Getting close?
Two agencies have now verified that matching has begun.
They are oftentimes mailed shortly after we hear that they are matching. Not always, but more often than not.
Comments
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Note from RQ: The section below is for comments from ChinaAdoptTalk.com's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that I agree with any particular comment just because I let it stand. Posts are generally only removed if they don't follow the rules of the site. Anyone who fails to comply with the rules of the site may lose his or her posting privilege. 172 Responses to “Getting close?”Leave a ReplyYou must be logged in to post a comment. |
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December 27th, 2007 at 2:39 pm
Our agency has also posted on their site that they believe matching has begun, but they don’t know any dates yet.
December 27th, 2007 at 2:42 pm
To quote Molly from Annie, “oh my goodness oh my goodness!”
lj
12/20/05
December 27th, 2007 at 3:51 pm
Still matching gives me a little hope!
12/20/05
December 27th, 2007 at 4:06 pm
Oh my gosh!!! I’m completely syked! I wasn’t expecting referrals until 1/4…and now it could be much earlier than that! WOOHOO!!! Now, if only we knew the cutoff!
12/20/05
December 27th, 2007 at 4:10 pm
WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!YIPPPPPEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!
This is sooooo exciting,my hear is racing a mile a min.!!!
lid dec.19th/05
December 27th, 2007 at 4:42 pm
Our agency also says that they believe CCAA is working on the next set of matches but do not know the LID’s to be included.
December 27th, 2007 at 5:28 pm
any idea what the cutoff might be???
December 27th, 2007 at 6:44 pm
Since the first rumors reported that the 19th or 20th were counted in, does anyone have a good feel that they could go farther than the 20th?
I would so like them to go farther than my own personal prediction of the 20th but I know better than to get my hopes up.
Let’s hope it is a really happy New Year!
2/6/06
December 27th, 2007 at 7:31 pm
My agency hasn’t said a word yet, but what a terrific belated Christmas present to be thankful for!
After waiting two long years, I can’t believe how nervous I am now that it appears our time has come.
Our first daughter Yuanlu is totally jazzed about welcoming her new sister home…
Once we actually get ther referral, I hope the wait for TA and consulate appt won’t be too long too!!
Waiting for Eden…
LID 12/19/2005
December 27th, 2007 at 8:46 pm
Can I ask a quick question while we wait for this batch? Is the CCAA in Bejing? Is it possible that the rumor of no 08/01/08 and 09/01/08 referrals could be true since it’s been reported that no one will be working during the Olympics? I’m curious because we are LID 3/13/06 and I think we might fall into that timeframe. I wouldn’t mind if Bejing were taken out of the itinerary for that reason, but where exactly do the referrals get mailed from? Thanks! Good luck to all the December LID’s - crossing all my fingers and toes………
December 27th, 2007 at 11:24 pm
Sorry for bad news. Our agency just told us today we won’t be getting a referral this time (LID 12/20/05). At least we know we’re next! Bummer…
December 27th, 2007 at 11:31 pm
Chinagirl, we must have the same agency, I checked the website and ours also say that they believe ccaa has started matching but do not know what lid’s are included.
My heart is wanting to wish so badly for them to make a decent amount of matches this time, but I don’t want to set my self up for heartache again. No more roller coasters for me, it takes to much out of me each month. I am sticking sadly to the 19th that way anything beyond that would definitely lift my spirits once again.
Congrats to all those who will get to see their babies faces real soon, And to everyone ” I hope you have a wonderful NEW YEAR”
Waiting for Savannah
1-27-06
December 27th, 2007 at 11:34 pm
Oh minnie are they positive??? i’m so sorry!!
(((BIG HUGS)))
December 28th, 2007 at 12:18 am
Wow minnie, I’m sorry to hear that. Keep the faith it still may happen. I asked my agency today if they are expecting referrals in the next batch. They said yes they are expecting to receive referrals. They said their next group has a LID of Dec 20th. So…..according to them they are expecting to receive them for the dec 20th group.
Of course it is hard to trust anything until they are actually here.
I’m still hoping for the 20th and beyond. Come on China, give us a little Chrismas present!!!!
December 28th, 2007 at 12:27 am
Only getting to the 19th just wouldn’t make sense. As bad as it has been, and we know it has been bad, it has never only included 33 RQ families. (I am going by the Aug, 2007 poll with that number, since we know what the general trends have been with that poll.) I know the 20th seems large, but I don’t know if I can take it much longer if they don’t at least get through it.
December 28th, 2007 at 1:07 am
Mcwannab: No, it wouldn’t make sense, but unfortunately adopting NSN now is a nonsensical process. ;-( So I’d expect worst case scenario. The wait will not decrease.
December 28th, 2007 at 6:44 am
Here in Spain one rumor-page is saying the 19th. is probably the next cut. Sorry to transmit bad news.
December 28th, 2007 at 11:23 am
Has anyone heard anything about TA’s?
December 28th, 2007 at 11:47 am
For those of you who have 12/20 LIDs, I don’t know how you get anything done. We have a 6/10/06 LID and I can’t focus at all.
I will probably be on medication by then.
My prayers are for lots of referrals.
Susan
December 28th, 2007 at 1:40 pm
Man, I just can’t believe that the cut-off is PROBABLY going to be the 19th. It is unreal. And it is such a bummer that the people who will make the cut-off this time will (as has been the case the last several months) have this unhappy backdrop to their big day.
Nancy :(
December 28th, 2007 at 1:41 pm
scdelacruz,
You become numb. It is that simple. You don’t feel anything. Actually, with a 6/10/06 LID, I would think you were already feeling numb from all of this.
*sigh*
January is going to be a VERY long month.
LID 12/20/05
December 28th, 2007 at 2:18 pm
I spoke to my agency today. Our facilitator is in China now. They said China has matched to the 19th not the 20th!Our LID is 12/20/05 and they said we would get our referral at the end of Jan.
December 28th, 2007 at 3:36 pm
Unbelievable ! The CCAA is sending less and less referrals … Should we be seeing the writing on the wall ???!!! …
Ray :-(
December 28th, 2007 at 3:39 pm
So in a years time, the CCAA has coverd from 9/28/05 - 12/19/05? Not even 3 full months!
December 28th, 2007 at 3:41 pm
it’s very hard to understand sometime why things move so slow. 9-16-06. i was hoping for christmas 2008. i’m glad i didn’t do her room over yet, it would be hard to walk by it every day.
December 28th, 2007 at 3:44 pm
it’s hard to understand sometimes why things are so slow. i’m glad i did not do over her room yet. it would be hard to walk bt it every day. i was hoping for for christmas 2008. 9-16-06..hey mcwannab, i did not realize this, i’m kind of new to this site, only 3 months to a year??????
December 28th, 2007 at 4:10 pm
I don’t know if I am being a pessimist…or a realist…but I think CCAA will get to the 19th in this batch (January), and because of the large size of the 12-20-05 LID, only get through the 20th for the following batch (February). Then it will take two more batches (March and April) to get through the rest of December. I really hope I am wrong (my LID is late DEC)…but I am preparing for the worst. If CCAA has only covered less then 3 months in one year, I don’t think we are in for any miracles or a speed up. I really hope I’m wrong, but I just don’t see it.
December 28th, 2007 at 4:44 pm
Hmmm. An email we received last week from our agency makes more sense now. Apparently power in their bldg was scheduled to be out this week. They said someone would be around to handle emergencies but didn’t think it would affect referrals, etc. Maybe that’s because with their next LID being the 20th, THEY WEREN’T EXPECTING ANY!!!!! Ugh. This whole thing is getting so old.
December 28th, 2007 at 5:12 pm
A rumor is probably the 19th. Someone with the 20th, said
they will not be receiving a referral.
December 28th, 2007 at 5:18 pm
I agree with Maisey13. I think that December is going to take 6 months in total to refer out. I hope I am wrong.
December 28th, 2007 at 5:26 pm
Only getting to the 19th is a really really bad sign. At least the other small batches had big days in them. As a 12/20 I’m pretty naseous but if I had a LID beyond that I’d be naseous AND worried.
