Today’s question is one of the first questions I asked when we decided to adopt. Many people spread outdated information saying that China adoptions take seven or ten years. While this may have been true for some people (in the past), it is not true for us or the dozens of other adoptive families we’ve connected with.
It’s my biggest pet peeve when people get turned off from adoption because they hear one negative fact or story- especially when a lot of the time it’s untrue or lacking context. So with that said- let’s talk about timelines!
Q: How long did your adoption take?
A: Our adoption took eighteen months from the day our application was accepted by Holt to the day Nova was in our arms in China.
We were first time parents-to-be who had been trying to conceive for several years, so throughout our entire adoption process I felt like I wished I had started sooner or had a way to speed it up. I was very anxious and more than ready. In hindsight, a year and a half is not that long. The beginning stages of our paperwork were fairly delayed and it was very emotional for me. Everyone told me that it would be over soon and that we’d be matched with the perfect child for our family. I thought it was annoying and cliche in the moment- but now I see that they couldn’t have been more correct.
We were pretty far back in the line of families waiting to be matched (maybe like 50th or 60th?) when Nova’s spotlight email appeared in our email box, but it was our destiny and after we matched with her the final few months before traveling to meet her sped by.
We have many friends who were matched super quickly, but of course these people were open to more serious medical conditions and a bigger range of ages. These factors can make a huge difference!
Currently I think they say China adoptions have around a two year wait. It can be longer or shorter depending on the age range, gender and special needs your family is open to. There is currently a shorter wait time for boys than there is for girls. Every program is a little bit different, and even the China program can change a lot from year to year so the best way to get information is to call an agency (I’ll share ours at the bottom of this post) for a free informational phone call.
For our second adoption we have no idea what our wait will be because we are specifically hoping to adopt another child with albinism. I talked more in detail about that in this post.
If you only hear one thing I am saying remember this- all adoptions are different. If anyone tells you that all adoptions take a really long time they are misinformed. There are definitely programs that are quicker or slower, but don’t let it discourage you. Get all the facts before you make your own decision.
We spent eighteen months wishing for this moment every day (and honestly, a lot of years before that). I still feel the weight of that every day and feel so thankful to have Nova in our lives.
If you are considering a private domestic adoption, I recommend reading Kelly’s adoption story. Actually- read it either way… it’s so beautiful!
Considering adoption? Our agency, Holt International, is happy to talk you through different options for adoption (it’s free and there is zero commitment). Holt has adoption programs for China, Korea, Vietnam, Colombia, Thailand, the Philippines, Haiti and India. You can get in touch with them by clicking here.
