Questions, Questions.....

We get asked lots of questions so I'll answer some of the more common ones

Is our child born yet?
Answer: She probably is. While our daughter could be up to 2 yrs. old, the vast majority of children are 7 to 12 months old at the time of referral and 9 to 14 months when the come home with their new families.

What's a referral?
Answer: A referral is when families get notification and information about the child they are matched with. A referral usually has a brief write up discribing the child, any medical information that is available and 2 or 3 small wallet sized photos. 1 is usally a passport style photo and the other 2 are usually "staged" with the child sitting on a seat or toy.

Do you get to choose your child?
Answer: No. The CCAA matches families with children. I don't think anyone really knows how, but rumour has it they do the matches based on lots of factors such as physical characteristics, birthdates, behaviors ie; active children go with active families, etc. Once a family gets a referral, they do have to officially accept or decline that referral. This usually involves first meeting with a local doctor to review the medical information provided.

When will you get your referral?
Answer: I wish I knew. At the time our dossier was logged into the CCAA in China, the wait was 7-8 months from Log In Date to referral. Since that time, things seem to have slowed down somewhat at that end and sadly, the wait is a little longer. With what we know now about how things have been progressing, I'd like to say we will get referral in January or February and travel 6-7 weeks later, but I'm learning that this process can change quite quickly so we don't really know.

Are the babies all in orphanages?
Answer: Most are, but some are in foster care with local families until they are adopted. Foster care is better for the babies for obvious reasons, but also, if she is in foster care, it will make the initial transition more difficult for her, but will be much better for her in the long run as she will likely have learned how to bond and attach to a caregiver or family. Bonding and attaching is generally more difficult for babies that have been only in orphanages as they have had very little personal cuddling and attention due to the high ratio of caregivers to babies. We have been busy researching, learning and preparing for these scenarios.

Do you have to go to China?
Answer: Yes - we will spend almost 2 weeks in China and it will be a great experience learning and and interacting in a different culture. This will be such a great opportunity to learn as much as we can about her life before us, to see where she's from, learn more about her culture, etc. We typically land in Beijing, then travel to her provnce on the 2nd or 3rd day. The remainder of that week will be spent in her province to finalize the adoption process and meet all the requirements of the Chinese government. The second week will be in Beijing where the Canadian consulate is. That week is to get passports, immigration documents, travel visa for baby to come to Canada, etc.

Do you travel alone or in a group?
Answer: We travel as a group. Typically, we meet all the group members in Vancouver before flying out and have the long flight to get to know each other a bit better. Some of us will have already met thru email and for alot of Ontairo people, they try to meet up before travelling. Once in China, we may get separated to go to different orphanages, but we always have a guide with us to help with the language barrier and to help us with any problems we have. We also have lots of organized activities like touring the Great Wall and local attractions in her province.

Do the babies speak Chinese? Answer: The babies speak baby talk.