December 28th, 2007 at 5:30 pm
This is a nightmare. Just a nightmare. 5 days of LIDs. Really 3 — a weekend is in there.
SIGH.
Lisa.
LID: 12.20.06
December 28th, 2007 at 5:33 pm
IT SEEMS LIKE FOREVER NOW, I’M 9-16-06 IT’S VERY HARD TO UNDERSTAND SOMETIMES WHY IT IS SO SLOW.
December 28th, 2007 at 5:39 pm
I am still in denial about a dec 19th cutoff. I have to believe it is some kind of mistake. It is just so ludicrous to believe that such a small batch is possible — it’s basically three days and they are ALL small. It makes no sense.
I wonder if RQ is not posting because she is speechless like the rest of us. Really there are no words for something like this.
December 28th, 2007 at 5:54 pm
I am feeling a bit numb, too. I know I should be thankful that we will still be next, but this wait is so hard. I never knew that the last few months of waiting would be so difficult. Now, we just have to figure out more ways to stay busy for another month of waiting.
12-20-05
http://www.oneworld-onelove.com
December 28th, 2007 at 6:27 pm
RQ-
Do you get emails from people when they withdraw from the China program? I’m wondering how many have dropped out given the long wait over the last couple of years.
LID 01/19/06
December 28th, 2007 at 7:00 pm
I’m really saddened that the wait is stretching out so much. Does anyone know what the matchers do when they aren’t matching? It seems like it has to be a pretty sporadic job these days.
December 28th, 2007 at 7:08 pm
Mcwannab…..I totally hear you…not even three months = one year???….if 2008 is the same case then we can just shut the computer down for a year and tune in Dec 2008…CCAA should be about at March 19, 2006….maybe we’ll get out referral about in thirteen months time….ugh…at least it saves us alot of ??’s and misery…I just can’t say it any more different…the negativity is just too much.. each month we go thru the same stuff… I work in mental health and not sure why we put ourselves thru this demeaning ritual….I am aware it is our choice to come and visit this site, but I find I have to limit my visits…I very much doubt there will ever be a speed up… and nothing +ve…chinese torture at its best…LID March 17, 2006
December 28th, 2007 at 8:21 pm
If it’s true that the 19th is the cutoff, consider this: Since the CCAA doesn’t ever send out referrals for partial days, it’s quite likely that they are matching a good deal of the 20th this time but not sending the 20th out because they cannot finish it. They will hold back all of the 20th until next month when they are able to finish up the batch. Since it seems like the 20th is very large, I suspect this may be a possibility.
December 28th, 2007 at 8:49 pm
According to the last RQ poll results (on the poll results page), the last batch of referrals sent out/covered 98 voters. If the CCAA only gets to the 19th this go round, that means, by comparsion on the (same) RQ poll, the CCAA would only have gotten through 33 voters. I realize that not everyone waiting votes in the RQ polls, but just as a vague ad-hoc comparsion, referring only through the 19th would be dismal! Truly, if that happens, and we only get through the 19th, I think that OUR agencies need to start getting us some answers. Oh, wait a sec, our agencies don’t do that….
December 28th, 2007 at 9:30 pm
Amycate, It seems like that would be against their policy of doing everything for the children. How can holding referrals already matched be in their best interests?
December 28th, 2007 at 9:38 pm
I personally think what amycate suggests is quite possible..
DeRedJewels..I agree with you, but if the baby’s are young, the CCAA might not see this as a problem or against their best interests…
Hoping for more than the 19th…
December 28th, 2007 at 10:01 pm
Gee. The 19th would mean we are looking at a referral batch that is worse that the “horrid” scenario??? How sad.
Jude
LID 2-06-06
December 28th, 2007 at 10:23 pm
My heart goes out to all those that are so close and yet so far…. but hang in there - it took me 5 years to finally get my darling daughter in my arms (Australian system…) so I know what it is to wait but if I had it do over again I wouldn’t change a thing I would be prepared for a 5 year wait - otherwise I would never have got my precious Cate.
so from someone who has had the wait you can survive it - do everything you want to do as you a) won’t want to do them when you get your child b) won’t have the time so if there is a trip you want to do -do it, or theatre, or movies or that great bag you have seen - go buy it……
One tip I could give you for those with a later LID - don’t do the nursery until much closer to your LID - I started Cate’s in the January and got referral less than a month later. It just means you aren’t looking at an empty nursery for years….
Congrats to all those families that will hopefully soon have the call
December 28th, 2007 at 10:24 pm
Jude - what a thought! What is worse than horrid? The toilet scenario? :)
December 28th, 2007 at 10:36 pm
We just got our TA today (12-12-05) While we were there, our small agency said they received one referral today also…congrats to all of those who are about to see their babies’ faces for the first time No word on the family’s LID or the cut off…sorry
December 28th, 2007 at 11:08 pm
stvericasheets,
I was wondering if you could PM or email me if you are with a west coast agency or which one?? Dying to know where referrals have hit!!! If you hear anything else let us know! Thanks.
bbpop
popcultureinc@ca.rr.com
December 28th, 2007 at 11:11 pm
Is anyone else unable to access the CCAA website?????
December 28th, 2007 at 11:34 pm
It came up just fine for me. Maybe just a glitch at the time.
December 28th, 2007 at 11:52 pm
What an awesome New Year’s gift this would be! You all have waited sooo long, and I hope CCAA has a miraculously large batch in store!
C (waiting for LOA on my waiting son)
http://www.k6comehome.blogspot.com
December 29th, 2007 at 12:25 am
sigh, 12/19 = beyond horrid.
Do we have a rating on how certain the 19th as cutoff is?
December 29th, 2007 at 1:38 am
I don’t think RQ has given it a rating yet but I feel sure that that is it because I think my agency knows for sure at this point. My agency only has one LID a month and for Dec it’s 12/20 which is ours and we are not included in this batch.
And as upset as I am- horrid would actually be that they just close up all together and there is NO SIGN OF that happening now…..I do think those of us with 12/20 will get our referrals in a month or so.
Whatever! ARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGG
December 29th, 2007 at 9:51 am
RQ
So what is your prediction for the Feb referrals? Will they occur or not because of CNY?
LID 2/9/06
December 29th, 2007 at 10:49 am
When is China New Year this year ???
Ray.
December 29th, 2007 at 11:02 am
DeRedJewels,
Think about it. Each month orphanages send the CCAA the files they have ready (the number of which varies each month). And then the CCAA matches. CCAA never sends out a partial LID day. Do you think that each month the orphanages just miraculously send the EXACT number of child files to match full LIDs and not one more or one less? Of course not. I am pretty sure that EVERY month the CCAA matches all the babies they get, but then only send out the ones on LIDs that are completed. Some months that may mean that there are just one or two babies that have to wait an additional month. But some months where there is a HUGE day (like Dec. 20), they may actually have a lot of babies that have to wait another month, since they can’t finish matching the entire LID. I really don’t think the CCAA would think that holding them back one more month is a bad thing.
So what I’m getting at, is that IF the 19th is the cut-off, they may have actually matched more than what the poll indicates, but are just not sending them until they can finish the whole 20th. It’s just a guess, but if I’m right, then the cut-off wouldn’t be quite as dire in terms of new trends. We would have to wait until February to see how far they get in order to know for sure.
December 29th, 2007 at 11:51 am
Chinese New Year is February 7th this year, Ray. It’s turning to year of the Rat! :)
December 29th, 2007 at 11:56 am
This feels insane!!!
I’d be happy for a roller coaster. I feel like I’m on one of those free fall rides only nobody is applying the breaks and we just keep falling.
Each month we rationalize out why the batches are so small and we keep pushing back the month when we see the new pattern for referrals emerge and it never happens.
6 months to get through December? Please, somebody correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t December much smaller than November? From the poll it seemed to me that January is ramping up to be much bigger than previously thought. Bigger than December, right?
Somebody apply the breaks!!!!
