The Dreaded Phone Call

Well....I got the dreaded phone call from CHI. The local regional director called and broke the news. Actually, I kind of knew it was coming since a friend of mine received the same call a couple of weeks ago. We have a weight issue.

It was explained to me that other agencies have seen China turn adoptive parents down if they looked too heavy. The director asked if it would be possible to submit a picture with our dossier where I looked smaller/thinner. How the hell am I supposed to do that without altering the photo? I told her there is only so much I can do in 4-5 months. She warned me of the risks even though there is no formal weight guideline in place....yet. We could be 1 year into the process before we were told by China I am too fat. She said it may take China 6 months to get to that point in the review process before we were turned down (5 months for paperchase plus 6 months in China for review).

I was also told Vietnam is a good substitute and has no restrictions.

Looks like T and I have more to talk about. Ultimately, we want to build our family no matter what. Going to China for our child could be a significant emotional and financial risk if we were to get turned down later in the process. We opted for international adoption for many reasons...but one of the biggest reasons was because we heard from many domestic agencies our chances were hurt because we already have a biological child, I work, and T and I are different religious faiths. By going international, we avoided those issues. And now a new issue has come up.

I guess nothing is easy. And things worth having/getting aren't easy.