Hi all,
I'm thinking about adoption as a first choice to expand our family of myself (30yo), husband of 2 years and our two very well behaved greyhounds (children seem to love them as they lean on you to show affection and are very relaxed dogs). My husband and I both come from small families but have had quite different upbringings. We both want a 2-3 child family and agree that adoption may become a serious option for us. For some reason we don't feel a stong need to have biological children, but would love the chance to bring up a family, even though it is more challenging through adoption.
For myself, the reasons I can see for wanting to adopt are actually quite selfish. I just don't want to put my body through pregnancy and childbirth. Although I am outwardly strong (and a very sporty person) I know I'm not 'robust'. In the past I have experienced the result of pushing my body too far (major surgery) and I don't want to do it again, not for a baby/child that isn't actually alive yet. The second reason is that I'm not really that fond of babies, but I can really connect with toddlers and older children. The only 'loss' I'd feel from not having biological children is not being able to name them, which is silly really! I didn't rename my greyhounds when I adopted them because it's who they are and this is the same for a child. I have rationalised this loss to a) waste of 2 great names b) names help to create a fantasy of what your children might be like, even if you know the reality is probably going way way different.
My husband just wants a family and says it's getting to that time. What I'm worried about is that I don't feel the incredible need and longing to have a child that many of you say is required to successfully adopt- but I know that if all avenues to having a family were removed I'd be devastated and would fight for it forever. My husband and I have talked about this on and off for about a year now. I know that adopting a child(ren) that has had a tough start is not a bed of roses and I'm a bit anxious (understandably) of the unknown.
I just wondered about what your thoughts were and if you think I'm crazy. The main worry I have from my own research is attachment issues between child and father. I have no idea how my husband would react to his children not bonding with him for a long time. Would it be a better idea to go through the biological route first, even though I'm not keen on that idea? As you can see I could do with more experienced people giving me some more perspective on this. I feel guilty about all my feelings and am quite confused.
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Thinking about adoption, confused, need some perspective
12 replies
TheProw · 15/03/2013 13:39
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