We have an appointment to travel to Kiev in July! This is big, big news for Team PaNaMa because now the hard part begins. Pa and I were so nervous that the Adoption Center might close again for an undetermined period of time that we decided against making preparations for kiddo number two until we got our date. Now that it’s just slightly over two months, we’ll be scrambling prepare ourselves for the trip AND paint Mr. Na’s new bedroom, along with designing and building his furniture. (Ahem–Pa if you’re reading this, STOP! I don’t want to stress you out further! :-) Mwah!)

So for those of you just tuning in and wondering what the heck is going on, I’ve put together a Q&A that will hopefully shed some light. I didn’t intend to just jump right in without providing some context around Ukraine adoption, but it’s big news and we’re pretty excited about it.

So, here goes…and I promise to follow-up with our previous adoption experience!

When you say travel date, what does that mean?

It means that we were granted an appointment to meet with officials at the National Adoption Center in Kiev, Ukraine to look at profiles of children available for adoption.

Do you have a child already chosen for you?

No. Ukraine does not allow pre-selection of a child. It’s only during our appointment that we’ll see profiles of children available for adoption.

What is a profile?

It’s a one page summary that includes a child’s name, date of birth, location, and bits and pieces of medical history. It’s usually accompanied by an extremely outdated 1”x1” photo of the child.

Do you have a preference as to the age or sex of the child you’d like to adopt?

We hope to adopt a boy or a girl, with minor, correctable health issues. We do not want to adopt a child older than Mr. Na.

Why don’t you want to adopt a newborn?

Ukraine law prohibits foreigners to adopt children under the age of 14 months, and we are comfortable with that. When we adopted Mr. Na, he had just turned 19 months, which was perfect for us.

Would you consider adopting an older child?

No, most importantly because it wouldn’t be fair to Mr. Na to disrupt the birth order.

What are minor, correctable health issues?

When we adopted Mr. Na, he was diagnosed with hip dysplasia, a heart murmur, asthma, and rickets–all treatable illnesses. Incidentally, Mr. Na only had rickets.

What are the risks of adopting a child from Ukraine?

There are many, but the worst case scenario for us would be to come home without a child.

Why would you come home without a child?

It’s a matter of timing, unfortunately. Oftentimes, families are shown profiles of very sick children (children with Leukemia, Cerebral Palsy, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome or AIDS). Children’s profiles often take months—up to a year—to get to the Adoption Center in Kiev. So, we may not see profiles of relatively healthy children, within our requested age range. If that’s the case, we’ll file a request for a second appointment,which could happen within a few days after the first appointment or in 2009, depending on which way the wind blows.

Why take that risk?

Why not? Look how lucky we were last time!

What happens once you see a profile of a child you’d like to adopt?

The Adoption Center makes a call to the child’s orphanage, letting them know we’d like to come and meet the child in person. That evening, we’ll travel by train to that child’s region.

What happens once you meet the child?

We ascertain whether or not the child has any severe problems that were not listed on the profile (this happens a lot, unfortunately). We work with our pediatricians, who will coach us through a medical examination. We’ll send photos and videos to the doctors back home and they will give us a cursory diagnosis. We’ll also have blood tests performed to ensure the child doesn’t have AIDS or Hepatitis. After spending a few days with the child, we will let the Adoption Center in Kiev know that we are accepting the referral. We’ll then apply for a court date, the child’s passport and immigrant visa.

“If” the child isn’t well or displays extreme attachment disorder behavior, we will request another appointment at the Adoption Center and start over. I know this sounds heartless, but we aren’t equipped to take care of a very sick child. We’re not looking for the next Gerber baby, but we do want a child who will thrive. Having been through this before, and raising Mr. Na these past four years, we know this is possible.

How long will you be gone?

That’s a tough question. Last time it took 16 days door-to-door. We’re hoping it won’t take that much longer.

How is Mr. Na with all of this?

He’s still too little to understand the nuances of what we’re about to do. We hope that this trip will be a positive experience for him. We wouldn’t dream of leaving him home because it would be much harder on him if, after weeks of being gone, we came back with a new little one, saying, “Here’s your brother/sister!”

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