the sun , and your meetings, children or enjoying knowing you will have children one day 

Nicola - We had a frostie that we did defrost, sadly it didn't thaw, but we did tell them, I think you should be honest with them, the last thing you want is for them to find out.
They didn't seem to worried about it, but it was worth mentioning it, mind you we defrosted ours before we started down the adoption route, but thought we might have to wait 6 months, but they said no 

If it was me, i would be honest, I'm sure they will be fine about it 

Sorry no more personals as i am whacked, been decorating all day, well all week actually , but it is looking lovely now, hopefully it will soon be finished.

Enjoy tomorrow, its going to be another lovely day   

Love Jo
x x x


----------



## Ruthiebabe

Have had a lovely hot weekend with Boo. He's moving in on wednesday....can't wait. He's a real hoot at the mo, he's just learned how to say "what's that?" and its his favourite question that he uses about 10 times every minute. We've started telling him that for example his juice cup is the cat, to which we get a cheeky grin and a "nooooo silly mommy"  all good fun!

beign dragged upstairs now to play with his cars and garage...

xxxruthie

PS has anyoen else ever gone onto the cbeebies website....its really good and Boo loves it too.


----------



## Emcon

Hi to you all

Sorry another me post, we have had a terrible weekend, having made the decision to call our SW today about being put into the consortium and going on the National Adoption Register in a couple of weeks (unless there is a match before then, or our SW advised against it!) we had an email from someone we have stayed in touch with on our prep course who informed us that our SW has been off sick for a month, nobody has been in touch with us about her and to say we were upset is an understatement, we are obviously concerned for her but also how this is going to affect a match being found for us.  We also had a get together with all the group from our prep course yesterday and of the six of us approved 4 have already been matched, and whilst we are really please for them all we are starting to worry that there is something wrong with us, were are expectations so far off on our Form F that we need to revise them? 

Made call this morning, asked all above questions to which no-one at the LA was able to answer, the head of Adoption has taken on our SW case load but she is out this morning and they are unsure when she will be able to return my call today or tomorrow.

We both feel really let down at the moment, it would have been common courtesy to keep us informed about our SW, I guess because we got on well with her and really trust her we feel a bit like the rug has been pulled from beneath our feet.  We feel very unsure how to proceed, and I really do not know how much more of this I can take, I am at work today and so far I have just not been able to concentrate.

Sorry it is all me me me again, your opinions/experience of this would be gratefully received.

Thanks

Em


----------



## Mummyof2

Ruthie - all sounding wonderful.  Brings back many happy memories of when my ds was that age.  Great fun.

Em - hugs to you.  I am sadly not surprised that no one told you your sw is off long term sick - seems par for the course for social services not to keep people informed in my experience.  Once again, hugs to you as it must have been a big shock to find out and I can well understand how churned up you must feel and not know what is going on, especially as the majority of others on your course have been matched.  How hugely disappointing for you.  Hope you get some answers soon.

I got a little 9 week old kitten at the weekend and he is reminding me what trouble littlies can be, whether they are human or cat.  He is lovely though but best when he is asleep - like children  

All the best to everyone


----------



## Emcon

Hi Jennifer

Thanks for your reply, it does help, feeling slightly better, still heard nothing back, as my hubby says if we have heard back by the end of the week we will be doing well!

I thank god everyday for my son because without him I do not think I would be able to continue with this process, because of our SW and us he is so full of anticipation for his new sister and I cannot not fulfill that for him however hard and long it takes.

How are things going with you have you heard anything since your panel?

Em


----------



## Mummyof2

Hi Em, glad you are feeling a bit better.  We have not heard anything at all from our SW since panel.  Oh well, it is early days yet for us so we have got the new kitten to distract us for now.

All the best


----------



## Laine

Hi everyone,

Jo - decorating in this heat   Hope you enjoy the open evening tomorrow.  Can't wait to hear what you think of it  

Lauren - glad you enjoyed Morocco    How lovely to be going to Paris to see Robbie...enjoy!  Your panel date has come round quickly, bet you are getting nervous/excited?

T - hi there!

Ruthie - Boo sounds so cute    Not long until he moves in on Wednesday.

Em - I would feel the same as you if I hadn't been informed about the sw.  Perhaps you could suggest to the manager that you keep in touch on a regular basis?  We were told on our Prep Course that every case is different and that some of us would be matched sooner than others.  So try not to read too much into it, the right child for you will come along    Sending you (((((((((hugs)))))).

Jennifer - awww little kitten    Is it a boy/girl?  What have you called it?

Alex - how are your   ?  

Hi to everyone else.  Hope you are all ok?  

Laine


----------



## Jo

Thanks Laine  

we cant wait, I am a little nervous as I am so worried they might say no because of my M.S , but we will wait and see, and if they do Paul said we will find one that will accept us  

How are you hun, you will soon be there , and hopefully we will all meet one day with all our precious children 

Love 
Jo
x x x


----------



## Barbarella

I'm really sorry I can't do personals, but I'm in   at the moment.

We had a our matching meeting this morning, and due to many reasons (ironically nothing to do with age.. if only it was that simple) we are going to say no.  I had to go to work straight after the meeting and left a very wet eyed dh on the doorstep.  We are both really uspet and realised how much we underestimated this part of the process.

Obviously I can't go into details, but the overriding feeling (amongst lots of issues) is that he isn't right for us.  In my head I had bought the pushchair, left work and ALMOST felt like a Mum.  I can't tell you how disappointed we are. 

Will be in touch soon.. just need a couple of days to get over it... and have the horrible job of letting SW know tomorrow.  We feel like we've badly let this boy down (which we KNOW isn't true, but you really can't help thinking it... and I know exactly what I would say to someone else who had written that).

Love a very   C xx


----------



## jilldill

Hi Everyone,

C, I am so sorry you sound so upset I wish we could do something to help, do take care x

Magenta, any news are you ok?

Jo, hope the open evening goes well let us know

Ruthie, you sound really happy with Boo enjoy!

Em, you must be really angry and I don't blame you, all this is hard enough without that!

Jennifer, my parents got 2 kittens in Oct they are 8 months now just so gorgeous when they are tiny lucky you!

Lauren, glad the holiday was good, I bet it already feels like an age ago

Nats, sounds like Snugs is just wonderful

Pam, you must be shattered but so happy

Laine, how are you 

Karen and Ann how are your girls enjoying the lovely weather?

Ange K how is the process going smoothly I hope

Andrea how are you?

Boomer, how is little Strawberry doing?

Hello to everyone hope you are all enjoying the footy and the weather love JD xxx


----------



## KarenM

Hi Girls

Tracy (Milktray) - you are welcome here whatever stage you are at.

