Q: Home studies are usually the lengthiest step in the adoption process. A social worker will want to review your family history, life, and home. Courts rely on the home study to determine you can provide a stable home before they’ll agree to let you adopt. Because it is so important, you should schedule the home study as soon as possible. Generally, the whole process can take up to eight weeks. States require that home studies be performed by licensed professionals. Check whether your agency is qualified to perform a home study. Your social worker should give you a complete checklist of documents. Gather them before your first meeting. For example, you typically need the following:  Get copies of the birth certificates for everyone in the family. Obtain a copy of your marriage license if you are married. Find financial information, such as tax returns, pay stubs, and income statements. Ask your doctor to complete a health form. Medical conditions don’t automatically prevent you from adopting, but the agency will make a decision on a case-by-case basis. You’ll probably have to give fingerprints, so coordinate with your agency to get this done in a timely manner. The adoption agency will review any criminal arrests and may ask for follow-up information. A conviction for a DUI or other criminal offense will not necessarily keep you from adopting. However, the agency will want to see proof that you’ve rehabilitated yourself, such as by completing drug or alcohol counseling. You’ll need to have at least one in-home meeting with the social worker. They will want to talk with each family member to assess your readiness to adopt. You should be prepared to discuss the following:  Your motivations for adopting a child. Your own experiences with your family growing up. Your marriage (if you’re married). Your thoughts about discipline. The social worker also must make sure your home is safe for a child. You’ll have a chance to fix any problems the social worker finds, so don’t stress out. Nevertheless, you should prepare by doing the following:  Fix any obvious hazards, such as exposed wires, holes in the floor, or rickety stairways. Secure any firearms and ammunition in separate containers. Place chemicals (such as bleach and detergent) in cabinets outside the reach of children. Make sure you have sufficient heat, hot water, and running water.
A: Schedule the home study. Collect required documents. Have a background check completed. Meet with the social worker. Prepare for the home inspection.

Q: Different types of snoring are caused by different things, and you will need to understand the root cause in order to find a solution. To start: ask your partner or your roommate whether you snore with your mouth open or with your mouth closed.  If you snore with your mouth wide open, your throat passage may be partially blocked. When you sleep, the muscles in your throat relax--and sometimes they relax so much that air cannot flow. You gasp for air, and this causes you to snore. A blocked throat passage can be a symptom of various health issues, from sleep apnea to a sinus infection.  Closed-mouth snoring indicates that your tongue may be getting in the way of your windpipe, particularly if you are sleeping on your back. If you sleep on your back, buy yourself a few extra pillows and prop yourself up in bed, rather than lying flat on your back. This will help keep your throat unblocked.  Consider raising the head of your bed. Some mattresses and bed frames are adjustable, allowing you to raise the headrest at the click of a button. If you own an adjustable bed, use it! If you do not own an adjustable bed, you may consider raising the headboard yourself. Place a 2x4 plank or a brick underneath each of the two legs at the head of the bed. Make sure that the incline is not too steep that you slide out of bed, and make sure that the bed is stable before you try to sleep in it. When you sleep on your back, your tongue may rest against your throat, blocking your windpipe  and causing you to snore. Experiment with side- and stomach-sleeping positions, and find what works for you. If you are comfortable, you will be less likely to roll back onto your back in your sleep. When you try to roll onto your back in your sleep, the tennis ball will wake you. Gradually, you may be able to train yourself not to sleep on your back. Alcohol is a muscle relaxant, and it can relax the muscles that keep your windpipe open, thus blocking your air intake. Your body overcompensates for the blockage by taking in too much air, which causes snoring. Moreover, alcohol leads to less restful, more disturbed sleep. Marijuana, like alcohol, can relax your throat muscles and induce snoring. It also resembles alcohol in that pre-sleep use can prevent sleepers from dipping into restorative REM sleep, leaving them groggy and restless when the morning comes. If you consume cannabis by smoking it, the smoke may also play a factor in your snoring problem. Regular smoking can irritate the skin in your nose and throat, which dries out your airways and makes a blockage more likely. Sedatives and sleeping pills can cause your throat muscles to relax in the same way as alcohol and cannabis, blocking your windpipe and inducing your body to snore. This, too, can relax your muscles to the point of snoring. Extra weight may add excess tissue to your neck. This tissue may constrict your windpipe, leading to the vibrations that we know as snoring. Losing weight can grant you many additional health benefits beyond the realm of snoring! Regular smoking can irritate the skin in your nose and your throat, which may obstruct your breathing. If you are a heavy smoker with a chronic snoring problem, consider quitting or moderating your habit. Smoking can cause obstructions in your windpipe, swelling of the mucous membrane in the nose, swelling of the tissue in the throat, and blockage of the small vessels in the lungs. . We snore when loose throat tissue relaxes and blocks our airway. A regular singing practice may strengthen the throat muscles and firm the tissue of your throat and mouth, making your throat less likely to close up at night.  This may work particularly well for aging snorers whose throat muscles have weakened with time. If you're not into singing, consider trying a few tongue and throat stretches. Stick your tongue out as far as you can, then relax. Repeat 10 times. Stick your tongue out again, and try to touch your chin. Hold. Repeat, but try to touch your nose instead. Repeat 10 times.
A:
Understand why you snore. Prop your head up. Try to fall sleep on your side or your stomach. Sew a tennis ball to the back of a t-shirt and sleep in that shirt. Avoid drinking alcohol before bed. Avoid consuming cannabis before bed. Avoid using prescription sleep aids. Avoid eating heavy meals before bed. Consider losing weight. Avoid smoking. Sing