June 18, 2005 — One of the delightful surprises we’ve had recently was discovering that some good friends of ours here in Colorado are looking into adopting a baby from Mexico.

I asked my friends why Mexico, when you hear so much more about China and India. They explained that this program allows for getting the baby very young, which makes fuller bonding easier. They also liked the proximity of Mexico compared with the other places — and they like “the opportunity to connect with the wonderfully rich, exuberant and child-loving culture of this region of Mexico.” (It’s around Guadalajara.)

When they asked the agency for some references they could contact, one woman turned out to be an old friend of the woman in this couple. She and her husband spent over 6 months in Mexico and are now home with their infant son. Part of why it took that long was — no surprise to readers of this blog — Mexican bureaucracy. Getting our FM-3 was somewhat less complicated than getting a Mexican passport for the baby, as well as other paperwork.

I’ll report on our friends’ progress later. They don’t know exactly what the time frame will be, but maybe Kelly and I will be making a trip from Bernal to Guadalajara later this year to see our friends while they are there.

UPDATE 2009:  This is now much more diffiicult due to changes in international laws. (But it did work for this couple.)