Chinese adoption

WE are so excited to begin the process. What happens now is we turn in the full application, wait for approval and an invitation to the October orientation. We are then assigned a socal work and the fun starts. The paperwork is often called "paperchasing" and you will hear that a lot.
I am going to post some info on words, symbols and traditions you may hear in the chinese adoption world. Its very exciting and I am so glad we have all of the support




New to Chinese Adoption?...The Answers To Your Questions:
These answers are based on my personal research and opinions...* Why does it take so long? The paperwork required by China is extensive and it takes a long time to prepare because they want to ensure that their children are being adopted into loving homes. After the paperwork is submitted to the Chinese government, it waits its turn to be thoroughly reviewed. They also have to confirm that the children being placed for adoption are truly orphans. * Why are all the orphans girls? Most of the orphans are girls because in the Chinese culture, boys support their parents in their old age as there is no social security. Girls support their husband's parents. With the one child per family law, most families choose for their one child to be a boy out of necessity.* How old will she be? It seems that the youngest age at the time of adoption is about 8 months. Most of the babies are between that and about 20 months old, with the majority being around 12-14 months when they first meet their forever family.

Important Jargon and Traditions Found In The Chinese Adoption Community:
The Red Thread - "An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but will never break." - An ancient Chinese belief

.Ladybugs - Believed to be good luck by most people, this is particularly true here. One spring while everyone waited for their referrals, there was a huge infiltration of ladybugs across the nation and immediately following these sightings a flood of referrals came. Or so the story goes.

100 Good Wishes Quilt - To welcome and celebrate a new life, there is a tradition in the northern part of China to make a Bai Jia Bei, or "100 Good Wishes Quilt." It is a custom to invite 100 people to contribute a single square patch of cloth. The 100 patches are sewn together into a quilt that contains the luck, energy, and good wishes from all the families and friends who contributed a piece of fabric. The quilt is then passed down from generation to generation. (Wording borrowed from Original Quilts owner.) Waiting families often collect the wishes along with a sample of each fabric square into a scrapbook for their new child.DTC - Dossier to China. This is the milestone day when the Chinese government logs in the receipt of a dossier to adopt a child. This represents the end of the "paperchase" for the adoptive parents, and the beginning of "the wait" for a referral of a child by the Chinese government. Sometimes also referred to as your LID, or Log In Date.