Through my years doing adoption, I have heard that the hardest part of the process is the waiting after the home study is complete. During the home study process, the prospective parents are busy and doing tasks that will ultimately bring them closer to being eligible to adopt. When the home study is complete, the family has to wait for that amazing call that they have been chosen by a birth mother. This is often extremely difficult for some families. There are agencies who check in with the families often and tell them exactly how many times their profile has been shown and all work done on their case at a set interval. Other agencies are available to talk and answer questions, but really only call when the prospective family is chosen. One manner is not better than the other; some people like to know every time their profile is shown, while other people only want to know when they are chosen.
After your home study is complete, it is important to focus on living life and not focusing on what is happening with your case. The right birth mother will choose you and the situation has to be right. Something that has worked amazingly well in my practice is putting together adoption groups with people who are at the same place in their quest, so the support will be there. The groups often start out as home study ready and then continue when they adopt their babies. No doubt it is hard when some group members successfully adopt and other members take longer to bring their baby home, but the support is priceless. When the group is solid, it seems to take on a life of its own and the children will always have friends who are also adopted. This can be amazing to the children and the parents throughout their lives!