December 29th, 2007 at 12:22 pm
Waiting4Ash, you have totally captured the experience for me. You are so right, it hasn’t really been a roller coaster in months, just a free fall. The only thing that makes it feel like a roller coaster is having hope each month that things will improve. If you remove the hope piece, it is just a free fall where we don’t know if the breaks work or not.
December 29th, 2007 at 12:48 pm
Waiting4Ash, I was thinking the same thing. If Jan. is bigger than Dec. than should we expect Jan to take more than 6 months + to get through???????? I hope not! I am so beyond sad by the thought of that.
December 29th, 2007 at 1:46 pm
Amycate, I think that what you are saying is very valid.
LID 10/17/06
December 29th, 2007 at 1:48 pm
WaitingforAsh — I think we all thought that december was smaller than November but, in the current environment, it doesn’t seem to matter. If they keep lowering the IA quota, the size of the month no longer matters.
No matter how big the 20th is, they SHOULD have been able to make it though that day based on recent batch sizes. what is so shocking is that they seem to be doing the exact OPPOSITE of what we all expected. Ok, the 15 day batches were a fairytale — that seems clear now — but at least we hoped that the smaller months would go faster. But no, now that we are in a ’smaller’ month, they seem to be going even slower. It’s crazy-making. And it’s also a terrible sign for the future.
I’m amazed that anyone can see anything positive in this. i wish i could!
December 29th, 2007 at 2:42 pm
As a fellow mid 2006 LID I recognize we have a long long wait in front of us, and it makes me think this:
The bar on the worst we can expect could definitely go lower, and perhaps it’s about to. And if so, it signals for many of us who expected to renew the paperwork once, that perhaps not only did we have 2 trips for fingerprints, but a definite 3rd one coming up.
Lastly… the idea that the 20th was so big they couldn’t get through it and include this one day this batch is a lot like the wishful thinking of how things have been hoped for in the past when referral time being so tiny let us all down. Once we get to look back on the month we were let down by, we start to see it as the new norm, hence, the bar gets lowered again.
I”m a skeptic that the reason, if it’s true and I hope it’s not, the 20th is not included is because the CCAA fell short of the total number of babies needed to complete the day. I guess I’m getting used to, unfortunately, expecting the let downs to continue.
here’s to a much brighter 2008, I’m sure everone waiting has been let down in some small or large way, perhaps 2008 will hold much brighter expectations, hopes, dreams and realities for all of us.
December 29th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
I know this has been discussed ad nauseam but why do you think that the CCAA made that comment about hoping for 15 day batches? Such a batch was, in hindsight, beyond CCAA’s capabilities for whatever the reasons. They should have just said they were hoping for 60 day batches–same difference.
December 29th, 2007 at 2:48 pm
the worst part is that there don’t even seem to really be any “rumors” anymore…maybe we should rename ourselves to “china speculation adopt talk”…i don’t dare suggest RQ rename herself to “Speculation Queen”…;-)
can you tell i’m hurting? frankly, i think we’re getting darn close to the throw in the towel stage….
December 29th, 2007 at 2:53 pm
Why do you think the CCAA made the comment about wanting to get back to 15 day batches in 2008? Such a statement was beyond its capabilities–maybe for post 5/07 LIDs but that is years away. They should have said they hoped to get to 60 day batches–same difference. Sorry to be so morbid.
December 29th, 2007 at 4:11 pm
mischot -
I am sorry you are hurting. It may not offer much salve - but you are not alone. We have wondered about giving up as well…
LID 02-06-06
December 29th, 2007 at 4:25 pm
Oh Eli - you just made me realize that this really could be due to a change in the annual quota. Uggh (sob). That would be the most incredibly depressing news ever. Isn’t it bad enough how few LIDs they made it through in the last 12 months. To go through even fewer would be horrid. I remember hearing that CCAA wanted to get the China program to not be the largest program around. Now that all the other countries seem to be curtailing their programs does that mean they are going to take more drastic measures to limit the number of IA from China? Please, please tell me it isn’t so!!!!
December 29th, 2007 at 4:28 pm
Our large, mulit country agency, is reporting through representatives that “significant” numbers of China families with a LID of March 2006 or later, have changed programs, (SN to NSN), switched countries, or withdrawn. They have sparse LID’s after March/April 2006….looks like many many people are throwing in the towel.
Paperchasing SN
(hopefully LID Jan 08)
December 29th, 2007 at 4:39 pm
I still obsess on the 15 days batches in 2008 hopeful comment when (it’s becoming clear) that was never a possibility. They might as well have said 60 day batches–same difference! Is it a cultural thing? Did they think that merely being hopeful was good for us? Did we all misunderstand that comment as an aspiration as opposed to just the pipe dream that it is? Hmmmm.
December 29th, 2007 at 6:12 pm
5 days? Is this a cruel f–king joke or what?
I never thought that with a 3/21/06 LID I’d condisder pulling the plug, but I’m getting close. But what are the other options? 2 and 1/2 years ago we had our heart set on China and it’s seems so hard to say “ok, let’s switch to Korea now”. Or…we’re hearing great things about–insert country name– adoption program let’s start paperwork from the beginning again and eat 10K in the process. How appealing! Meanwhile my wife and I will be in adult diapers by the time our daughter graduates Middle School.
I’m calling our Large China Only agency on Monday and seeing what our options are. I feel like we are owed an honest explaination from them and from China….good or bad.
Big “pissed off” Daddy
December 29th, 2007 at 6:36 pm
It’s dropped by more than 1400 from 2005 (7906 - the all-time high) to 2006 (6493) (US State Dept #s). Stands to reason 2007’s numbers will be lower still - my guess is around 5K total. I think NSN is going to slow down much more because the SN adoptions also count as far as total visas issued, and at this point there seems to be nearly 50% SN and NSN. If the SN count goes higher, as it seems it surely will, and the whole total (due to quota or any other reason) is going lower, as it IS already… well, that’s ever fewer NSN adoptions every year, which IS slowing the NSN adoption rate down.
I do not believe there is going to be ANY kind of speed up UNTIL the backlog is dealt with. And the more SN adoptions that occur, the longer it will take to deal with the NSN backlog.
Not pointing fingers or accusing - people are entitled to adopt SN if they so choose, and nothing wrong with that! Those kids deserve homes just as much - just pointing out facts as we know them. The tighter the screws come down on total referral numbers, the longer the wait will become.
I think it very well could take a good 5 or 6 years to get thru the backlog at the current pace… and I can’t figure out any way the line will move faster UNLESS they decide to increase the number they will refer out annually. And, it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. :(
December 29th, 2007 at 7:19 pm
Sherry–I think you’re right on target. I think some will step out of line, but even that will only affect the wait if those folks move to another program entirely, not from NSN to SN. It’s not a bad thing that the program is shifting more toward SN, it’s just so unfortunate for those who might have chosen another option if they’d known this was coming.
December 29th, 2007 at 8:36 pm
Am I crazy… ( well at this point the answer is probably yes- but….) or I do I remember hearing that referrals would come down to a trickle as we got closer to the Olympics? I feel like that is all we are getting these days a slow trickle each month. If we only get to the 19th this month- I would call that a drip- not even a trickle!!!! AHhhhh! :(
5/06
December 29th, 2007 at 10:04 pm
So, is there absolutely no possibility they got past the 19th??? Have we accepted this as truth? Still trying to hang on to some tiny glimmer of hope that the 20th might still be in.
susan
December 29th, 2007 at 10:06 pm
Pfft, looks to be another lousy month. But I honestly don’t think China has a master plan to produce a slowdown. I think there are not enough paper-ready babies because the rural areas are still afraid to reveal how many unauthorized births there are–I’ve heard that a province is fined if it goes beyond an anticipated number of births each year, so they just keep the babies in orphanages that aren’t on CCAA’s radar.