Alex  - the course sounds really interesting.  So sorry to hear about the people you met on the prep course, they must be devastated.

Viva - good luck with choosing an LA.  We waited for about 3 weeks before we had our interview.

Emcon - glad that you had a good holiday.  Sorry to hear you have not heard anything from your LA.  We made an agreement with our SW that she would ring at least once a month even if it was to say there was no news as I can't stand just waiting (which she knew from my dh's definition of me!!)  Since the time I have been on this board it seems common for SW's to be off sick.  Hope you get to hear something soon.

Ange - glad to hear you are enjoying your course.

Pam - great to hear things are going well for you and chunk is settling in.

Nats - sounds like you had a great first meeting.  Hope everything is on track for him to move in.  We had birthdays too at intro and move in stage.  I hope you have enjoyed his first birthday and that you have had a lovely day with your little man.

Ruth - good luck for Wednesday.  Have things improved with FM?  Sounds like he is settling in really well. 

Nichola - welcome.  Each LA is different.  The first one we registered an interest in would not let you proceed until you had done the open evening, which they kept canelling, but the LA we went with did letter of interest then interview.  They will ask abotuyour treatment but they won't ask you to destroy your frosties.  They may ask if you intend to have treatment in future and your answer to that may depend on the match they arrange.  For some children it would be detrimental for them to have younger siblings.

Fiona - have a great holiday.  How are things now with the family after announcing your move?

Sanita - glad things are progressing well for you.  Have a good time on your holiday.

Lauren - glad you had a good holiday.  have a great time in Paris, I'd love to see Robbie, you'll have to do us a review!!

Laine - what date is panel?  Hope you got your form f sorted.

Jo - good luck for the open evening.

Jennifer - have fun with the kitten.

Andrea - sounds liek you've had great fun in this weather too.  We also indulged in a paddling pool

Cindy - any more news?

Barbarella - so sorry to hear about how you are feeling.  I haven't had any expereince of saying no, but can understand how difficult it must be.  I think the hardest thing is the fact that you have a choice, but you are right to make a decision that works for you and the child.  Sending you lots of hugs.

Hi to everyone else I've not mentioned.

The conference was good and I enjoyed some    with my colleagues (as well as going for the conference it was also about team bonding).  Hated leaving first thing with my youngest bottom lip quivering.  I paid for it over the weekend.  Youngest was really clingy and eldest was really off.  

We've been enjoying the lovely weather and we had the RAF airshow at the base by us yesterday with the red arrows flying very low over our house.  The kids loved it and the weather did us proud.

Not much else from me. 

TTFN
Karen x


----------



## magenta

Hi everyone,

Barbarella - huge big hugs.  I cant say that I know what you are feeling but I have been in a similar situation recently and it is really heartbreaking to feel that it isn't a good link/match  - for whatever reasons.  I feel for you.  However, I am sure you will find that in a week's time or however long, you will feel more confident about your decision and that helps with the grieving /healing a lot in my experience. Allow yourself to 'grieve' for the dreams you had allowed yourself to have and use them to know what you will do when the 'right' match for you comes along.  that is what I am trying to do.

This littlie that we are interested in just now is still 'on the cards' as it were although the ball is now clearly in his sw's court and we just need to wait and see if we are shortlisted.  We had a meeting with our sw last night who talked over our concerns and positives and we feel a bit more 'confident' about getting even more info.  However, the agency will still keep us in mind for other young children that they hear about, although we have been warned that we are not high on their list right now as there are families who were approved at the end of last year for our age range who will get 'preference' if a good match.

So...here's to the wait - however long that might be.

Magenta xx


----------



## alex28

oh Barbarella - so sorry to hear you are having a rough time, like Karen says you have to do whats right for you and the child.  I can only imagine the trauma you are going thru. xxx thinking of you lots at this time. xxx


----------



## Boomerang girl

hiya all!
sorry for this short post and no personals but after weeks and weeks we are finally online as of this morning! I have approx one minute to post as strawb is "mid-poo!" (and it smells delightful!)

life is pretty damn good- especially now strawb is getting some sleep. 4 weeks on I can't imagine life without her living here, we have the lac review today. strawb loves rhyme time, toddler gym, her sandpit, her paddling pool (so do I!) and her plastic car. she is eating well except on really hot days, but drinks really well which is the main thing. I can honestly say dh and I have never felt so in love with her (and each other) as we do now.  there have been difficult days- sleep deprivation for about two weeks made me a ratty mum and strawb was stroppy too due to lack of sleep, but we have come through it and she is very 
cuddly. she has her nan and grandad wrapped around her little fingers.  she is our miracle child!

will catch up on all the posts when strawb goes to bed tonight 

boomer
xx


----------



## alex28

Laine - kittens are fine - too damn playful though esp at 4am!!!! Its driving me mad - although they are 5 weeks tomorrow that have started eating mummy's cat food (Iams) which is dried food and they love it so i dont think it will be long before she had weaned them off and can put on some weight - she's sooooo skinny!!!!!

not long till your panel date now - are you getting excited??  I cant believe how quick ours has come around, need to tidy the house later to take some photos of inside for the approval panel album.

Boomer - sounds like strawb has settled in well indeedy with you both - glad you are enjoying being a mummy and daddy!!!


----------



## Mummyof2

Barberella - so sorry that things have not turned out as you had hoped.  Hugs to you and dh.

Boomer - aaah sounds like Strawb has settled in a treat.  Great news.

Laine - Jess kitten is black and white (hence the name - Postman Pat's cat).  He is 9 weeks and 3 days old and very cute but very lively.  Our other 3 cats are settling in well with him but the dog is a bit too interested in him so I am keeping them apart at the moment.  I have added a pic of him to my profile so you can see his little face  

Karen - my brother went to the cricket club to watch the airshow.  He goes every year as he says he gets a great view from there.  Good to hear that all is well with you and yours.

Hi to everyone else.


----------



## saphy75

quick update as chunk is sleeping, 

we have had a few rough nights due to colic, the heat and a bad cough but finally chunk slept through last night from about 8.30 until 4.40 this morning which is longest he has ever slept (i think) 

we have found out he likes music and so far pink floyd wish you were here seems to be his favourite  stops crying as soon as he hears it i wonder how long before his daddy tries to teach him air guitar   

arghhhhhhh!!!! the dog just barked and woke chunk up. oh well better go as i have got a million things to do including settling chunk again 

pam xx


----------



## Emcon

Hi to you all

Hooray!!!!!!!!!!

