Our Adoption
We adopted our daughter Madalyn from Guatemala in 2004. Madalyn is healthy and on target developmentally. She does not have any special needs. She was placed in foster care immediately after being born, so she was not in an orphanage.
We received pictures and medical information for Madalyn as soon as we accepted the referral. She was one week old when we accepted it. We were provided pictures and medicals at 2, 4, and 6 weeks as well as 4 months old. We were able to meet with Madalyn's foster mother when we visited her at 10 weeks and when she was placed with us at 5 months. It gave us peace of mind to receive these updates and to meet her foster mother and receive reassurance that she was being well taken care of during the process.
When we went to Guatemala we didn't expect to stay so long, we were supposed to be going for a visit trip when our daughter was 5 months old (we visited her for 10 days when she was 10 weeks old). We were only supposed to stay a week and we decided we couldn't say goodbye again and stayed one month until we could bring her home.
When we first saw Madalyn she was 10 weeks old. We visited her in Guatemala for 10 days. It was love at first sight for us. I looked into her big brown eyes and that was it. She was tiny and beautiful and we were overjoyed to finally meet our daughter.
While in Guatemala, we met several other families that were also adopting. It was nice to compare stories and to meet all of the beautiful children. We continue to remain in contact with some of those families.
Madalyn was 5 months old when she was placed into our arms forever. She was smiley and happy that very first day. We stayed with her at the hotel for one month. The first week was an adjustment as we established feeding and sleeping schedules.
When we came home, there was an adjustment period for the whole family, but especially for our son Braden. He was 5 when she came home. We had a lot of jealousy issues and acting out from him. We let him know how special he is and planned special time for him. We also allowed him to help so he would feel included.
Madalyn is now 21 months old. She is healthy and happy. She says several words, loves to play with her magna doodle, sidewalk chalk and loves Elmo. She has completed our family and we can't imagine life with out her.
Thank you to A Child Waits Foundation
for your assistance.
Shane & Angela Norman