And for what it’s worth, the decline in the number of children adopted by the USA doesn’t tell us the whole picture because there are so many more children going to different countries now, but the ceiling on the total number China will release to IA each year has apparently not been raised. They don’t have to raise it, really, but they will continue to tell us what they think we want to hear (2 week batches, etc.), regardless of whether they can deliver on the promise. I don’t think that’s malicious on their part, I think it’s cultural and very difficult for us to wrap our brains around.
I’m not really angry with what is going on in China, I am angry with my agency for flat-out misleading me about the wait, and continuing to mislead potential parents by having an out-of-date waiting time listed on their website. Their lack of communication has been deafening, save the occasional obtuse email that blathers on and on without saying anything. I loved them the first time (when it was so fast and easy) but brother, not this go-around. They’re expensive and unsupportive, to say the least. I wish I had found RQ during the second paper-chase so we could have been fully informed.
With our April ‘06 LID, I honestly think it will be early ‘09 before we get a referral, if we’re still in the program. My husband and I are talking more seriously about pulling out, much as that pains us both to think about. But I’ll be close to 50 and I just don’t know if I can do it again–I love my daughter with all my heart, but I have no illusions about how physically and emotionally demanding it is to be a parent. But I also don’t want our daughter to be an only child for many reasons. I just wish I knew what felt right to do.
The first time we adopted, I felt a connection right away when we got our LID–and as it turned out, we’d been matched with her within weeks of our dossier getting to Bejing (referral came 6 months later, so yes, they do match out ahead, sometimes faaaaar ahead). This time, I don’t feel a connection, so I don’t think our child has even been born yet. It’s just taking too long.
Sorry for the ramble!! I am so happy for everyone about to receive their referral–I’ll never forget the feeling, one I have no words for. Except maybe just blind joy.
December 29th, 2007 at 10:56 pm
hhbaby2 -that connection you spoke of with your first LID/referral and how it worked out, I thought I had that too.
This is our first time around and in early 2007 after being logged in about a year I had a dream that our daughter was born, I felt this ’sense’, it was great. REferrals about that time were coming in 10-14 day time frames so it seemed like it could come true. I know it’s not know, I know the dream was just a dream. And I know if she was born then, we would be referred a child several years older than requested!
Such is life.
I am surprised by the feedback from onemoregirl, really? Somehow I get the feelign so many are still hanging on from that timeframe.
December 29th, 2007 at 11:03 pm
“so yes, they do match out ahead, sometimes faaaaar ahead).”
I never heard of theat how do you know?
December 30th, 2007 at 12:21 am
I know because it happened to us–when we got our referral and had a Chinese friend look at the original version, not just the translation, it was written that our daughter had been assigned to us shortly after our LID. (This did not appear in our translation.) I’ve heard other parents say similar things. I wish CCAA would change their policy and just match and release referrals as far as they can, and forget about having a neat end date each month. I wouldn’t care if things got out of order if some of us could bring the children home sooner.
December 30th, 2007 at 2:08 am
As to matches being made way faaaaar in advance, that may be, but with several referrals of children under 6 months old lately, they cannot be too far in advance.
With a mid Jan ‘06 LID, we are approaching the 2 year mark in our wait. We’ve seen the wait grow and grow, but we’re not angry about it. Sad and discouraged sometimes, but getting angry would not serve any purpose. Nor do we cry and shout about our despair. One day at a time.
December 30th, 2007 at 6:19 am
Every month my heart gets broken. I have had no hope of the pace changing for several months. We are LID 05/15/06. One of our other May 2006 families, switched to Korea this fall. Another friend of mine, LID june 2006, switched to Korea in late October. They both have referrals already. Will go to get their babies in a couple months. We are too “heavy” for Korea. I inquired about Vietnam. My SW told us with a LID of May 2006, she felt it would be a “horse a piece” in the wait, if we wanted a girl from Vietnam. And their program is 10K more. We are in it for the long haul, but I am getting less and less optimistic that we will ever see a child before they shut the program down. I know they have said they don’t plan to do this, but as we all know, we CANNOT trust one thing they say anymore. They have lied to us and our agencies.
December 30th, 2007 at 8:06 am
I feel like you, laural… I think there’s no pattern anymore.
Diferent agencies who recently held meetings with CCAA are reporting very diferent pieces of information so… I don’t know what to think anymore. The rate of uncertainty is too high for me to make any prediction. I hope RQ can bring some light here after analyzing next batch.
But, honestly, I’m starting to say goodbye to the 2008 possibility if the cut off is december 19th (so small number of families :-(
December 30th, 2007 at 11:31 am
I’m stubborn. With an LID of 3/14/06, we’re waiting. If we have to wait another 10 months, we will. If we have to wait another 12 months, we will (and this is what I currently have accepted). I have to believe that the crushing experience of this very unexpected delay will fade when we have our beautiful daughter. And I believe she is coming.
December 30th, 2007 at 12:02 pm
hello,
Rumorqueen, we miss you.
What do you think about the rumor that the 19th will be the cut-off? How do you rate that rumor on the rumorscale?
Thanks.
December 30th, 2007 at 1:17 pm
Laural: Yes, I am with you. I THINK I can make the wait, but with the way things are going, I also think it’s a possibility we will just throw in the towel. With the good chance of waiting an additional 2 years (waiting 18 months already), anything could happen in our personal situation. Not to mention what could happen within China– political unrest, more evidence of child trafficking, etc. The system COULD shut down. China can’t promise us anything. We would be foolish to believe a promise from China. Haven’t we learned already that China tells us what we want to hear? I lack the energy to switch programs, but if I had the energy, I would have switched 6 months ago.
December 30th, 2007 at 2:37 pm
Didn’t CCAA tell us about the 15 day batches at the same time they told us that everyone in line would eventually adopt a baby if they had patience? Seems if the 15 day batches wasn’t true, the probability of a shutdown is more likely than I think any of us thought.
December 30th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
tellmemore,
You raise a VERY good point : “… Not to mention what could happen within China – political unrest, more evidence of child trafficking, etc …”. You can add to the list a flu epidemic, etc..
An IA program with a wait longer than 3 years is WAY too long and is in nobody’s interest …
December 30th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
I meant that it’s not in anyone’s best interest !
December 30th, 2007 at 3:02 pm
Minnie wrote: >>Sorry for bad news. Our agency just told us today we won’t be getting a referral this time (LID 12/20/05). At least we know we’re next! Bummer…
December 30th, 2007 at 3:35 pm
Our agency Stg. Meiling (the Netherlands) is saying that the wait for NSN referral will be 3 years or longer! It is on their website.
December 30th, 2007 at 4:20 pm
Kortai ,that’s our agency too,what is your LID?
14 Feb. ‘06
December 30th, 2007 at 4:31 pm
My agency has posted 23-25 months wait. That will put us about March-with a 01/10/06 Lid it seems to be getting harder and harder.
December 30th, 2007 at 6:38 pm
Yes, of course anyone with an almost-mid ‘06 LID and beyond should expect a minimum of a 3 year wait in NSN, IF there are no further complications. And since 3+ years is a long time “IF” is the key word here. I hope all agencies start talking like this to their clients.
December 30th, 2007 at 7:48 pm
My agency’s website says that the wait for referral is 20-24 months with an asterisk, then at the bottom of their page the asterisk says to contact them for current wait times.
Our dossier actually went in October 10, but needed some tweaking, then had to wait to go with a group of dossiers, so my LID is 01-19-06.
Just this weekend I contacted the other two families who had the same LID and one has already gone to the domestic infant program (last February) and adopted a baby in August. The other family (a single mom) is on vacation so I won’t hear from her until she returns to work this week.
My husband and I are rapidly aging out of most other programs, especially given that we have an age difference between us of 6 years; he is going to be ineligible for most programs by next fall.
December 30th, 2007 at 8:36 pm
OUr agency when they sent out our letter of approval from the ministry had stated that the wait time for us would be 30-36 months. We got our letter in October 2007.
We have a log in date of Nov 23-07. So we do hope that it does speed up. I will say that we are ready for the wait and knew it was coming. Our HS took way to long because our SW was weird. It took 7 months to finish and then another 1 to be sent to our agency.