Our SW boss rang us back yesterday afternoon, she will take over us from our SW as she is now on long term sick and if we are matched would probably ask one of two social workers to work with us, as 
we have met them both and had dealings with them.  I was really impressed with her approach, plus she told us she has put our Form F forward for consideration for a little girl, and if her social worker is interested in us she will come along with the little girl's Form E, I daren't ask anything about this little girl (she probably wouldn't have told me anyway) also don't want to get our hopes up. She also advised us to stick with them as we have more chance of a younger child with them than if we go National or in to the Consortium.  They haven't let us down yet (too badly) so we have decided to hang on in there with them, i guess it is about trust and we feel we do trust them.  Plus she also said there are lots of children coming through we just need to hang on in there!!!!!!

Barbella, hugs to you I cannot imagine how we will feel in that position but I sure you have done what is right for all involved.

Sorry no more personals, i need to make up for my lack of work yesterday.

Em


----------



## naoise

Hi everyone I have just had time to have a quick look at the thread, and I'm sorry barbella that you have had  a really hard choice to make and I hope you and dh feel better soon.

We have had a disastrous time, on Sunday my dh was out on his motorbike and a woman drove out in front of him and he crashed into the side of her car and flew around 15 feet in the air. He has badly bruised his back and his hip, wrist and knee. But we are just grateful that he his alive, so that is the end of his motorbike adventures. So I am playing nursemaid at the minute. 

Sorry I have no personals I hope you are all well, just thought I would pop on so that you all wouldn't think I had fallen off the planet 

LOL Keli


----------



## Lauren

Oh god Keli, so sorry to hear about your husband's motorbike accident.  It sounds terrible and a bit scarily similar to the advert on tv at the moment with the guy that pulls out in his car in front of the motocyclist.  So pleased he is relatively unscathed apart from his bruising.

Em - glad you have had some good news at last, it certainly sounds very positive.  This whole process really does play havoc with your emotions doesn't it?!

Strawberry and Pam - I love hearing your tales all about your little ones and how they are getting on - it all sounds wonderful.

Barberalla - I'm so sorry you are having a hard time at the moment.  Big, big hug to you.  I obviously haven't been in your situation yet but I can imagine it is the whole "choice" thing which makes you feel so dreadful.  Hope you feel a bit brighter in a few days.

Karen - will definately let you know all about Robbie and who totally gorgeous he is looking when I get back from Paris!

Laine and Alex - when do you both go to panel?  It must be pretty soon isn't it?  I know we were all around the same sort of time.

Sorry I can't do more personals at the moment - have still only managed to catch up on the last few pages!  We got our letter today confirming our panel date on Monday so is all getting a bit scary now!  But also very exciting!

Lots of love
Lauren xxx


----------



## Laine

Hi everyone,

Jo - thinking of you both and your open evening   

C - so sorry to read how upset you are feeling.  I too wish there was something more I could say but having not been in the situation it is hard    So sending you big warm (((((((hugs)))))).

Jill - I am ok, how about you, how are you feeling now?  

Karen - yes, we got our Form F sorted   Glad you enjoyed the conference.  ahh bless your little one and her lip quivering.

Magenta - glad the meeting with the sw helped.  Hoping you don't have to wait too long for a match.

Boomer - lovely post about Straws, you all sound soooo happy.

Alex - I haven't really though much about the panel to be honest    Once it gets a bit nearer I know that will change.  The  sound lovely.  Just started our family book for panel, good luck with yours.

Jennifer - Jess   is gorgeous and I see what you mean about Postman Pat.

Pam - lovely to hear about Chunk.

Em - glad things have been resolved with the sw issue for you. Hope you hear some good news about the potential match.

Keli - sorry to hear about your dh's accident, how awful for you.  

Lauren - glad you have your letter.  I would be feeling exactly the same as you. 

We had our second opinion visit which went really well.  Our panel date is July 3rd, which is also our 13th wedding anniversary   and today is my birthday! 

Laine


----------



## cindyp

Hi All

Happy Birthday Laine, hope you have a great day.  Nice coincidence having panel on your anniversary, two reasons to celebrate.    

Keli, sorry to hear about your DH's accident.  I love to look at motorbikes but must admit that I couldn't bear anybody I know riding one as I've heard so many horror stories.  Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

C, sorry to hear about the matching panel but you as you say it the match has to be right for you.  Hugs to you both.

Pam, LOL at the air guitar image.  I'm afraid a million things to do will be the pattern of your life now, but as you already know it's well worth it.  

Kylie, sounds like your little Strawberry is settling in really well.  I'm sure your LAC review was a formality. 

Ruth, Boo's sounds like a typical toddler, 110 questions a minute.  Nice to know I'm not the only "silly mummy"   

Em, glad to hear you got some progress with the SW's boss.  Fingers crossed she can deliver on her promises.

Lauren, good news on being so close to approval.

Karen, glad to hear you had a good time at the conference.  Like you I managed to have a few    on Saturday as my sport hating friend offered to babysit whilst the game was on.  It was quite enjoyable at the time but these days you have to combine hangovers with your children making you feel guilty so I can sympathise with the quivering lips.  My DS has been at nursery two mornings a week for almost a year now but still cries every time I drop him off.  The workers laugh about it because as soon as I'm out of the door he's fine and when I come to pick him up he runs away.  Kids, huh?

Jo, decorating in this heat, you must be mad!!  Best of luck with that.

Lauren, Robbie and Paris, envious moi   

T, hope the HS is going well.

Sanita, have a good holiday.

Hope everyone else is well.

We're off to a cracking start NOT, supposed to have properly started out HS today and arranged for a friend to babysit so we could do it more easily.  Unfortunately the SW didn't turn up.  I can understand the possible mix up, we originally said Wednesday but had to change it to today because of my DH work.  However I phoned up the office who said they would try and contact her and nobody came back to us.  Just gotta grit my teeth and get on with it but admit can't wait till we're through the process and got our next child because it is so irritating.

Shame about the rain today but supposed to be more sun for the rest of the week.  I better get DS to bed as I've a pile of ironing to do.

love to all
Cindy


----------



## Lauren

Happy Birthday Laine!

Hope your having a fab day!

  

Lots of love
Lauren xxx


----------



## Boomerang girl

hiya, lac review went well, strawb took longer to settle tonight but she isn't daft and knew who everyone was so its no suprise. lovely to read back and hear about other matches- i don't know how you get time to post though!!!!!!

right, its time I made myself some dinner

boomer
x


----------



## Mummyof2

Laine - happy birthday    

Keli - sorry to hear about your husband.  He was so lucky thank goodness.  What a worry.

Cindy - sw eh, don't you just love em - not!  

Bye for now


----------



## Jo

Laine.............................







*Hope you have had a wonderful day !!
Hopefully this time next year you may have an extra card to open 

Love Jo
x x x *​[br]Posted on: 13/06/06, 22:11Hi Everyone
just to say our open evening went really well 

We are going to fill out the forms in the next few days, so hopefully soon they will be doing a home visit 

We are so excited tonight, maybe our dream will come true.

