"Another couple I knew was quite wealthy. They hired a lawyer who found a blonde blue eyed healthy newborn in another state. Later that same mother had a 2nd child and they adopted this sibling. This was a situation where they paid for all the pregnant mom's expenses. I got the feeling it cost them well over 6 figures."

This is similar to a situation I know about. Supposedly, "buying" desirable babies is illegal but it happens all the time. They just shroud the payments as expenses. The teen mom and dad that I know of were later posting on social media about their brand new vehicles, expensive vacations, etc. Things they never would have been able to afford previously.

Anonymous wrote:Have you considered IVF with donor egg, sperm, and/or a gestational carrier? (What you need depends on the issue.) These are all easier paths to a healthy newborn.

THIS! I tried 3 different paths to adoption 15 years ago: foster, domestic, and international. I gave up after a few years, because as a working single parent, I was not equipped to handle a special needs child or a teen (the only options presented to me in that 3-year period, especially after international adoptions ceased). I was fortunate to get pregnant on my first try and now the proud parent of an awesome teen son! I am now looking into become a foster parent (again) with the support of my son.

Anonymous wrote:Of course if you take a non white baby who was exposed to drugs and.or alcohol in the womb. Most don't want that though.

My friend adopted 2 biracial kids like this from our county agency and it was well under a year for the first. They called her about the 2nd, and she got her immediately at a few weeks old. But she did have some behavioral issues and different types of occupational, speech and psych therapy ongoing through the years. They are well adjusted adults now. She still had to pay 15K even for hard-to-place babies.

Another couple I knew was quite wealthy. They hired a lawyer who found a blonde blue eyed healthy newborn in another state. Later that same mother had a 2nd child and they adopted this sibling. This was a situation where they paid for all the pregnant mom's expenses. I got the feeling it cost them well over 6 figures.

So if you are willing to adopt a baby/child who is non-white and not necessarily in perfect health, it will probably be the quickest route to becoming an adoptive parent.