Random Stuff

I've been very busy/lazy this year which is reflected in the lack of posts.
There has been tons of stuff happening in our lives, Katie has grown so much, her language has been exploding in English as well as in Spanish which makes me so proud.
Anyway, I realized that there is no way that I'll have the time to blog everything in a sequential manner, so I'm going to get the ball rolling just like my head is organized, in the most random manner.
I'm trying this app from blogger, so look at the attached photo and try to guess what is it?




It is PERRO! This photo was taken by Katie, and anybody who sees her in a regular basis knows him, she walks around with him on her hand all the time, he goes to school with her and he sleeps with her every night. She loves touching his ears (which are pretty rough now) and she scratches her nose with his ears. If she were Calvin, he is her Hobbes, he even spent a night in the woods just like hobbes!
I just thought it was proper to mention him in this family blog since he's now part of our family :)

Adoption Timeline

So you're thinking about adopting a baby and are wondering about the timelines.
Here is our particular timeline, we did our adoption through ICBF (Colombian Social Services) instead of a Casa (private orphanage) we were assigned to the 0 to 36 months-old range, and our family got a little bit of preference since I'm Colombian, there are some families with Colombian heritage that have gotten their referral way faster and a few that have taken longer but after following different adoption proceses for two years I can tell you ours was a pretty average case for a Colombian Heritage family.
If neither you or your spouse is Colombian, then the referral will be longer.  You can go to this blog thread http://raisingcolombiankids.blogspot.com/search/label/ICBF%20Wait%20List to have an idea of how the waiting list is moving along.

I've done it in stages because that's how it goes. I didn't take into account the "information gathering" time in the first stage because that will vary a lot according to your family.


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	Elapsed Time
Information gathering - Agency Selection
Sent Application to local & international agencies	5 months, 2 days
1st Social Worker Visit	3 weeks, 4 days
2nd SW visit	5 days
Finished Homestudy	2 months, 2 days
STAGE 1 -HOMESTUDY	3 months, 2 days
Filed I-800A	3 weeks, 6 days
Fingerprints	2 weeks, 1 days
I-800A Approval	3 weeks, 1 days
Dossier Submitted before ICBF	1 months, 11 days
STAGE 2 - DOSSIER PREPARATION	3 months, 15 days
Officially Approved by ICBF	2 weeks, 2 days
Sent to Regional Santander	3 weeks, 6 days
Referred to Katie by Commitee	1 months, 24 days
STAGE 3.1 - REFERRAL	3 months, 7 days
Fingerprints Sent to FBI	2 weeks, 0 days
Received official Referral by LSSMN	1 weeks, 1 days
STAGE 3.2 - YOU GET THE NEWS	3 months, 29 days
Filed I-800	1 weeks, 2 days
Received I-800 receipt and faxed DS-230 to Embassy	1 weeks, 0 days
I-800 received at Hague division (8wd)	5 days
I-800 Approved by adjudicator (3wd)	3 days
I-800 Sent to NVC so they scan and send it to Embassy in Bogota (1wd)	4 days
NVC finally scanned the file and sent it to Bogota	6 days
Bogota Embassy Issued Article 5 Letter	1 days
Paul got his Colombian Visa	3 days
Received FBI background check (ETA=10 weeks after filed - got them in 8w because I begged)	1 weeks, 6 days
Presentation/ Entrega Day	4 days
STAGE 4 - ENTREGA	1 months, 25 days
Integration Visit	1 weeks, 1 days
Presented the Demanda	3 days
Sentencia  -  Final Adoption Decree	1 months, 4 days
Colombian Passport & Medical Eval	5 days
ICBF Conformity & US Embassy	1 days
Received US Immigrant Visa	1 days
STAGE 5 - YOU CAN GO HOME WITH YOUR BABY!	1 months, 22 days
TIME FROM FIRST PAPERWORK TO BABY IN ARMS	12 months, 11 days
TOTAL TIME	14 months, 3 days

Presentation / Entrega / Gotcha Day FAQ

Which documents should we bring?

On that day you won’t need any other document but your ID (either passport or Colombian cedula), everything else you have provided beforehand so don’t worry, what you need to bring is the address and phone number of the place you’ll be staying at (hotel, apartment, or wherever you’re planning to stay in Colombia) and paper and pencil to write everything they tell you.  Here is a list of questions to ask (in Spanish-will upload in English later) you should tailor it depending on the information you received regarding your child with the referral paperwork.

Can/ should we bring friends/relatives with us?