I know it is a way ahead, and it will be hard, but we have been through hard times before, and I am sure we can do this  

Hope everyone is well 

Love Jo
x x


----------



## keemjay

Happy Birthday Laine  hope you've had a lovely day 

Jo - great news that your open evening went well..its a great feeling to be on a road to somewhere eh? and dont you worry of course you CAN do this, so far it aint half as bad as i expected 

soooo much news to catch up on while i've been away at IOW festival..have had a quick read but must get to bed so will catch up tomorrow

kj x


----------



## KarenM

[fly]* Happy Birthday Laine *[/fly]

Hope you had a good day, as Jo said may be next year a very special birthday card.

Good luck for 3rd July (my wedding anniversary too!)

Karen x


----------



## alex28

Laine - belated Happy Birthday wishes for yesterday!!!!!!!!!  

My phone lines are down from all the lightening on sunday night so can only get on-line at work!- it blew my tv and DVD player too which is a bummer as we have lots of money to spend out at the mo finishing the house so cant really afford a new tv at the mo - having to make do with MIL old one - hey ho - one good thing though is that the house is clean and tidy and all my ironing is done!!!

my panel date is 27th June so 2 weeks yesterday and counting..........

Jo - glad you nejoyed the opening evening and hope you get a  visit very soon.

Cindy - what a bummer about the mix-up.....sooo frustrating i bet!!

Hiya to everyone else, hope you are all ok.....best go and do some work otherwise the boss will shout at me!! hang on........i am the boss.........


----------



## keemjay

alex, doesnt your insurance cover a new tv 
wow so close to panel, doesnt time fly 

kj x


----------



## alex28

dont think so as its done to lightening etc and dont think insurers cover that and also its trying to prove that was the cause - although my neighbours has broken as well!!


----------



## keemjay

i thought insurance covered lightening, what a pain in the


----------



## alex28

it does!! Hurrah!! i have just called the insurers and they said yes!!!!!!!!!  so off to search for a new television and DVD player now!!  thanks!! i would not of thought of it if you did not mention it!!!!  i owe u!!


----------



## wynnster

Hi Guys

Laine - Hope you had a great Birthday hunny   Last one without that speacial card me thinks  

Jo - Glad the Open Evening went well, Hope the Initial Visit isn't too far away  

Nats - Happy Moving in day to Snugs  

Hi to everyone else  

Kim xxxx


----------



## saphy75

Jo so pleased the open evening went well, yay you are on your way hun

Nats hope everything goes well today hunni

got to go as dog is crying to go out, someone always wants something in this house  

pam xx


----------



## Jo

Its lovely to hear you say that Pam  

Hope Chunk is keeping you busy today as well  

Love Jo
x x x


----------



## keemjay

yay alex, i thought it should be covered  in return you can tell me what your family bk looks like for panel, am struggling with mine!!

kj x


----------



## cindyp

Happy Moving In Day to Nats

To everyone else, if you hadn't already noticed we are discussing having a meet up on 22nd July, a picnic in the park in Oxford.  Details on the Meet Part II post.

Cindy


----------



## alex28

KJ - ours is very basic compared to what others on here have been told to do.  We were told to buy a small photo album and just slot in pics of us, parents, pets and the house (no friends, siblings, rooms etc) and then just label them.  I even triple checked this with SW each time i have spoken to her and she said thats all they need as the main book will be done once we have a match although she has told us to start that too as we may not have time to do it!!!


----------



## keemjay

i wish we had to do it that way alex..i'm finding it really hard to pitch it right for an unknown child who might be age 1 or age 6 and who may be male or female!! have just popped into town to look for some bits and decided that for decoration insects or animals might be the way to go as they are unisex 

found a telly yet?

kj x


----------



## superal

Hi everyone

I've been absent from the boards for a few days for a number of reasons
Unfortunately one of my fur babies died on Sunday & the whole family is in total shock     He was a chocolate Labrador & he was our "first baby"  Life sees so empty without him & we all miss him, our other dog is wondering around like a lost sheep & we all feel sorry for him

I've read everyones news but it has been digested properly!
I'll try & catch up in a few more days & will hopefully feel a bit better

Love
Andrea
xx


----------



## Ange K

Hi Keemjay

For our family album I've bought some really great foam animal stickers from Lakeland - you get 28 of them with wobbly eyes and foam and pipecleaner arms! Here's the link - they're on the bottom of the page

http://www.lakelandlimited.co.uk/productlist.aspx/crafts/stickers

This post contains an unconfirmed link/information and readers are reminded that FertilityFriends.co.UK or its owners are not responsible for the content of external internet sites

We've been told to aim the book at a 3 year old and we can always modify it afterwards. We've been shown some examples of albums people have done and people are so creative - I feel a bit under pressure now!

Ange x


----------



## KarenM

Hi Girls

Magenta - hope you hear something soon, nothing worse than waiting.  

Boomer - so pleased that Strawb has settled in so well and that you are back on line to tell us all about how you are getting on.  Great news on the review.

Jennifer - is that your kitten?  Did you brother enjoy the show?

Pam - great news on Chunk's sleep.  Bet you can't believe you're talking about your wee one having colic.

Emcon - glad you got a positive response from your LA.

Keli - must have been very scary with dh's accident.  Glad to hear he is on the mend though, but I don't know about everyone else, but aren't men the worst patients?!!  That said glad to hear he's alright.

Lauren - good luck for Monday

Cindy - sorry to hear about the SW hope they sort it out.

Jo - glad the open evening went well for you.  I am sure you will sail through all that is to come.

Alex - nightmare about the TV/DVD, glad you can get a new one.  I will be away on hols when you go to panel so good luck.

Nats - Happy moving in day to Snugs.  Enjoy it is a moment to cherish forever.

KJ - good luck with the book.

Andrea - really sorry to hear your news.  Sending you big hugs (((HUGS)))  

Hi to everyone else, off to finish a job application form.

Bye for now
Karen x


----------



## Barbarella

Hi Everyone

Just wanted to pop on and say thanks to everyone for your support and kind words.  We are feeling much better about everything and thru a lot of talking have realised that this wasn't a good match for us at all.. personality wise and everything.  I'm not quite sure why they matched him with us.

Anyway, thanks again.  I am going to read through all the posts and do personals at the weekend when I have 5 minutes.  Have had an awful week and a half at work, what with everything else. 

Just wanted to say Happy Birthday to Laine as it will be too late at the weekend (and fab news of your panel date.. spooky that it's on your 13th wedding anniversary)

Happy moving in day for Nats.

Pam - your stories about Chunk bring a tear to my eye... it's wonderful !

Andrea - so sorry to hear about your dog hon... (hugs to you all )....

