Originally, my plan was to have NO biological children.
I didn't want to risk passing on my "bad" genes (the bad being the OCD, Anxiety, and Depression) because they run on both sides of my family, and not in a good way. I believe I'm the only one who went as far as to get help for my problems.. Everyone else is in denial or, in the case of one, so religious that they refuse to admit anything because God will help. I have nothing against religion.. Most of my family is at least slightly religious, but if it goes this far, I think there is a problem. Simply because people need to help themselves because it affects everyone around you.
But anyway.. I wanted to adopt a son with Autism. I spent years researching autism, different ways it presents itself, ways people help their child, etc. I can proudly say I was close to a pro on knowing signs and how to help the child.. though since then I have forgotten a lot of it.
I wanted a boy because our family is almost all girls. I have 6 biological cousins..and all but one..girls..
I have 4 biological aunts, no biological uncles.
I have a theory that our bodies actually destroy boys. My mother had a miscarriage that was not proven to have no baby (her others were) and when we did the "needle test" (A needle on a string, held over the hand, if it goes in circles it is a girl, if it goes back and forth it is a boy) it said Girl (me), Boy (We think her miscarriage), Girl (My 8 year old sister), then Girl (my 5 almost 6 year old sister).
When done on my grandmother, it says Girl (my aunt), Girl (my mom), Boy (She also had a miscarriage)
Mine said Boy, then Girl... But I was never pregnant before. Funny thing is, after we found out the gender it said Girl first..THEN Boy. But it said the same thing no matter who held the string..so I'm not really sure.
The age I want to adopt is anywhere from 3-6 years old.. Not too old, but also not an infant. I wanted a child, not an infant.
Now that I reevaluate the situation, I wouldn't mind an infant, but I still want a child.
Since having my daughter, I crave a pregnancy again (Don't worry, I'm practicing abstinence and have no intentions of having another for at least 5 years, preferably longer, and I want to be financially stable!) so I think I may consider having one more biological to try to have that precious boy I feel like I would have, then adopt a son. Two boys and a girl? Sounds good to me.
I have the typical worries.. Will I still love my first as much? Will I love my other child/ren as much as I love my precious firstborn?
With my parents, it seemed they lost "interest" in me once they had another. My father was never really there, so I don't consider him my "parent", but my mom and stepdad spent years trying to conceive my sister..using IVF and everything, and once she was born I noticed a significant decrease in interest in me. But it might have just been that my depression was kicking in. That's about when it began, and it wasn't caused by my sister.
I hope that either a) I can successfully raise 2-3 children as a single parent, or b) I can find a partner I can spend my life with, though I don't hold my breath on this one..
To sum this up,
I still want my adopted son. I feel that he is out there somewhere, not yet born but waiting for his mama to be ready for him.
I read your comment on my blog, thanks for stopping by. I try to show all sides of adoption because too many people refuse to talk about things that may scare others away from adopting, but I want people to be knowledgeable so there are not so many disruptions.
ReplyDeleteAs far as adoption go. I caution anyone adopting a specific special needs. Having a child diagnosed with one thing does not guarantee that is all your child will have.
Also I have 5 children and rest assured I do not love any less than the others because we added new ones. I will say that I took about 6 months or so to really feel like I bonded with our adopted child which they say is completely normal.
I also believe wholeheartedly that God can heal you of depression and have had it happen to me and seen it happen to others but I also had tried therapy and pills first, the pills did not work they made it worse. Once I gave it over it was gone. That was hard though.
I wish you all the best.
Be blessed
Ashlee
http://ourjourneytoadoption.beckfamily143.com/
Thanks for your comment! I know it wouldn't be all he'd have, but autism is something I've always had an interest in, and always wanted to help a child with.
ReplyDeleteOriginally I wanted to be a teacher for children with Autism (and other similar problems), but I changed my plans to be a nurse.
I still want a son, and I still want to help a child with autism as well, so I figured I could combine the two..
Not many people are up to the challenge of adopting an older child with Autism..
I still have LOTS of research to do though!