If you’re wondering whether or not you’re allowed to bring friends or relatives to the Encuentro, I can tell you that we went with an entourage: my mom, my brother with his wife and their baby; but when it was time to speak to social worker she asked them to leave the room because we were going to discuss very personal issues regarding the baby’s background.  I brought my Flip video camera and a tripod and set it up beforehand in a corner of the room and recorded everything, that was an excellent idea because it was a non intrusive way to have the things I did not write and even though there was nobody else but the two of us when we saw our baby for the first time we have that special moment in video.

Should I bring gifts for the foster mother/social worker?

As for gifts… mmm ... our daughter’s foster mother told us that often ICBF’s personnel gets the gifts and don’t deliver, so is your decision, we also brought a gift for the social worker who handled our child’s case and we gave it to her on the day she went to our apartment to make our 1 week visit.  Be aware that they are forbidden from receiving any kinds of gifts so if you want to give her a little something (usually chocolates) you have to be very discreet.

What exactly happens that day? 

That day you and your spouse will go to the ICBF office where you will meet your lawyer, a social worker, a nutritionist and family advocate.  After the formal presentations, you stay in a room with the social worker and nutritionist and they talk about your baby, her story, her habits, what she likes, health, etc. and they answer all of your questions, in our case, the foster mother had sent us a folder with all the "instructions" kind of like a manual to our daughter, so that made things easier.

Afterwards they go and bring you the baby, they immediately leave so you can have a first moment together as a family, about ten minutes later they return, so does your family /relatives, and give you some paperwork to sign, basically is a paper giving you temporary custody of the baby, once the paperwork is signed can go home with your baby! 

Our daughter’s foster mother sent her with the most beautiful outfit a warm bottle and extra diapers, but I’ve heard that all fosters are not the same, so bring an extra outfit and the diaper bag with everything you’ll need diapers, wipes, bottle, toys, etc..

Where to find more information?

I recommend you read the thread "One Family's Journey" at Melinda's blog http://raisingcolombiankids.blogspot.com/search/label/One% 20Family% 27s% 20Journey  start from the oldest post, they explained what happens on all those days, it helped me a lot!

Congratulations!

Colombian "Cedula de Ciudadania" - What is it? Do I need it?

The cedula is the Colombian ID. (it is a mix between your SSN and your driver’s license)

You and your spouse need either a Colombian Cedula or an adoption visa to:

1.       Sign all the adoption paperwork in Colombia (law suit and final adoption decree)

2.       Get a Colombian passport for your child.

If you're Colombian by heritage or by adoption you probably don’t have one, which means you will have to apply for one, which you can do at the Colombian Consulate, To apply for a cedula you will need:

·         Original copy of your birth certificate where it shows your parents name and the file number.

·         Three color photos, 1.5” x 2”, front take, white background, where you’re wearing dark (black) clothes. Your head must be at least 1.1” in the photos.

·         Knowing your blood type  (i.e.: A+, A-, O+, AB, etc.).

·         It has no cost

You won’t get the official “Cedula” right away, but you’ll get a temporary ID called “Contraseña”.  Which you will need to apply for a Colombian passport.

To get a Colombian Passport you have two options: 

1. Apply right away at the Consulate while you’re doing the cedula paperwork or 

2. Fly to Colombia and get your passport in Bogota.  

The cost difference is $117 in the Consulate vs. $50 in Bogota, and also that it takes 15 to 20 working days in the Consulate vs. ½ hr in Bogota.

If you decide to apply for your passport in the consulate, you’ll have to make an appointment on the website www.pasaportes.gov.co where you’ll have to fill up all the information, you must make sure you show up at least 15 minutes before your appointment time.  All you need is your birth certificate and more photos (which you’ll be bringing anyway to get your Cedula)

In any event, make sure you call the Consulate before going and let them know of your situation, they will be very helpful and may expedite your paperwork!

Adoption Visa - How to get one & advice

The adoption visa is required for being able to sign all of the adoption related paperwork (in case you're not Colombian) and more important, it is required to get your child's Colombian passport so you can return home.


My advice on this is CALL THE CONSULATE BEFORE GOING, that is the best you can do, for example, my agency told us that we needed to apostille all the documents, when I asked the consul he said it wasn't necessary to present an apostille since the documents weren't going to Colombia.  That one call saved us a trip to Austin and an extra day or two of paperwork.
I also contacted the consul way before receiving a referral and thanks to it, instead of taking us 2 days to receive the visa it took us 30 minutes!!! So go ahead, search in the web "Colombian consulate (your city)" and call before doing anything else.