Will do more soon.... thanks again. 
Love C xx


----------



## keemjay

oh superal, so sorry to hear about your doggy...you must all be so upset. i know i would be if anything happened to Caleb, he is our 'first baby' too. big  and    

barbarella..i never got around to posting about your predicament, but glad you have now put it to bed and are happy with your decisions..am not looking forward to this part of the process..i used to think it would be great looking at potential matches but from reading on here its another part of the process which brings its own stresses

keli - so sorry to hear about dh's accident..what a shock for you both..he was very lucky..hope he is on the mend on not being a typical man patient!!

angeK.. thanks for that link..i shall have a look in my local lakeland when i go into town next...i wish part of our course had been to show us some examples, would have helped a bit 

cindy - what a pain to get off on such a bad start..hope its just a little hiccup...

Nats - *HAPPY MOVING IN DAY TO SNUGS* 

must get to bed...love to all

kj x


----------



## Jo

Hi Girls 
Thanks for all the messages, can't believe what happened today !!
We did contact a couple of LA's and only one got back to us until today, they telephoned and done the initial forms over the phone (the ones we got to bring home last night from the other LA) and have booked us in to go and see them on 13th July !!!, really pleased as we liked what we got from this LA , they are slightly out of our area, but they like that, which is great for us .
She did say it might be a good thing to get my medical done quite quickly to make sure everything was Ok, so thats good, because it does worry me, but they seem fine with it all 

So now another count down to that appointment.............can't wait 

Hi to everyone,hope you are all well   I will do some personnalls soon, we are so busy preparing for the big brother meet on Sunday !!! 

Take care everyone
Love Jo
x x x


----------



## Ruthiebabe

Hi all,

andrea, so sorry to hear about your dog....we've got a real pest of a cat but i know i'd be devastated if anything happened to him.

keli, sorry about your DH's accident....you must have been so frightened. 

Boo moved in yesterday, and have had a lovely 24 hours so far. We did however have a poo in the bath last night (yuck). that'll teach mummy to give him a bath so close to finishing his dinner! But he was asleep by 8.30 and slept till 7 this morning. We were led to believe his sleep time was really stressful with nitemares etc, but maybe we're in a honeymoon phase or something.....ask me again in a couple of weeks.

Nats i hope you're moving in day went as smoothly as ours did. how did the birthday celebration go...maybe you've already written about it above....will go have a proper look later.

off for a bikeride now,
xxxruthie


----------



## lettuce

Hello everyone

Was not sure where to post this as am new to the Adoption pages, so just thought I would sneak in here.

I used to post on the Kings pages last year quite alot, but after a tough cycle and lots of thinking over the year we have decided that adoption is right for us.  We went to our LA's open evening on the 13th and have filled in there forms we are now just waiting for them to contact us with a date for an initial visit.

I realise that it will be a long process but I feel so much more positive compared to when we were having treatment. 

The only personal I have is fur Andrea and it is to send hartfelt condolences for the loss of your fur baby. I have two Staffies and cannot being to think about the loss you are feeling right now.

All the best to everyone

Lettuce


----------



## Laine

Hi everyone,

First of all thanks for all your birthday wishes  

Lettuce - welcome to the adoption boards.  You are in the right place here with us.  Look forward to sharing your journey with you.

Andrea - so sorry to hear about your fur baby doggie.  (((((hugs)))))

Nats - hope everything is going well for you.

Ruthie - lovely to hear about Boo moving in.  Enjoy the bike ride.

Jo - so pleased to read your good news.  Getting the medical out of the way will be so good for you    You really are on your way...yey!

Ange - love those stickers!

KJ - so how was the IOW festival?

Alex - glad your insurance covered a new tv.  Have you got one yet?  Ours is quite old and has started to 'play up', so I may be joining you soon.

Just started our family book and am keping it neutral but fun.

Laine


----------



## alex28

Hi Guys!! Tv and DVD all sorted!!! I called the insurers last night, they took details, called me back 1/2 hour later with details of replacments that we are happy with, they have ordered them and hopefully with have them early next week - so hard watching BB on the small bedroom tv!!!!

Andrea - sorry for your loss hun. xxx


----------



## keemjay

great news alex 

laine, IOW festival was FAB, very drunken, hot and silly..music was great esp Cold Play on the sunday.we went with friends who have a camper too so set up a nice little base with our campers and awnings..toilets werent too bad for once..thenk god for alcohol gel i say 

ruthie - sorry didnt realise it was boo's moving in day too...bet its great to finally have him home where he belongs..what a fab nights sleep  had to  at the poo in the bath tho!! first of many i'm sure!! keep us posted

does anyone have any books they've read that are particularly good for potential adoptive grandparents? i thought my mum could do with something to read that would be relevant to the part she'll play..i just looked on the BAAF site and cant see anything....

had another sw meeting yesterday..am getting bored of talking about myself  and sometimes i do think 'do they really NEED to know this' eg we've known eachother for 16yrs, been married for 10, does it *really* matter how many boyfriends i had prior to that? seems irrelevant..ho hum....next week its all about diversity and reflecting the child identity.....

laters all

kj


----------



## ritzi

hi all

so good to hear all your news - this board certainly moves fast though....as a newbie it's hard to keep up with it all..... 

yesterday i finally did the deed and posted our introductory letter to LA - so i'm delighted to say we've been waiting to adopt for 1 day!!!!! 

now that we've decided to go for it i can't believe we didn't before really, i'm still glad we did the IVF as they'll never be a 'what if', but boy have we wasted a few years! I just hope this process is as smooth as possible 

take care all, nichola.x


----------



## Milktray

I so wish that I had the time to read the whole of this post and put personals down for everyone, but I just don't....sorry!

Barbarella - the choice you made was the right one, you have to be 100% sure that the match is what you want for all parties concerned.

Ruthie - LOL at floating poop in bath, bless!!

Andrea - words fail me, so sorry to hear about your Furbaby

Alex - glad the viewing arrangements are sorted, at least BB is viewable again!!

Lettuce - welcome 

Laine - have fun with the family book

KJ - hope the book gets easier for you to do....

Sorry for not remembering everyone, but a big hello from me anyway.

AS for us, we are having to put the Home Study back by a couple of weeks as I have just been told that I have to go into hospital next week for abdominal surgery....it's been a long time coming, but the reality of it actually happening is scaring the poop out of me, you'd think after 4 ops I would be used to it by now - no such luck!!

Catch up soon

T x


----------



## Boomerang girl

hi just a quickie- lac left strawb unsettled so no sleep for last two nights- she has crashed and I am about to as well.

keemjay- there is a baaf book for relatives- grandparents etc. contact them I am sure they will pass on the details if it isn't already on the booklist i posted on the books thread.

ruthie- BRILL news about boo moving in. glad its you and not me with the poo in the bath- strawb did one in the health visitor's room today and she makes such a big deal, huffing and puffing and telling us!