The only thing that will upset me is that our neighbour right across the street is logged in for Feb 2007 and I will be nevious of her having her sweet daughter home with her but also happy too.
Seeing that the days are not passing fast as dreedful itself, so for now I will take up a new hobby and try not to look at dates and keep my sanity.
December 30th, 2007 at 10:11 pm
Today, my agency is saying that referral timelines are expected to reach 5 years from LID. When we started our adoption process, we were told that the time line would be around 9-12 months from LID. It was Dec. 05. Our LID is 10/20/06, and our last news is that they expect 2008 to cover half of the 06 LIDs. I wish and hope they are right. I had enough ups & downs days and a couple of months ago I decided to relax, get myself busy and patiently wait. I’m looking forward for after the Olympics and see what will happen. New Year is supposed to bring new hopes, right? Maybe is about time to be more optimistic, and keep our hopes up. I was expecting October to be out of the room mid January then it came mid December…..never know
December 31st, 2007 at 12:41 am
I just don’t know what to think anymore??? You can’t believe anything that anyone says anymore. We have a LID of Aug 29/06 which means we have waited 16 months so far and I am just praying that we will be home with our daughter before Christmas 2010. For this to happen they would have to match one months worth of LID every 4 months - averaging one weeks worth per month?? Of course this doesn’t factor in any speed ups, slow downs, or potential shut downs during Olympics etc… I just continue to hope that some months are better than others and that they can average 1 week every month this is the only way we can hope to have her by 2010?? Of course this would be just over a 4 year wait and when we started we were told 9-12 months!!!!!!
December 31st, 2007 at 12:59 am
Just a reminder — no agency names, please!
December 31st, 2007 at 1:13 am
In Feb 07 we had our homestudy redone because it was over 1 year and our agency has this policy that they need to have them done every year. Our SW asked us if we were getting excited yet and that we would probably be getting our daughter this past fall. I think I looked at her as if she had 3 heads.
Then this past summer my husband and I looked at the CCAA website and compared it to where we were with our LID. We saw then that they were releasing about a week at a time and figured out then that there was no way in hell we would get a referral before the summer of 2008. Then I called the agency and they gave me this story that there were 40,000 dossiers in China at that time (July 07) and there were 100,000 agencies but only 30% of them had the resources to work with the CCAA. So not enough babies were paper ready then.
hhbaby2, I have not heard of the fine to the province before but that is a rather interesting point. I had thought with the ramp up with the domestic adoption that the families of the abandoned children were “adopting” the children back into the family to avoid the fine. My agency could not confirm or deny this but said it was possible.
I am disturbed by the fact that I had to figure out on my own that I was being mislead and that I see many agencies are still misleading others about the wait time.
I am sorry to ramble on, some days are so frustrating and the holidays were hard seeing some people I don’t always see and asking me why I don’t have my baby yet, as if it was our fault that we missed something.
I just wish that there were more rumors and something with a more upbeat tone. I am still having a hard time believing the 19th is it.
Stef
2/6/06
December 31st, 2007 at 1:39 am
vivinchina-
For your agency so say that they expect 2008 to cover half of the 06 LIDs seems not only unrealistic but cruel. Wednesday is the first day of 08 and we have at least two more months to get out of Dec 05. Their reasoning would leave only 10 months of 08 to get through 6 months of 06 LIDs…. that’s almost 17 LID days per month. That is not taking into consideration the size of March 06 and the Olympics. Like I said….that’s just cruel!
Laureen
(Home 2/1/07 with Sweet Isabel)
http://www.babysites.com/sites/laureenmary
December 31st, 2007 at 2:38 am
Mom2Isabel,
Well, my agency did not say it will happen, they just expect it to happen. I am hopping something good will happen this coming year, and didn’t take it as cruel for me. When I learned about one week/month match, according to my accounts, I would be getting a referral around Sept.2011, and after many tears and frustations, I decided to accept and wait, but keep my hopes up. My stress almost affected my family and I want the adoption of my future child to be a joy. There are many possibilities, maybe China decides to match 2 days/month or 20 days/month, who knows? I just decided to start my year optimistic, and hopping for the better even if I have to wait 4 years.
December 31st, 2007 at 9:22 am
How is everyone else dealing with the age issue? When I started this, I was in my early 40’s and expected a baby in my mid 40’s. Now, with an LID of Feb 07, I’ll be approaching 50 by the time the baby comes. And switching programs isn’t an option. I’m a single mom, and basically no countries will work single parents anymore.
Are there any parents out there who adopted in their late 40’s? Can you give any advice?
December 31st, 2007 at 9:30 am
Vivinchina,
I totally understand the need to remain optimistic! My wait tripled from when I was LID to when I received my referral. (Although my total wait time would seem like godsend now, there wasn’t much info out there with the exception of RQ to indicate the abrupt slowdown.)
I am glad you are well informed. It breaks my heart to see the total devastation that people have endured when they realize the timeframe that their agency gave them is completely off the wall. I have seen first hand the pain that this has caused…one from a waiting family in my local FCC group, the other from a relative with an April 06 LID.
Do what you need to do to keep your sanity. For me, I alternated between shutting down emotionally and immersing myself in supportive online communities.
All that being said (and from a purely selfish perspective) I wouldn’t care if I had to wait five years if I had the opportunity to adopt from China again. Unfortunately,the new rules preclude that from happening and my sweet daughter will not be able to have a Chinese little sister. I know that this wait is excruciating and, at the time, I swore I would beat the tar out of anyone who said this to me but…. it is SOOO worth the wait when you finally have her (or him) in your arms.
I wish you well and Happy New Year!
Laureen
http://www.babysites.com/sites/laureenmary
December 31st, 2007 at 9:35 am
bella’s mom,
I am 47 and also a single. Hang in there. You will be fine. It is amazing how much younger I feel (and have been told…Look) since adopting. I don’t know what that says about how the stress of the wait affected my appearance! I am having the time of my life. Feel free to contact me of you’d like. There is a link on my site.
Laureen
Home with Isabel 2/1/07
http://www.babysites.com/sites/laureenmary
December 31st, 2007 at 9:54 am
I’m 48 and will probably be 50 by the time our referral comes. (April ‘06 LID; I don’t expect to see a referral before about February ‘09. Thanks A LOT, SW who “lost” our paperwork for a critical month, pushing us from a February LID to April.)
The age thing is an issue, something we struggle with every day. I also worried about it the first time because I was afraid 45 was too old and when I start thinking about quitting the program now, I remind myself how wrong I was. Sure, it’s tiring and demanding and it’s also a challenge to adjust to not being totally free in your own actions. But being a mother is both easier and harder than I thought it would be. Easier because it came very naturally. Harder because it is tougher to deal with the lack of sleep and other physical demands when you’re older. I’m using the wait time now to hit the gym with a vengeance and get back in shape–I’ll need to be!
One thing I’ll say was the big surprise to me was that I have a ton of mom friends, and I kind of wondered if I’d connect with other mothers if I was so much older than they were. There are several moms in my daughter’s preschool who are close to my age, which was reassuring, but more importantly I discovered that age doesn’t matter to mothers. You connect on another level. The moms I talk to most and spend the most time with are all 10 or more years younger than I am.
That all said, we’ll still reevaluate mid-year. If China isn’t making any significant progress, we may drop out. I can’t live like this anymore. I guess I’m confused. And still angry with my agency.
December 31st, 2007 at 10:33 am
hhbaby2–They could not be assigning children at LID especially as the wait gets longer because the children have not even been born yet! Even though we waited *only* 16 months from LID till match (It was suppose to be 6 months back in ‘05) our daughter was not born until months after our LID.
As far as older…we received our beautiful daughter the day I turned 50. Most of the time I feel like she keeps me younger, though I’ve had more colds since we have been home than I ever have!
December 31st, 2007 at 11:05 am
Ethiopia is accepting single women to adopt. From what I have seen on the blogs I have read the referral time is pretty quick. China says you can do concurrent adoptions. I just thought it was something to think about.
