We lived in North Carolina, and the baby was born in Georgia, so we had to fulfill all Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) requirements before we could legally leave the state. Even though the birthparents’ parental rights had terminated, we were still not allowed to go home.

When we adopted, the Georgia end of things was very efficient, but the North Carolina end was slow. I have heard that North Carolina’s ICPC processing has improved a great deal since then, and I hope that this is true because 16 days is a very long time to live away from home with your new baby.

This was a very frustrating time. Each time we thought everything was completed, one of the agencies, either on the Georgia end or the North Carolina end, would tell us there was yet another hoop to jump through. We finally got word that we could go home when Nicholas was 18 days old.

SPONSOR

 

When we arrived home, there were “It’s a Boy” balloons and decorations on our mailbox and our front door. I was surprised to see this. I thought this was another rite of passage that we would miss out on because our son was born out of state. But my sister and in-laws were not about to let that happen. Once we were home, we were finally able to settle into our new life.