Stinky
When Nanny Norma changes a nasty diaper (you know, Oscar’s, not someone else’s), she waves her hand in front of her nose and makes a hissing noise, telling Oscar that it’s stinky. He’s done something similar while on his changing table, but we don’t think he knew that it actually related to an odor. Today, though, was different. Norma was cleaning the bathroom and sprayed some glass cleaner (of the non-toxic, environmentally and child-friendly variety). Oscar started hissing and when Norma looked at him, he was waving his hand in front of his face. He actually got that the smell was stinky and remembered the gesture. Yeah, I know, this is never going to come in handy in real life, but it was kind of funny, and more importantly, it showed that he recognizes some smells as different, perhaps as unpleasant. Theoretically it could come in handy, but Oscar’s diaper deposits are so incredibly toxic that no warning is necessary.
The process
I’ve had enough PMs from friends and acquaintances asking about the adoption process in Nepal that I thought I short-cut my responses by posting (lazy, hmm?). Here’s what I know.
The Nepali ministry overseeing international adoptions has issued a notice that informed the world that adoptions could start again. In response to allegations of corruption in the past, new reforms have been put in place. Referrals will be issued from a central authority and not from the individual orphanages (I love this, by the way). A limited number of agencies have been approved to work in country. Each of those may submit dossiers for 10 families each year. This may sound like a small number, but when you look at the State Department’s statistics on the number of children adopted from Nepal in the past, this limit multiplied by the number of agencies authorized, keeps the total number of children who may be adopted in the same ballpark as before (a little lower). It is an extremely small country.
The ministry has stated that if a family has a child in the home, the newly adopted child must be of the other gender. This means Oscar really is getting a sister. I’m torn here, both because I’d be inclined to ask for a boy and because there always is a demand for girls, which can prove to be more than simply problematic, but a rule’s a rule. Also, you apparently cannot alter birth order. This means for us that Oscar is getting a little sister. Again, same concern about asking for an infant/young toddler girl, but I figure that by the time my dossier actually gets logged, maybe I’ll be asking for an even older child, since Oscar will be that much older. I think this is going to be a slow-moving program; no one I’ve talked to thinks otherwise.
Couples who have been married at least four years and single women between 35-55 may adopt. There’s a lot of other info out there regarding fees, etc., which I don’t find all that interesting, so I won’t regurgitate it here. The full text of the terms and conditions released can be found here, although I’m betting only the very few of you actually adopting from there will read this (it’s a little dry).
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Etta’s Hats
Where I’ve Been
