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!
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