"The Wait"

11. Do what Mormon women do best – quilt! OK, that’s a joke. At least to me. I couldn’t quilt to save my life and have to feign illness to save myself from humiliation on quilting Enrichment Nights. But whatever “crafty” things you may know how to do, or whatever hobbies you’re interested [...]

9. Take a vacation. Everyone knows that finances can be tight in the midst of an adoption, but even if you can’t afford a deluxe Caribbean cruise, you can still plan a last couple-only (or smaller family-only) fling. Putting your plans off into the future a bit (but not so far that they could [...]

7. Diet/exercise. This is “do as I say and not as I do” case. My goal with each adoption has been to LOSE as much weight as I would have gained if I were pregnant, so about 30 pounds. For the sake of full disclosure, I haven’t reached my goal [...]

5. Let someone throw you a shower. Even if you don’t know exactly the age and gender of the child you’ll be adopting, a shower is practically a rite of passage for expectant moms and shouldn’t be denied them just because they happen to be adopting an 8 year old. If you know the [...]

3. Decorate the nursery or bedroom (or bedrooms if you’re like me and add a few at a time)! Again, some people think this is bad luck, but if you’re one of them – get over it! It’s fun! Yes, I had to come home from a failed adoption to an empty bed [...]

No matter what form of adoption you may be pursuing, chances are there’s a lot of waiting involved. Sometimes we try to console ourselves with the knowledge that human gestation is a nine-month process (so we should be able to stand to wait THAT long, right?), but with China adoptions creeping up toward a [...]