Here are the documents the Colombian Consul in Houston sent me about how to get an adoption visa and which are the requirements. 
* Document with the instructions (Click here)
* Application form you should present (Click here)


One last thing, if one of the parents is staying in Colombia to finalize the adoption and the other is returning to the US, remember to leave a photocopy of the Adoption Visa or Colombian Passport with the parent who stays. We weren't told that and we lost one day in Bogota while my husband scanned and emailed his visa.

Yay A Referral! Now What? Timeline

After my many hours of preparation for all the adoption paperwork there was something I wasn't quite ready for, it was the paperwork and the excruciating wait after we received our referral.
I have heard other adoptive parent saying that they were in Colombia meeting their baby within two weeks of getting the referral but that is NOT the case anymore.
That was the first thing I wasn't prepared for, wait 2 months after receiving the news of areferral before meeting my baby.

•      28 Dec 09 - Referred to Katie by ICBF
• 19 Jan 10 - Received official Referral from our agency LSSMN - 23 days later
• 28 Jan 10 - Filed I-800  10 days 
• 04 Feb 10 - Received I-800 receipt and faxed DS-230 to Embassy - 8 days
• 09 Feb 10 - I-800 received at Hague division (8 work days)
• 12 Feb 10 - I-800 Approved by adjudicator (3 work days)
• 16 Feb 10 - I-800 Sent to NVC so they scan and send it to Embassy in Bogota (1 work day)
• 22 Feb 10 - NVC finally scanned the file and sent it to Bogota (26 days or 3 weeks since 1-800 filed)
• 23 Feb 10 - Bogota Embassy Issued Article 5 Letter  1 day
• 26 Feb 10 - Paul got his Colombian Visa we got it on the same day that we applied for it.
• 15 Mar 10 - Presentation/ Entrega Day 
• Total wait from referral to presentation =  11 weeks or 2 months 16 days.
   

Packing List - Aditional Stuff

Here are some of the things besides "the usual" that I brought to Colombia: 

•  Clothes - they are REALLY expensive and not as cute in Colombia.
• "Plenty of hats" since it was very sunny outside and Katie hated the sun on her eyes 
• Stroller - make sure it is collapsible and it has big wheels because the streets in Colombia are not stroller friendly, I bought a Maclaren and I love it!  I used it specially in the airport, my little girl slept through all the immigration hassle.
• The raincover for my Maclaren stroller (a must in the rainy Colombian weather)
• Baby carrier, I couldn't make up my mind of which one to buy since my daughter wasn't a little infant or a toddler yet, I ended up buying two, a typical sling (very practical to carry around) and structured carrier so I bought a scootababy carrier, my second option was an Ergo carrier I liked both of them because I could use it until my baby weights 40 lbs (she's still under 30 lbs)
• One of those little pocket umbrellas for mommy & daddy
• Peptobismol, I know it sounds gross but both of us got sick of our stomach while being there. 
• A quilt,which I loved because we always put it under my daughter's bed (no matter where we were) and we didn't wash it until about a month after being home, I know it sounds gross but it was GREAT way for her to feel "home"
• This trash bags dispenser which we used a lot since there's no way we could bring a genie diaper pal http://www.amazon.com/Munchkin-Hammer-Diaper-Dispenser-Colors/dp/B001QKDI48/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1294085168&sr=8-3 
• This diaper bag  http://www.amazon.com/Columbia-Trekster-Diaper-Bag-Orange/dp/B001GGVWKE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1294084745&sr=1-2 and we loved it because it kept us hands-free and I didn't knock anybody unconscious when getting in and out of the airplanes. (I'm the clumsiest person in the world)
• This plastic place mat http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2908461 
• This disposable bibs http://www.amazon.com/Pampers-Bibsters-Sesame-20-Count-Disposable/dp/B000CC0TJS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1294085520&sr=1-1 no time/no place to be washing those cute cloth bibs
• This flatware set (I love that it comes in a nice container) http://www.amazon.com/First-Years-Learning-Toddler-Flatware/dp/B0016NMIOG/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1294085589&sr=1-4
• OK this is the last thing, I bought a $.99 bubble maker which I took over and I still carry in my bag, it entertains her so much and it doesn't occupy any space!    

Update
What NOT to bring
Diapers= If you buy the Colombian brand Winny you'll be dealing with diapers as good or even better than the American brands Huggies and Pampers.
Wipes = oh please, I don't need to explain myself on this one, too bulky too heavy... not worth the hassle.
Bottle sterilizer = hot water was enough.
Portable crib/ Play pen = We moved between 3 different places while in Colombia and in all of them we were able to find a play pen/ crib available.