DNA Is A Match

Just over a week ago DNA was collected from baby and mother. The DNA was sent to the USA for testing to ensure that the woman relinquishing the rights to raise the child was truly the mother of the child. The results just came back with a probability of maternity of 99.99%. That's quite a yes, and it's a really big step in our process.

There's one more step before we can really begin to feel that this child is OUR baby, and that's the completion of the Family Court report. We know that the social worker interviewed the mother last week, and if she was and continues to be sure that she and no one in her family is able right now to raise a child, then the Family Court will approve her request to transfer the rights of raising him to us. The positive DNA test confirms that she has the right to do that. Once that process is complete, we will begin to get very excited--but not too excited, because the paperwork is taking an average of six months in the Attorney General's office right now. We hope to have that report within 1-2 months, and be able to say that this child is not just "maybe" ours, but "almost certainly" ours.

Birthmother Interview and Rocking Chair

It was a busy week in Boston and Guatemala. In Guatemala, the DNA test happened (we now have a couple of pictures of him at the test, which are posted on our picture site as usual). We were also notified that the meeting between the Guatemalan social worker and the mother also happened last week, so even though we didn't get official word that we were "protocolized", we must have been, because the social worker's interview is part of the Family Court process. Our attorney couldn't be acting on our behalf in Family Court if our document giving him power of attorney hadn't been accepted by the court.

In Boston, we celebrated the arrival of our rocking chair, a Christmas gift from Reb's parents which had to be special-ordered. Soon* there'll be a baby instead of a bear in that chair. We also got a toy bin/organizer/thing which we're painting, so his room is coming right along.

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*6-8 months, according to recent historical averages

DNA Test Done

We just received word that the DNA test on mother and baby was done on Monday. That means that the samples were collected and sent off to the lab. We should hear the results in between a week to a month from now.

More Pictures

We got another batch of pictures and another medical update today. He is now 10 pounds and 58 centimeters. And according to the medical report, he had a respiratory infection, poor kid.

DNA Authorization from the Embassy

We've received word that the US Embassy in Guatemala has given approval to have the DNA tests done on birthmother and baby. We're assuming that, although this instruction was given by the US Embassy and not by the Guatemalan government, that it couldn't have been given unless we were officially entered into the Guatemalan system, known as protocolization. Protocolization is important because when the Guatemalan adoption process has been shut down before for various reasons (and we expect that soon the Hague will cause a shutdown while the process is reorganized), protocolization was the cutoff to be allowed to continue with an adoption. Of course, there are no guarantees: international adoption is much like the stock market, in that past performance is not an indication of future results. So we're maintaining our same level of optimistic hopefulness, but were surprised to hear about DNA authorization before protocolization!

Another very important process tends to run alongside of the DNA testing: Family Court. Soon the baby whose referral we have accepted will be referred to Family Court as well, and a social worker will visit his birthfamily. She will ask if the birthmother is really convinced that she is not able to take care of this child and truly wants to relinquish the rights to raise him to another family. She will make sure that the birthmother knows that the relinquishment is legally final once the adoption is complete, and she will ask again if there is any family member who would be able to care for this child so that he could stay with his birthfamily. If the birthmother is convinced that she and her family would be unable to care for the child and that she does want to relinquish the rights to raise him to another family, then approval will be given by the Family Court for the adoption to proceed.

The timeline for Family Court is usually about 3 months, and for DNA results is 1-2. So far we are right on the average schedule.

If you'd like to get more information on the average status/progress of Guatemalan adoptions through our agency, they post an International Adoption Update within the first week of every month on their website. The update is on the left-hand sidebar. Also, a great website with useful information for adoptive families and friends from all countries is RainbowKids. They even have a letter to grandparents posted this month!

UPDATE: Received word today that we have NOT yet been protocolized. The entry into the Guatemalan system and the US Embassy are two independent tracks. Our documents have been in Guatemala for a few weeks, but have been delayed being put into the system because of the holidays (and then catching-up from the holidays).

Baby room update 2

In the end, we decided not to stain the dresser after all. Instead, we painted it, as you can see to the right. It turned out pretty well. The semi-gloss paint makes the knobs really pop.

Also, as you can see, we received and installed the foam tiles to cover the floor. Hopefully fewer tears will be shed when he starts to learn to walk.