If you have decided to adopt a child, you are likely very excited and anxious about that child's arrival. The US adoption process can be long and grueling. Here are some coping tips for getting through the adoption process with as little stress as possible.

1. Keep In Mind That the Adoption Process Takes Awhile

Each state has its own laws about how adoptions should be carried out. However, most prospective parents find that it takes between nine and eighteen months for the entire adoption process to be completed. This means from the filing of the initial paperwork that records your interest in adoption to actually taking your adopted child home, you are in for a very long wait. You might get discouraged by how slowly the process is moving and worry that it is because the adoption agency does not find you to be fit parents. In fact, it takes this long for most people. Try not to get too stressed out by it.

2. Consider Writing a Journal About Your Adoption Process

While you are waiting, you can distract yourself from the stress by creating a journal of your day-to-day feelings and hopes. Describe what kind of child you are looking for and what kind of mom you want to be. Talk about the changes you made to your home in order to accommodate a new child. In the future, you will be able to look at this journal and see how strong you were during the process and draw on it for inspiration. You adopted child will likely enjoy seeing this journal as a way of showing him or herself how excited you were for him or her to come and how hard you worked for it. This will likely make your adopted child feel good.

3. Take Time for Yourself

Manage your stress about the adoption process in the same ways that you would manage stress in your everyday life. Stay on top of your exercise schedule and your diet. Make sure that you are doing things that you enjoy. Set times when you will allow yourself to talk about your worries with regards to the adoption process and then don't talk about those worries beyond that time in order to make sure that they do not seep into every aspect of your life. This will allow you to have a much more calm, enjoyable adoption process.

For more information, talk to a company like In Focus Investigations that specializes in process services for adoption.

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