December 31st, 2007 at 11:16 am
Hello over 40s. For some reason, a message I posted this weekend didn’t post, so I’ll try again.
We are quickly aging out of most adoption options. I am 43, but my husband is 6 years older. So we will hang in there. We actually asked for a 3-5 year old, will take just about anything at this point, but did not ask for SN, so we’re in the same waiting line as everyone.
As a (potential) 4th time mother, I have to say that I am looking forward to this in a way that is different than with my earlier biological children. Each one is special and different anyway, but I feel that although I have less energy, I have more patience now. That energy may return, too when I’m not living under the constant stress of waiting and wondering.
Last, I contacted my two potential travel mates this weekend and found that one couple has already dropped out of the program and adopted domestically this summer. The other, a single mother, is on vacation and won’t yet have received my email to her.
LID 01/19/06
December 31st, 2007 at 11:27 am
Karenmb–I didn’t mean to imply that China could assign you a child near LID in the current environment. Otherwise, everybody would be getting referred 3 or 4 year olds! But in ‘03 and ‘04 they did assign children months in advance, which is what happened to us the first time. I think it’s perfectly reasonable to think that some people with LID’s into January and even beyond may already have been matched up with their children but don’t know it yet. I don’t see how the matchers could come up even every month. I think they just stop on a certain day that is complete.
December 31st, 2007 at 12:39 pm
Thanks everybody. I’ve been really good (most of the time)about accepting the wait and believing that my daughter will be here when she’s ready. But the age thing has really been worrying me. It’s good to know that there are plenty of “late 40’s-early 50’s” moms out there doing just fine.
Mom2Isabel-I just took a quick look at your website. Your daughter is absolutely beautiful!! I’ll be in touch.
Now I need to get to a gym! Better get this old body in shape if I’m going to keep up :)
December 31st, 2007 at 1:38 pm
Australian referral for LID 12/16/05 reported in forum…
December 31st, 2007 at 2:24 pm
My friend just called me - she just got her NSN referral call today - she is a 12/19/05 LID.
Tracy
PS - congrats Shelly and Brent!!
December 31st, 2007 at 2:35 pm
OMG!!!!!Trace7 thank you for the info.Where is your friend located….did they just get the call???????? We are logged in on Dec. 19th/05 also!!!!!!!!
December 31st, 2007 at 3:34 pm
hhbaby2, your comment about age and approaching 50 could have been written by me (I am 49, and we have been working on adoption since I was 45.) We never dreamed it would take this long.
I think there are a lot of nearly-50 folks out there. Good to know we have company, at least.
December 31st, 2007 at 3:36 pm
I would LOVE to hare from someone with a 12/20 who has gotten a referral. Pretty please.
B
4/19/06
December 31st, 2007 at 3:42 pm
We turned 50 years olds, we started to think to adopt at the age of 48 years olds. This is 21 months we are waiting for this little girl. We wish to have a referral this year, My LID is 04-03-2006. We are from Quebec, an the agency doens’t give us very much details, this is a mystereous secret what is going on for the adoption in China
I can understand hhbaby2
December 31st, 2007 at 3:55 pm
jj2china, unfortunately I don’t think that’s going to happen this month :(
lj
12/20/05
December 31st, 2007 at 4:07 pm
Thank you so much for the age related comment. I was 45
when we started the adoption process and my husband was
43 .We thought we would be matched with a child by the
time we were 47 and 45 . Now it looks like we will be 50 or
51 and 48 or 49 . I’m just glad we are not alone .Just hope
our daughter wont mind having old parents .
December 31st, 2007 at 4:08 pm
Amycate, thanks for the explanation. I understand, but I still think it would be better if they would match and refer whatever groups they could and didn’t hold so fast to the date. It would all even out in the end, and no one would be waiting longer than they should.
Sherry, The number for IA from China to US was released some weeks ago…. In 2007 there were 5453 total. so, 2006 was 6520 and 2005 was 7939. I just checked your numbers and they are slightly off from mine. I don’t know why they are a little different (less than 40 different.)
Jodi
December 31st, 2007 at 4:11 pm
I think part of what hangs me up is worrying about what might happen to my child(ren) if something happens to us in our 60s. My mother developed a long and ultimately fatal illness before she was 65. What if it happens to me, too? My daughter will still be in college and her sister, if she comes, would still be in her mid-teens. But you just never know what will happen in life and so I try to push through dark times and focus on being patient. I really do think if we wait, a baby or child will come and we will be so happy. Even though I talk about pulling our dossier I know I would hate myself when our LID gets referred if we had not had the guts to stick it out.
When we brought home our first daughter, I was 45, my husband a few years younger. I LOVED being a mother from day 1 and didn’t feel a bit like a geezer. My stamina issue had to do with lack of sleep for the first few months, since our baby was waking up three or four times a night to get a bottle (she’d never been given solid food and it took some time for her to get used to it). It was also an adjustment to be so closely tied to being at home. But my daughter is so amazing, I just love her to death every single day. And it’s really true that kids keep you young. Yesterday we spent the afternoon making volcanos in the kitchen (baking soda + lemon juice and a little food dye in a bottle, it’s pretty cool. Just be sure to have a baking pan underneath to catch the overflow).
And every time I see a celeb my age becoming a mother, I want to yell, go team! Kelly Klein just did it (at 50), Sharon Stone has 3 little kids and she’s almost 50, Marcia Cross, Sheryl Crow, the list goes on and on. As do I, sorry!
December 31st, 2007 at 4:53 pm
hhbaby2-
I like the way you think. Geena Davis gave birth at 50 as well.
I think we should all just make a pact…NONE OF US WILL WITHDRAW OUR DOSSIERS. No matter how long it takes or how frustrated we get, we’ll all just hang in there and wait for our girls.
I, too, have a daughter at home from China (5 years old), and we’re waiting for her sister. Whenever I lose hope, I guess I just need to look at her and remind myself…IT’S WORTH IT, IT’S WORTH IT, IT’S WORTH IT, WHATEVER IT TAKES.
Have a happy New Year everyone!
December 31st, 2007 at 4:56 pm
CCAA may or may not get through THREE MONTHS of LIDs in 2007. If our LID was anything past March 2006 (it is actually Feb. 28, 2006), we would be withdrawing ours and looking elsewhere. We have been waiting six years in total, including age wait time before we could send our dossier. We are sick of it and want to build a family.
December 31st, 2007 at 4:57 pm
Deal!
I’m surprised at how bothered I am by this age thing, because I remember thinking in my late 20s and into my 30s how cool it was when people became parents later in life. Besides, I don’t think this is so late!!!
December 31st, 2007 at 5:07 pm
Hey we got our TA today!
Just to interject a tiny happy note in there…
(LID 14 Dec 05, referral 7 Dec 07)
December 31st, 2007 at 5:20 pm
I’ve monitored this site for a long time but never posted. I have a friend with a LID of 12/19/05. About 2:20 CDT, she received the call that she and her husband have a little girl born in 11/06. She’s a cutie (I already got the picture e-mailed to me)!! I am SO happy for them!! Congratulations Janett and Todd!! They’re in the Midwest if that helps any of you waiting on the call.
I wish the best of luck to the waiters. I went through IA with Russia and the wait stinks no matter how long or short it is (whew, mine was short in comparision to what you are all going through) and no matter what number child it is for you. May you find the strength you need in each other because no matter how hard they try, folks outside IA just don’t understand.
December 31st, 2007 at 5:32 pm
I’m so excited for all of you getting your referrals and TAs! I’m new to this site - I have a LID of 1/16/06 and am waiting for my little one!
December 31st, 2007 at 5:39 pm
sherry in Vermont….CONGRATULATIONS ON RECEIVING YOUR TA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Oh happy happy days,our referral is on it’s way!!!!!!!!!!
Lid Dec.19/05
December 31st, 2007 at 5:51 pm
Winnie2007,
Me to, I’m from the province of Québec and my LID is 03/15/06. I’m in the same boat. Viens me voir sur mon blog!
