Perhaps more A-parents (which is a trendy abbreviation for "adoptive parents" I can only promise I'll try never to use again) should read more stories like this one, in which England's foreign secretary, David Miliband, is praised by a mother who adopted from Shenzhen eight years ago. He's just adopted internationally, too.

From the United States.

There's more detail about his adoption in ... more

What is that baby really saying? A lot of frustration seems to be tied up with language - and what they call "language delays" are all too often a part of parenting kids adopted internationally. Toddlers like to be understood - and when son (son!) uses a new word and realizes that we know what he means, his face lights up.

Of course, babies have their own language, and chances are, if you're an average parent adopting from China, you'll be meeting these new kids when they're really quite new indeed, so what you need right away is some kind of baby translator... more

If you've already adopted a child from China - or are just considering adoption from China - you'll probably be interested in reading as much as possible about the process. Not just the dry "fill in this form, then make this appointment" stuff, but the actual experience of taking a journey from your own homely house to that country over there (the one between Russia and Thailand) and coming home with a small human being in tow.

I'm quite fascinated by the story told in Cindy Champnella's The Waiting Child, although I haven't read the whole thing. There are excerpts ... more

Just when you thought the period of time between the moment you mail that dossier off to Beijing and the moment you say, "Hello, small person. Welcome to my family!" couldn't possibly get any longer - pushing twice as long as a pregnancy of the biological variety - it is.

So says Brian Stuy. His argument is that families from here (and there, and everywhere) are... more

Our China is a country that we don't understand, like a college roommate who sleeps until sunset and slips back into the room at 10 in the morning. Here's what I mean: This is a critical review of a documentary that aired on British TV last Monday. It was called China’s Stolen Children, and it was made by some of the people who worked on The Dying Rooms. Unsurprisingly, it appears to take a rather stark view of the One-Child Policy. It's also, according to the review, a bit over-simplistic.... more

I've been thinking about this opinion piece I just read in the Salt Lake City Tribune. Actually, it's just a letter to the editor from someone in Utah who's sick of being judged by people who think it's wrong for Americans to adopt babies from overseas. She has a lovely sister from China, and she's sure her family's choices were the right ones, but she's still tired of getting flak from people who don't agree.

Things like this confuse me. I mean, I kinda think the letter writer is correct (I would, wouldn't I?). But I'm not sure about the headline - "Judging solves nothing."

I've gotten used to... more

I just got a very interesting appeal in my inbox from Half the Sky. They've got a chance at winning (!) a slot as torchbearer for the 2008 Olympics. And they want to let the children carry it.

Can you picture that? And you can help.

Half the Sky, as the regular reader might recall, is one of the coolest, ... more

I've talked about packing lists for traveling to China before (not to mention traveling with that other kind of baggage). But I was never THIS concise: Here's ... more

I can't exactly remember when My Forthright Spouse and I first really decided to adopt. I remember sort of talking about it, and then it was suddenly happening. This seems to follow how the pregnancy-type of family-making happens, only with more notaries and fewer doctor visits - you can talk and talk and then suddenly you're there, having to do things on checklists and filing and watching calendars and talking to Important People with Important Titles on the phone.

I was thinking of this when I read this story about a couple from Mattoon,... more

My Punctilious Spouse recently did a home study for a waiting family. They sent their dossier to China in spring 2006, and have been told by their agency that they should expect a referral in about eight months. That's eight months from now.

So, if wait times have really stretched out to three years (?!!), then there's obviously a grave need for things to do while you're waiting. Of course, reading this here blog would be one thing to do, but after plumbing the, uh, archive, then, um, well... you'll need something else.

Why not immerse yourself in stories?... more