Possible Adoption

[dnudi1@mail.sandi.net]

My husband and I are in our 40's and 2 1/2 years ago became parents for the first time through adoption. We have one daughter and have recently been approved for adoption again. Last week we were notified that we had been chosen to be the parents of a 13 month old boy. He was born with a cleft lip and palate. He was taken from his birth mother due to medical neglect and placed in a foster home. He had lip repair in May and palate surgery in September. We love being parents and we know that any child is a life-time commitment. We will be meeting with the child's social workers this week to help us make the decision whether to adopt him or not.(My husband really wants another newborn.) I have been doing my homework trying to become more informed: it all started with this web site. I also have a good friend who is a speech therapist who works with pre-schoolers. She has been very helpful. We live in San Diego. Are there any doctors here that you could recommend? Or any other advice or recommendations that you could give us? Thanks for your support and encouragement as we make this decision. Deb

[Anonymous]

I would like to recommend this site to you, should you decide to go ahead with the adoption:


<a href="http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/cleftkids">http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/cleftkids</a>


It is a site for parents of clefted babies and children, with nice members who are active in posting questions and answers. It will help you in the care of your new child. Good Luck!

[Calvero]

The director of Wisesmiles, Joanne Green, adopted three cleft kids. You can get in touch with her at <a href="http://www.widesmiles.org">http://www.widesmiles.org</a> which is the biggest cleft site on the web.


You can also call the Cleft Palate Foundation's toll free number at 1-800-24-CLEFT (1-800-242-5338) for information. Their website is <a href="http://www.cleftline.org">http://www.cleftline.org</a>


There is also a mailing list for parents of adoptive cleft kids at <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/adoptcleft">http://groups.yahoo.com/group/adoptcleft</a>


Hope that helps, and good luck


Kim,
The Cleft Club
<a href="http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/thecleftclub">http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/thecleftclub</a>