Réglissoly
http://www.mabeautebridee.blogspot.com
December 31st, 2007 at 6:12 pm
Well firstchinababy I sure hope I am travelling with you!!! *grin* We too are just awaiting the picture of our newest little one and the 2 year plus wait was almost unbearable but the ned is in site!!! WhoooHoooo!!
December 31st, 2007 at 6:16 pm
I almost forgot to say CONGRATS to those who received their referrals and TA’s and heres a New Years wish for speedy referrals for those waiting.
B
LID 12-19-05
December 31st, 2007 at 6:25 pm
bella’s mom -
I like the pact. It’s not going to be easy,but I’m in.
December 31st, 2007 at 7:13 pm
Hey, got our referral today!! LID 12/19/2005 We are very surprised it came in before 2008! Congrats to all those that got their referrals!!
New Mom to Keira
December 31st, 2007 at 7:28 pm
firstchinababy - my friend is with a midwest agency - they got the call today (unexpectedly, as she was thinking wed. at the earliest). Congrats on your referral coming. It is the best ever - I am thrilled for each and every one of you who will get your calls, as you are about to begin the most amazing part of your journey!! Yay! I love referral time. Just wish many more days would be covered.
Tracy
December 31st, 2007 at 8:09 pm
Congratulations to those getting referrals!
Regarding the age pact: I’m IN it! I got my first adopted Chinese daugther when I was 48 and expected my second at 51 but NOOOOO…I will probably be a Mom again at 53 or 54 or ?. My husband is a decade younger. The Chinese government will have to remove my dossier as I will NOT. Reason is because I am in better physical condition than when I was 40 and of course I wouldn’t qualify any longer for most programs. Longevity and health is 70% about lifestyle and because of my child(ren) I changed my entire way of living. Started exercise and large weight loss to get a normal blood pressure. All after being on meds for ten years I got off of them.
My solution to being an older Mom is to get life insurance at a very high rate to cover all the costs of college and growing up if I should die prematurely. Also to have tremendously committed legal guardians if my husband isn’t around to take up the slack. I am in it for the long haul.
Do I hide my age? You better believe I do. Most people think I am my husband’s age and I don’t correct them about it. I have found that some folks can be quite judgmental about women having children at my age. I seem to violate people’s beliefs about what a person should be doing at my age. But, interestingly, the same folks are not bothered by a man of my age having children. Hmmm. Interesting don’t you think? We are a happy family so I hope that is what counts the most. Let’s hear it for older parents!! yay!
December 31st, 2007 at 9:57 pm
My agency is reporting referrals today too!
January 1st, 2008 at 12:52 am
We got THE CALL today. We were referred a baby girl from Shenzhen, Guangdong Province. She’s almost 17 months old. We requested 14 or under but we are thrilled with her age. We’ve received pictures and she’s adorable!
After the long wait I can hardly believe it’s true! Our agency is in the southern US.
Monique
LID 12/19/2005
January 1st, 2008 at 1:07 am
We got the call tonight. We have a little girl from Guanxi Province, she’s 17 months old. This was so totally unexpected for us also, I was thinking we would hear something by Friday, then our SW called. We still won’t see her picture until Thursday, but still knowing we have a daughter is the best news we could have gotten.
Best wishes for the New Year to all!!!
January 1st, 2008 at 2:47 am
Our baby is 6 months old and also from Guangdong Province. Her pictures are very endearing.
January 1st, 2008 at 10:44 am
sweet agony and pain! by gosh! this has been a very very looong wait so far! still i’m happy that Familes continiue to get
their referrals!=)
Congratulations! for now will just have to share in someone’s hapiness… please share referral pictures! it is very comforting
to see children getting their families,though my hands remain empty, I feel joy when I see families being joined!
PS: Happy New Year!
May all our wishes COME TRUE!
January 1st, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Happy New Year everybody!
Réglissoly
LID 03/15/06
January 1st, 2008 at 12:42 pm
It is rumored on one for my yahoo groups that one agency recieved one referral for 12/26/05. Don’t know which agency or what part of the country.
Anti-spam word is baba.
LID 4/4/06
January 1st, 2008 at 1:37 pm
12/26 would be great but it might be one of the golden agencies. Happy New Year everyone!
January 1st, 2008 at 2:19 pm
Congratulations to all families who received thier referrals and TA’s.
Now to vent for just a moment…
1) What is up with China referring children that are older than requested?
2) What is up with China with not upping the number of children they refer out each month but increasing the number of SN children it releases thus decreasing the number of NSN they are referring?
3) What is up with only getting through 3 months of referrals for the entire year of 2007?
4) What is up with only 4 days of referrals on a month that isn’t as large as others?
5) Just what is up?
I ususally don’t have ranting days since my lid is so very far away, 4/27/07, but when I really sit down and think about it, all I can say is WHAT?
Someone make me feel better :)
January 1st, 2008 at 2:36 pm
alongwait…Vent away! As far as child’s age, it’s always been that you can make a request, but CCAA considers “as young as possible” to be any child up to 24 months. So your request isn’t a guarantee. It is the same with gender request. I think CCAA probably tries to meet the requests, but if they have a stack of 10 parents all from one agency and 10 babies from an orphanage, they have to match out of the babies available. So, if 3 of the babies are older or boys, and all 10 parents requested AYAP girls, 3 parents would be matched outside of their request. I always try to keep this in the back of my head with every wait.
As for the rest of your questions, as my 5 y.o. would say, “That’s just bonkers!” Add a foot stomp, eye roll, and sigh, and that’s about the best response I can give you. :)
January 1st, 2008 at 2:44 pm
I know how you feel. Our LID is 12/07. Its so depressing to think we wont go get her until 2009 (or 2010). I never write on the boards, but I like to read them, although it is VERY depressing. I feel so happy for those of you who are getting referrals, that is the light at the end of the tunnel , or the gold at the end of the rainbow !!! Just wish we all knew something (anything) , so we are’nt left hanging in the dark wondering what year (not month) that we can go get our daughters. Trying to stay positive, send prayers nightly for each and every one of us. We cant flood china with letters, but we can flood God with prayers!!!
January 1st, 2008 at 3:08 pm
if they have a shortage…….why aren’t ALL the babies
6-7 months old?
and……reading the comments of timeframes quoted from years ago……..
how could my agency quote me 8-10 months
with an 8/06 LID???
remember when we were upset with 12 and 15 day batches?????
for the past 2 years… there have been tons of dates that once we pass, should see a speed up.
It. never. happens. now the new one is after the oympics……….
my bright outlook says 2012……..ain’t that lovely?
January 1st, 2008 at 3:31 pm
For daddy2xinand.
we don’t have a LID. Our first son is from Korea en the second son from Taiwan.
We would like to adopt from China, but alas i am too old to start a new adoption. (Dutch rules) 1 am 43 years old.
January 1st, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Sagent
The older children were most likely recently placed in the system for IA. RQ had some numbers a couple of months ago that showed the drop off in toal numbers between 2005 - 2006 could be compleatly accounted for by fewer children being placed that were over 1 years old.
In reality we don’t know - the fact still remains that 7500 + children a year are IA from china - yes this is down from 10K a couple of years ago but still higher than 10 of the last 13 years - there are simply more people waiting in line.
January 1st, 2008 at 4:24 pm
I’d like to say a word to the people who are worried about getting referred “older” babies. When we adopted our daughter in June, 2004, we were only in our thirties and we asked for as young as possible. Our group was referred babies between 15 and 22 months. Our daughter was 19 months old when we got her. We wouldn’t have it any other way! She’s wonderful and none of the babies had significant delays. The catch up time was very quick.
We had planned to start the next adoption asap, but by the time we got home the waiting period was only about six months and we didn’t want to have another baby right away. We waited an extra year and a half. We are now waiting for another child and the wait is interminable (LID 4/11/06). We asked for a child between 15-24 months and we’re really hoping she is closer to the 24 months. Why? Our experience was great the first time, and now as we all sit here getting older and older, I would love for the age difference to be cut between us (we’re now 41 and 43) and between our daughter and her new sister. As it looks now, their age difference may well be five years or more–we were hoping for 2-3 years. Our daughter is five now, so who knows when she’ll see her sister!
