Wait Date = 12/31/07

The agency granted us the wait date of 12/31/07 as long as we got them the new letter of reference ASAP. It was in their hands as of yesterday morning. The expected time frame is 14 - 18 months as of now. Surely it will increase. The longest waiter for an infant girl has been waiting for 15 months now. I think those particular referrals have been taking at least 16 months.

Baby M turns 1 in 4 months. I cannot believe it! He is still not sleeping through the night. The new doc. is having us try a new formula. It's hypoallergenic (Enfamil Nutramigen). Just for a comparison the formula we have been buying (I am not a formula snob) costs us $14 for a 26 oz can. This new stuff costs $27 for a 16 oz can. I know we cannot afford to keep him on the stuff, but we are trying it for a week to see if it makes any difference. Unfortunately, he does seem to be sleeping better (so it must be working). We are pushing the baby food, so he learns to eat solids faster. If he's not so dependent on the formula, maybe he will do better - I don't know. The thought behind this new formula is that he has a sensitivity to the proteins in the milk and soy based formula. The nutramigen is milk based, but something in it prohibits the protein to break apart in the digestive tract causing less of a system irritation. So obviously I should have just breastfed the kid. What was I thinking trying to get my body back to myself - how selfish!

Randomness...

Baby M has a tooth that has popped through the skin. He is doing well. He's almost ready to crawl, I think we may have to get a corral when this happens. Flippity amazes me everyday. He is a great 5 year old boy who is sensitive to most everyones feelings at all times. I wish all parents could have one child like him. I am exhausted. Just from life in general. I got an A in my A&P class. The second half of it starts Jan 15. I wish I loved to learn the way I do now 10 years ago.

Adoption news: CIS approval as of 12/31. For those who may not know all the fun stuff about the process - in our agency the dossier AND CIS (fingerprint) approval must be done before you can get on the waiting list for a referral. Our dossier was sent Dec.10. The normal time frame for reviewing a dossier is 7-10 days. We got a call saying that the dossier had been approved, and we were just waiting for the fingerprint approval. So we got the CIS form in the mail and I faxed it right over (loving in my mind that we were now on the wait-list as of 12-31). I faxed it yesterday 1-4-08. We got an e-mail later in the day stating that one of our reference letters (written by my sister) was no good. Evidently reference letters must be from a non-family member. Does it state this in the instructions? Oh no. My last dossier included a reference letter from the same person - no problem. So to wrap it up, now our dossier is NOT complete or accepted so we are NOT on the waiting list. I asked a good friend to write a letter, and I know she will do it ASAP. It's just that one day difference on the wait list equals a month for a referral, in most cases. So imagine what an extra week means. I know there is nothing I can do about it. It makes me mad that somebody drops the ball when I have worked so hard and furiously to make sure all bases are covered. Not to mention what these people are being paid to do their job. Do you think they could make an exception in our case since it took them nearly 3 weeks to find the issue in the dossier? Who knows, I have yet to get up the courage to e-mail bring this issue to their attention.