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(248) 650-5009
(248) 845-4350
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940 W Avon Rd, Suite 10
Rochester Hills, MI 48307
Where Do You Sleep?
Ami Mavani,MD
Where do you sleep?
Whose arms rock you to sleep?
Your daddy’s and mine are empty.
Where do you sleep?
Whose loving hands feed you?
Your daddy and I wish that burp was easy.
Where do you sleep?
Who sings you a lullaby?
Your daddy and I sing across the oceans.
Where do you sleep?
Who kisses that forehead when it hurts?
Your daddy and I send kisses across the seas.
Where do you sleep?
Is that a pretty dress you wear?
Your daddy and I smoothen the wrinkles in your pink frock.
Where do you sleep?
Whose lap do you dream in?
Daddy and I wait with the soft silks on our laps.
Where do you sleep?
Who holds you when you dream?
Daddy and I will understand if the dreams are sad, when we first hold you.
Where do you sleep?
Who hushes you when you cry?
Daddy and I can hear the tiny wail in the winds.
Where do you sleep?
Whose fingers does that tiny fist grasp?
Daddy and I will hold your hand on life’s path.
And God will hold your first mother’s hand.
When we know where you sleep.
The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 (Public Law 103-66) was signed by President Clinton on August 10, 1993. It amended the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974. The most significant change is that the law requires that any group health plan which provides coverage for dependent children of plan participants must provide benefits to a child placed with participants for adoption under the same terms and conditions as apply to a biological child of a plan participant. Additionally, the law prohibits carriers from restricting coverage of adopted children on the basis of a preexisting condition. Therefore, health insurance coverage for adopted children is now available to all families covered by group health plans as soon as those families assume financial responsibility for the child.
The March/April 2002 issue of Adoptive Families magazine includes a comprehensive article on Health Insurance for Adoptive Children.
Before the child arrives you can set up a consult with your pediatrician to talk about the child’s adjustment, transition and medical care. This is a good time for you to gauge the doctor’s awareness of adoption issues and their sensitivity to the process of adoption, its joys and trials. Once your child has arrived, make an appointment with him or her for a general evaluation. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that the physical include hemoglobin/hematocrit and red blood cell indices, urinalysis, blood lead level, vision and hearing testing, dental examination, and screening for hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV/AIDS, syphilis, tuberculosis, and intestinal parasites.