Being an adoptive Mum is...

...finally being able to get a baby-sitter after nine months and using that first night out to celebrate your wedding anniversary :)

Being an adoptive Mum is...

...remembering how long the process has taken to get you here and having doubts along the way, partly because the process takes so flipping long that it is ALL you think about and so those doubts creep in.  If you get married, or go on holiday, you think about it then do it, set a date and then it consumes your whole life (more or less!) until the day arrives.  You count down the days, weeks, months and so on.  Planning every meticulous detail over and over.  Adopters don't have that luxury, it's like the vicar saying yes you can get married but I'm not going to tell you until a week before, and then two years later you have to buy the dress and everything in a week!

Being an adoptive Mum is...

...not having any time for yourself - or even to THINK about yourself.  In eight months I haven't had my hair cut, had my eyebrows shaped, when it was hubby's birthday I forgot to buy him a card as I was so busy getting him something from the children, I haven't pro-actively sorted out my paperwork / post / emails, I haven't pro-actively contacted a lot of friends, I haven't written thank-you cards to people who gave us things for the children when they moved in / for their birthdays / for Christmas...

Being an adoptive Mum is...

...is having to put hideous home-made snow angels on your perfect Christmas tree and then realising you are going to have to put them back on again next year, and the year after that, and the year after that.... ;)

Being an adoptive Mum is...

...updating Twitter / Facebook / MySpace, etc with "It comes to something when it's a Friday night and I'm in bed by 6.30!

Being an adoptive Mum is...

...trying to get a two-year old dressed whilst he is raspberrying your elbow! And realising that it is the first time in seven months that he has pro-actively had fun with you

Being an adoptive Mum is...

...only having had 1.5 hours quality time with your husband in six months

Being an adoptive Mum is...

...realising that our oldest child has been a child for five years and we have been parents for five months, so we have a lot of catching up to do

Being an adoptive Mum is...

...hard during the first year when everyone else says, "Oh we did this last Christmas with the children."  "We did that at Halloween with the kids."  "Our babies loved their summer holidays at the same place."  When you have no history, you have no 'family', it takes time to build it up.  Eventually you become a family through the experiences you all have TOGETHER

Being an adoptive Mum is...

...all about going to bed at 6.30 when the kids do and still only getting 2 hours sleep!

Being an adoptive Mum is...

...having to change a nappy five times before 9.30am - and that's just ONE child!