----------



## Jo

Hi Keemjay
I got a book from BAAF for grandparents and other family 
The ISBN number is *ISBN 1 903699 39 8 Related by Adoption: A handbook for grandparents and other relatives *
I have passed it on to people that are close and want to know more about it 

Hope this helps.
I did see you can buy it from Amazon (and many more) for a little cheaper

Love Jo
x x


----------



## Ruthiebabe

Hi Ladies,

anyone got any experience with eczema? Boo gets it every now and then, and has a ongoing prescription for it. It's flared up again.....at least i think its that, although its on the trunk of his body rather than his usual inside elbows and wrists?? I'm trying to get his prescription, buit apparently his noted are mid-way through moving from his old GP to ours.....any and all advice welcome for my little scratcher!

xxxruthie


----------



## Jo

Hi Ruthie
I don't know if this help, but I know aqueous cream (you can buy it over the counter) is good for eczema.
I hope you find something that will help relieve poor Boo 

love Jo
x x


----------



## magenta

re: excema.

it sounds mad but put porridge oats (about a cupful) into the end of an old pair of tights and put it under the tap when you run his bath.  It makes the oats secret 'oat milk' - or whatever the proper term is) it makes the bath look milky and it smells a bit 'weird' first time but for some unknown reason it seems to help my excema a bit.  it means bathtime can be fun and part of the treatment (just dont use anything but E45 body wash or it will counteract the 'goodness') and was a hint i got from other sufferers.  it won't clear it but it helps it to be less flaky and itchy and will help til his papers are through.

HTH

maggie


----------



## cindyp

Hi Ruth

I'm an eczema sufferer myself since I was a baby (apparently I should have grown out of it but I haven't grown up yet  ).  Unfortunately this hot weather we've been having is just the thing to make it flare up.  The suggestions you've had (porridge oats bath and aqueous cream) are both good ones and hopefully will help until his prescription comes through.  Though be careful as a tub of aqueous cream looks like whipped ice cream so he might think it's something new to eat  .  Try and keep his nails as short as possible so he can't scratch his skin open.  For younger babies they normally suggest mittens.

I feel for your little son, I've been itching like mad and have had to have a stronger prescription, hopefully it won't be long until your GP can sort him out.

love
Cindy


----------



## Mummyof2

Hi Ruth - I get eczema on my hands if I use soap and it is very painful if left as it gets worse and worse.  I too swear by aqueous cream which you can buy from any chemist without prescription and very cheaply for a huge tub.


----------



## Jo

Hi Everyone
I wont be around very much if at all for the next 3 weeks as Pauls half brother is arriving today from New Zealand !!! ( one very excited DH here)  

Been so busy decorating, but everything is done, and looking nice, just waiting to pick them up, (also the house will look nice for the adoption agency) 

So just wanted to say Good Luck to everyone who are going to panel whilst I am away, and with meetings, visits and open evenings 

Speak to you all soon 

Love Jo
x x x


----------



## Laine

Hi everyone,

Alex - glad you got your tv/dvd sorted.  Looks like we will be getting a new tv as our tube is gooing and the tv keeps turning itself off/on, squicggly lines etc (v annoying).  Not long until you go to panel woohoo!

KJ - couldn't agree more about some of the things the sw's want to know being relevant. The Grandparents book from the BAAF that Jo suggests is a good one.  

Nichola - hope you hear from the LA soon.

T - hope the surgery goes ok next week.

Jo - enjoy the time with Paul's half brother.

Hi to everyone else.

No news here....except to say that I must finish the family album  

Laine


----------



## ritzi

hi all

i heard back from the SW - she wrote immediately and advised us to fill in the forms...and begin the CRB/medical checks. 

I was all set to go.....the forms arrived saturday morning so we sat in bed feeling very excited as we read through them, but in the LA pamphlet it says you must leave 6 months after any tx - so now i'm feeling very    and not sure whether to fill in the forms etc....

it's annoying as i asked the SW on the phone who said there was no wait - but as the brochure says 6months we suspect there is...and don't want to start and then have to stop as i've heard that 'looks bad' at panel!

i'm in a pickle really and don't know what to do for the best - dh says to call the SW manager and clarify our position - but i'm feeling a bit   about it all and just want to bury my head for now

any advice

Hope everyone else had a good weekend.....

nichola.x


----------



## everhopeful

Evening ladies, or should that be Morning?!!

Anyway, I've got a million and one things running through my head and can't sleep (nothing serious may I add!).

I've posted topic on "Girl & Boy Talk" - http://www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,60817.0.html

I'm needing any tips and ideas on.....
a pasta dish!

I know, sorry! Wondered if any of you experienced (erm?) wives, cooks, and general all-rounders, might be able to offer some help on my cooking (non) skills!

Thanks (and tomorrow night I'm promising myself an evening of counting sheep, or if all else fails, a bottle of gin (!) if I'm still non-sleeping!!)

x


----------



## Milktray

Nichola, don't feel disheartened, I would phone them up and have a chat. We were supposed to have had a 6mth wait beore commencing ours and it turned out that by the time they got round to seeing us and sorting out a prep course group it was longer than that anyway!  As it turned out we swapped LA's because of the huge delays, but in essence what I am trying to say is that sometimes the wait to start is counted towards your 6mth.

I would definitely call them though.

Jo enjoy your time with Paul's half brother - how exciting all the way from NZ.

Rutie - I hope you have managed to sort the excema a little bit....

Laine - good luck with the book....

Everhopeful - have posted on your other thread and am sending you some ZZZzzzzzzzzzz's !!

As for us, just the same filling out our portfolios ready for our 2nd visit on the 30th.  Although it will have to be DH on his own for this one as I will still be in hospital.....

Love to all

T x


----------



## Ruthiebabe

Hi,

nichola, I agree with milktray. what the SW said on the phone is more relevant and current than what the leaflet said. But do phone them to put yourself at ease too. 

Thanks also for the eczema tips. It seems to be getting a little better, although the GP didnt give us any hydrocortisone creams, just suggested trying all the different products on the market to see which one suits him best. Apparently you can only put the steroid cream on little areas of skin so we can't use it on the on his back and tummy. We've got a few in and can i ask....aquaeous cream: it this a moisturiser or something to put in the bath Also his creams seem to dry up quite fast so was thinking of putting a little vaseline on over his cream to keep it sealed in....is this a bad idea??

