How it will all go down

I've actually been getting this question a LOT and thought I should make a blog post about it. It's a great question, just not one I want to repeat a thousand times. haha.

So here's how it will all go down when we get "the call":

1.) The bio mom will be in the hospital with the baby for about a week after the baby is born. Within that time she will decide if this is the right decision for her. If she decides to give up her parental rights, she has 3 days from the date she signs to the date it's "finalized".

2.) When it's finalized, the parents-to-be (PTB) get a phone call saying they have a baby.

3.) The agency in Japan then files paperwork with the Embassy to get a court date for the PTB to appear with the baby.

4.) A couple weeks later the court notifies the agency of a date (usually about 2-3 weeks from that notification).

5.) The agency notifies the PTB immediately, which gives them about a 2-3 week (give or take one or two) leeway to book travel and get out there.

6.) The PTB will then travel to Japan for a couple weeks. They welcome their baby into their family a couple days after their arrival and begin a whirlwind of appointments with doctors, the embassy, etc.

7.) The PTB then come home as a family.

:D

When the PTB see their baby for the first time the baby is anywhere from 5-10 weeks old. It really depends on many factors - when the bio mom chooses to sign over the child, when the agency submits paperwork to get an appointment, and when the Japanese government is able to get an appointment.