The bottom line is please don’t worry about getting an “older” baby! Take it from someone who has been there, the difference of a few months is nothing and it does have its benefits!
January 1st, 2008 at 4:25 pm
I watch daily but have never posted. I was just wondering where our RQ is. Have I missed something? Is she out of town, or just not talking right now? Thanks for the help.
Congrats to everyone getting referrals.
LID: 1-10-06
January 1st, 2008 at 4:39 pm
Where is our RQ??
January 1st, 2008 at 5:55 pm
fjm,
What does “golden agency” mean? I didn’t know any of the agencies received special treatment.
Stef 2/6/06
January 1st, 2008 at 5:58 pm
Stef~ there is an agency, or maybe a few, who are getting referrals far ahead of others. I believe in the last month or two, they had been referred through 2/06. You can do a search in the forum for “golden agency” and read about it. As a 2/06er myself with a regular, non-golden agency, it can be a tough pill to swallow but it is what it is.
susan
January 1st, 2008 at 6:24 pm
Do the people who are with this agency know that they get special treatment and are just told to keep quiet? Is it a well known agency? Small, medium, large sized? Are people paying more at this agency?
Does the CCAA know that folks know they are giving special treatment to certain agencies?
It’s just sooooooooo unfair!
January 1st, 2008 at 6:39 pm
stef and alongwait–do a search for golden agency as ladeeesquire suggests. You will find a ton of venting and info and all your questions were addressed. There’s a blog entry too along with forum entries. These golden agencies are out there but RQ doesn’t think they have signficant numbers and we just have to live with the fact they are getting referrals ahead of the rest of us.
January 1st, 2008 at 6:39 pm
As far as requested age goes - that’s just what is, a request. To CCAA, a child under 24 months is an infant. You can request young as possible, and they will match you with whatever baby they deem appropriate. Sometimes the ages are within what you requested, sometimes not. If you don’t want that child, you can refuse, but there is no guarantee they will match you with a younger child - or any child at all.
With some 30K folks still waiting in line, rocking the boat over age of the child doesn’t seem like a really good idea to me.
January 1st, 2008 at 6:40 pm
Susan,
Thanks for sharing. I will have to look that up. Then again, maybe I won’t. I was so hoping to get our referral around May or June and now it looks like August and again we go around…
I am trying to pace myself with enthusiasm and excitement, the golden agency thing could put me over the top.
Since you are 2/6 as well, what are your thoughts? Do you dare to predict when we will get referrals?
Stef
January 1st, 2008 at 6:41 pm
kyleigh -
I didn’t take Sagent’s reference to older babies to mean that Sagent is concerned about getting an older baby. I took it as an observation that if there really is a “shortage” (for lack of a better word) of babies, then the babies that are available would be getting referred out as soon as the orphanages process the baby’s paperwork with CCAA. I.e., they would almost all be 6-7 months at referral if there really was a shortage, which is the most common “explanation” given for why referrals are taking so long. Put another way, if some babies are still being referred out not until 12-18 months, it makes one wonder why they had to sit in the orphanage twice as many months when there are so many parents who would love to give them a family.
January 1st, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Sorry if this is a duplicate. First post didn’t go through.
Kyleigh and others -
I didn’t take Sargent’s reference to older babies to indicate a concern about getting an older baby. I took it as an observation that if it really is true that there is a “shortage” (for lack of a better word) of babies, then why are any babies hanging around an orphanage until they are 12-18 months old, when there are plenty of people who would gladly give them a home.
January 1st, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Hello Again,
I wasn’t really trying to single out anyone; I just wanted to reassure people it’s not a big deal. Believe me, I know there is plenty of concern about getting an older baby even if it isn’t voiced in public. I know so many people personally who are worried about getting a baby over a year. I meant to reassure those who are concerned about it, because they are out there!
January 1st, 2008 at 6:51 pm
fjm:
i can’t seem to find any blog entry. I found a few forum listings for golden agency that addressed some of the questions I had.
It’s just frustrating, with a lid so far out, to think that when I started this process i was told 12-18 months and now…who knows.
Does anyone think that the China program will close? ::shutter at the thought:::
January 1st, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Ok, I couldn’t help myself. I looked up Golden Agency too and found the same as Alongwait. If they are giving referrals waaaaaaay out there, then why would they be giving a referral from 12/26 too?
Just a little hopeful.
Stef
2/6/06
January 1st, 2008 at 7:04 pm
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!
January 1st, 2008 at 7:10 pm
All of this just stinks! So close, yet so far away from the most precious thing in our lives. I just need to vent……..I Hate it!! LID of 12/20/2006. And to think this time last year I was praying to bring her home by Xmas 2007. I dont know what I was thinking. Congrats to those of you who got referrals. What a great New Year for you.
January 1st, 2008 at 7:14 pm
Ok, this is my 3rd attempt to reply. Like Alongwait, I did not find a blog entry but I did read some of th discussion boards about Golden Agencies.
If they are giving referrals way out, then why are they giving a referral for 12/26 as well? Wouldn’t it make sense that they would be way past that?
January 1st, 2008 at 7:29 pm
yes…….that is exactly what I said
if there is a shortage………why are the babies NOT ALL 6-7 months old?
I’m getting so freakin old I hope they refer me an older child as well.
January 1st, 2008 at 7:54 pm
Stef~ I have a feeling the 12/26 may be an error and not a “golden agency” but who knows???? No one even knew there was a golden agency before a few mos ago, maybe there’s a new one??? another one??? Nothing would surprise me anymore.
With a 2/13/06 lid I don’t anticipate referral until Nov or Dec 2008 –that’s barring anything that may happen as a result of the Olympics. Are you in the 2/2006 room on the forum? If not, you should join, its a really nice little group of us. We whine a little, we support a lot, its a pretty upbeat group.
susan
2/13/06
January 1st, 2008 at 8:01 pm
Re: the older age of the babies…average referral ages of the children tend to vary between 7-14 months; and it seems to vary depending on the SWI and it may vary month to month as well…when I received the referral of my DD in September it seemed that the ages of the babies being referred were between this range, although a lot of the babies were as young as 6-7 months too. My DD was about 7.5 months at time of referral …I suspect that some SWI may be slower to getting their paperwork done than others; some SWI directors like to keep as many in house infants (I suspect it is related to funding) for as long as possible…hard to say……perhaps those SWI that refer older babies > 14 months, might be holding back the numbers they refer each month…maybe some of it is related to the health of the baby too…hard to say…
January 1st, 2008 at 8:58 pm
the more I think about it the golden agency discussion may have occurred in the replies to a blog entry. I cannnot remember the time of year we were talking about it though. Sorry. I can’t find it either now that I went looking for it.
January 1st, 2008 at 9:18 pm
hey, kyleigh! we have the same LID, maybe our older girls can play together when we’re all in China :) in…uh….a year? maybe?
January 1st, 2008 at 10:35 pm
hhbaby2–
Please don’t even say that…my hubby and I are hoping for a summer referral! We’re trying to believe they’ll be up to two weeks a month like we’ve heard. Who knows, though.
Is Hunan going to reopen? I heard that was supposed to happen in the beginning of this year. I think that would change things significantly in our favor!
January 1st, 2008 at 10:50 pm
We are leaving on 1/10 to adopt our daughter from the Hunan province. She is a SN child- but I know of one other family whose daughter is from the same orphanage and she came home in March or April.
Congrats to all those who are receiving referrals this month!
January 1st, 2008 at 11:28 pm
I too have to agree with others who are saying that those who are receiving referrals for older babies then they asked for are not happy words.
We should be happy that China ia allowing us to have these beautiful children join our families.
We did too ask for a child 0-12 months but will gladly take any child of any age.
Littleperson 11-23-07