Apart from stress, which although he seems very happy and settled, he must have experienceed some of this last few weeks. Does anyone think the cat might have set off this allergy? For some reason i always thought they set of asthma rather than eczema, but am not sure?? Can't think of anythign esle really. Food is mostly the same, washing powder is the same

hope all the new daddy's on here had a good day yesterday. Boo got his dad a CD of hits from 80's movies....been singin along ever since.....i swear it was for daddy too!  

xxxruthie

Jo, have fun with your BIL. We've just finished decorating our house and its really nice to be able to sit back and admire it knowing you don't have to do anymore!


----------



## keemjay

just a quickie..ruthie...i think cats can make eczema worse ...but dont jump to any conclusions just yet..like you say it could just be the stress of the last few weeks..

aqueous cream is like a moisturiser.. so you can rub it all over his back and tummy...and you could put it over the top of his steroid cream if you wanted to seal it in..i personally dont like vaseline on eczema or anywhere for that matter as it is a petro-chemical 

kj x


----------



## wynnster

Hi All

Ruthie - sorry to hear about Boo's eczema and hope it continues to improve, both my sister and myself suffered badly when we was young up until we were about 3 and then it gradually improved and all we get now are the odd patches here and there for which we use E45. I hope Boo is the same and it improves with age.  I wouldn't use Vaseline on eczema either just incase  

Nichola - Give them a call to put your mind at rest

Laine - Hows the album coming along, I bet yours 'The album of all albums' with lots of sticky stuff and glitter etc etc   and I bet you're having a fab time doing it?

Jo - I hope you have a fabulous time with Pauls Brother, what an emotional time that will be for all    Can't wait to hear how it all went.

Nats - I suppose you have your hands full but I'm thinking of you lots an lots and hope snugs is settling in nicely  

Too many of you to name you all - But I am thinking of you all  

I have been reading all your updates but just haven't posted for ages as nothing new to tell, still nothing new to tell and i'm beginning to feel really down about it all  
The estate agents have been really bad not only becuase they haven't sold the house   but becuase they're just rude and really useless!  They now have 2 weeks notice of cancellation and we will go with another estate agents then.  
I thought we'd have heard from our SW by now so we could at least be having our medical and CRB check  to get those out the way and maybe put our names on the prep course waiting list........ I dont feel like I can phone and chase them though as we're no further forward in selling the house  

Kim xxx


----------



## Mummyof2

Nichola - ring sw to double check - it is her mistake not yours if she said you didn't have to wait but you do. Don't be embarrassed.

Ruthie - hydrocortisone creams contain steroids which thin the skin and are not therefore suitable on large areas. I wouldn't use them at all on a young child as their skin is thinner anyway. Aquaeous cream is an intensive moisturizer that you apply to the affected area and rub in. It is quickly absorbed which is what you want. Vaseline or baby oil is not absorbed by the skin so just sits on top and so doesn't work for eczema as it is petro-chemical based. Eczema damages the layers of the skin which is why you need a deep penetrating moisturizer. When you say his creams dry up fast could it be that they are doing their job and sinking in deeply? There are 2 kinds of eczema - my kind is called dermalogical eczema and is caused by my using a soap based product on my skin instead of a soap free product like carex handwash. Are you using bubble bath for sensitive skin on your child? If not, perhaps that is causing irritation. Many children are allergic to Johnson products believe it or not. It can be very drying. Washing powder is another main cause of eczema as you rightly say. Try swapping to Fairy or a non-biological washing powder as they are much kinder to the skin. Try using conditioner for sensitive skin - comfort do one in a white bottle for babies and toddlers. I am allergic to wool as well so check he hasn't been subjected to wool in a jumper for instance or blanket - fleece is best for little skin. Stress causes eczema flare-ups so it could be that he is reacting to being moved? Olatium has a whole range of things to ease eczema and some can be put in the bath to soothe and moisturise the skin - you get it from chemists. You may find the forum helpful at http://www.eczemavoice.com

Hi to everyone else. Nothing happening here. Sw sent an email to say we have not been forgotten as it is now one month since panel.


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## saphy75

Ruthie there is a natural product called Shea butter that is excellent for eczema but as it is obtained from the nut of an african shea tree i'm not sure whether it's suitable for young skin. i would do a web search for you but you'll probably apreciate time is an issue for me at the moment  

pam xx

P.s if you do want to try it you can purchase it through soap making supplies web sites


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## Ruthiebabe

ok thanks, will avoid the vaseline

i have been using a different moisturiser somethign-derm 500, but will give the aqua cream a try tonight. So far he's only worn clothes his FM washed for him, so it's not that. I use fairy non-bio already so that should be fine.    I'll give the cat another few days before seeing if he needs to be relegated!!

xxxruthie

PS will look up the shea cream.....soundsmore irish than african, but i guess then itd be o'shea cream!


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## ritzi

thank you all for your kind words.

i phoned the SW and they said basically it is 6 months, but the forms take a while and there will be a wait for initial interview because there are 6 couples in front of us. so by the time they get around to us it will be about 6 months from when our tx stopped (april 6). So now i know......

dh and i thought we were happy not to have any more treatment but now he's talking about maybe having the last FET before we send off the forms, he says that way we will not have frozen embies to worry about in 4 years time (we have 3 in storage).

so now i don't know what to do - i'd love to adopt but do see the sense of using the frozen embies first. I think we'll think about it for a while before sending the forms off as the last thing i want to do is mess people around etc......i'm realising now why most LA's say 6 months though - last month it was a definite no to any FET now i could probably be persuaded  

hope everyone else is doing okay, congrats on panel lauren

nichola.x


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## alex28

HI ladies - have not posted for a few days as modem is dead due to lightening etc so only logging on at work 

hope everyone is ok

Ruthie - hope boo's skin gets better - DH has psoriasis and uses the oats in the bath trick - when he remembers too!!!

not much time for personals as at work but hope all is well with everyone, im one week and counting for panel date so getting quite nervous etc - lots of thoughts in mind....got upset at weekend as saw Portland Babies and got upset thinking that i will never know what its like to be pregnant and give birth etc and wondered how i would feel about that in the future....can any of you ladies that have your children with you shed any light on these feelings please.  Its just so near and your mind is sooo active thinking about it all the time........
thanks in advance. xx


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## cindyp

Just a quickie as DH is due home from work any moment.

Alex, Spauly asked the same sort of thing in her thread "New".  I can't talk for anybody else but I occasionally get those twinges but I don't think it's any different from anybody who occasionally feels "broody".  Unfortunately it was the anniversary of my m/c last week and I found out that my BIL and his wife are expecting twins through IVF which made me feel a bit wistful.  My sister has one child but can't have another because being pg caused her cancer and she also gets times when she wished she could have a baby.

However despite occasionally being a terror I love my DS to bits and am so glad to have him.  Although I won't deny that I would have loved the tx to have worked, I'm glad I called it a day and went for adoption.  The baby stage doesn't last very long and I don't think it would have been worth delaying having a family to spend loads of money trying to get pg again.

