Continued from Part One...

When we were in Ethiopia, Beth told us that she was older than the orphanage claimed she was. We adjusted her birth year, making her 5 months younger than Sahara.

Adopting three kids at once was an event in and of itself, nevermind having three new kids of varying ages blend into our family. Our adjustment issues were more about our new kids fitting into our family, more than age-related problems.

Then we decided to adopt again. We found out about our daughter, Georgia in Haiti. We did not know what her birth date was at first, only that she was about two and a half years old. When we received her referral packet, we discovered that she was only four month older than Claire and six months older than Ezra. Virtual triplets. And again we were adopting out of birth order.

Only time will tell how that adjustment goes, but I do not predict any serious problems. The kids are all younger and are all used to having lots of kids around.

Another interesting thing has come about with our daughter, Bethlehem. We have made contact with some friends of Beth and Kenyon’s birth parents in Ethiopia. Through them we were able to discover Bethlehem’s actual birth date. She ended up being almost 6 months older than Sahara. We had a couple traumatic months of Sahara getting used to Beth being older, and we still have difficult days from time to time. Thankfully, Sahara and Beth are very close. Otherwise, it could have been a lot worse for Sahara losing her spot as oldest child. It has been hard for me to get used to, as well. For eleven years, I thought of Sahara as my first-born child, and now she isn’t. It has been an adjustment for sure, but it has turned out to be okay.

Each family and situation is different. What will not work for some, may work for another. You are the best person to determine if it is right for your family.

For those that have adopted out of birth order—how has it been? Would you do it again? Why or why not?