Going to panel is a bit like getting married, the closer it gets the more you realise what you're getting into and it's perfectly natural to have last minute doubts and worries.  

love to all
Cindy


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## Ruthiebabe

Hi alex,

i had those feelings too. It was worse than the cold feet i had before my wedding. I even started worrying before Boo moved in about why we were doing this, and wouldn't life be easier on another path. But almost a week into him being here, and its soooo good. One of my best friends gave birth this morning to a baby boy, and all i felt was happy for her (not a trace of sadness for myself, a first!). And i also felt a little sorry for her.....her epidural would have been wearing off by the time she got my msg, and her 4 months of sleepless night coming up, and all that before she gets a smile. 

Anyway I'm becoming very wise in my week into motherhood.....i've learned 2 things today. The first is that you never, never give a 2 year old branflakes.....it literally goes right throught them....twice! The second was where i was beign a little naughty (i sneaked my hose into Boo's new paddling pool), anyway I quickly realised that you shouldn't let a 2 year old control the hose.....he manage to accidentally point it at me, and then froze when i started yelping at being soaked, and no matter which way i moved to get to him he turned in my direction to see what i was doing.....keeping the hose pointing in my direction.   

anyway, enough waffle,
see you soon,
XXXXXRuthie


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## KarenM

Just quickly to say Hi.  Had intended to update the list tonight but I'm pooped.  Have had a really hectic day at work (was late getting the girls from nursery as hadn't realised the time) and then all stressed out with the footie.

Am on hols from Friday to 4th July so will make sure we are up to date before then.

TTFN
Karen x


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## lettuce

Hi everyone.

Gosh there are so many on here, I am getting lost  

Thank you too all those that welcomed me here.

LAine: Hope the album is coming on nicely

Ruthie: You made me laugh  with the story of boo and the hose, I can't wait to tell stories like that of my own.

Well I have a bit of news already   Yesterday we received a letter to say thanks for coming to the open evening and to say that a SW will be in contact soon to arrange an initial meeting. Well in todays post a letter arrives to say that a SW has been given our details and will be calling to arrange an appointment for our initial meeting very soon. 

OOOHHHH I am sooo excited.

Lettuce


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## superal

Hi everyone

Not posted in a while as still trying to get over the loss of one of our pet dogs, it's amazing the effect a dog can have on you.  Thankyou to everyone for your kind messages, myself & my family are OK, a bit sad   but OK & life does go on!

So nice to read everyone's news, a lot can happen in a week, can't it!

Struggled to keep up with everyones news but think I've managed it.

Alex- like veryone else has already said, your feelings are normal & we all go through that stage of thinking "WHAT IF".  I did have those feelings as well, you wouldn't be normal if you didn't but as soon as we adopted DS & DD those feelings of wanting to be pg & giving birth soon vanished.  As lovely as pregnancy is I didn't want stretch marks & sleepless nights so I think we did the right thing & do not regret adoption for one moment.  I'd love to adopt again but DH doesn't!

Ruth - Life sounds wonderful with Boo, hope the advice on what creams etc have worked and your enjoying being a Mummy.

Boomer - hope things are OK with you & your family.

Pam - Hope your getting a bit more sleep now & your DS is settling in nicely.  Hope the dog doesn't wake him up again.

Karen - I bet your little girls wondered what had happened to you when you were late picking them up BUT the look on their faces when they saw you must have been priceless, they would have just been glad to have their Mummy & will have forgotten you were late.  Try & relax & enjoy your holiday.  Have to agree about the excitement over the England match, we should have won 2 -1 but a draw is good enough, roll on Sunday!

Hope everyone is OK, sorry no more time for personals, house work is calling!

Love
Andrea
xx


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## naoise

Hi girls

Superal nice to see you back on the boards, hope you are well

Lettuce sounds like everything is going really well for you long may it continue.

Ruthie sounds like you and Boo had a great time in the garden.

I spoke to my sw last week and she says we are definitely going to panel on the 14th of September if there had have been an August panel we would have been there but unfortunately there isn't so we will just have to wait. My dh had another xray on his back and he actually has broken vertebrae so he is wearing a back brace which he has to wear for 3 months, so he is gutted as we go on holiday in two weeks and he is not allowed to do anything, and we had really been looking forward to this holiday, as it could be our last holiday as a couple for a long time. Oh well!

Hope everyone is well.

LOL KELi


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## Lauren

Hi everyone,

I am finding it so difficult to keep up with everybody on here having been away over the weekend and then panel, etc so going to struggle to do personals today I'm afraid!

But did just want to tell anyone who is interested that we saw Robbie Williams in concert in Paris on Saturday night and he was looking utterly gorgeous!!!  I was very, very excited and acting like a totally obssessed groupie especially when he sung Angels and came round out to the edge of the stage really close to me!!  And of course he was singing just to me!  Anyway he was soooooo good that I came home and after the relief and celebrations (and bottle of champagne) after getting through panel, I bought two tickets in the "inner circle" (bit right by the stage!) to see him again in Milton Keynes in September!

Apologise for my waffle to anyone he is not remotely interested in Robbie!

Will catch up with everyone SOON!

Lots of love
Lauren xxx


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## superal

Hi Keli

I was sorry to read that your DH had been knocked off his motorbike, I know exactly how you must have felt as my DH got knocked of his about 2 years ago.  His injuries were nothing like your DH has but he had to stay in hospital over night because he had an internal bleed & they could not locate from where it was coming from.

He is over cautious when he now rides his own bike but rides a   motorcycle for a living, can you imagine that poor persons face when my DH is lay on the ground & he informs the bloke whose knocked him of that he is a a off duty police man!

I hope your DH will be on the road to recovery soon, no pun intended!

Love
Andrea
xx

PS Lauren - your post made me smile  something I've not done for a while so thanks!  Of course we LOVE Robbie.

PPS - BUT not as much as Simon Le Bon, hey Barbarella, what do you say!!


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## Mummyof2

Keli - glad to hear that your dh is on the mend.  Sounds like he had a very narrow escape - thank goodness.

Superal - good to hear that you are feeling a bit brighter.  It is awful when you lose a pet.  We had one of our cats put to sleep with cancer last summer.  

Lauren - sounds like a great concert.  I went to see Take That at the NEC the other month and they were brill.

Ruthie - thanks for sharing the hose story. Had me in stiches.  I had the same thing happen to me but in the shower and ds was holding the shower head and I got soaked  

Karen - sounds like you are overdue a nice rest and relax.

No news here, 'cept kitten is just great.


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## KarenM

New home this way......

http://www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,61110.0.html

Karen x


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