(”Waiting for Baby” is a closer look at adoption and my family’s personal experience as we go through the process. It will appear every Wednesday in the aPARENTly Speaking blog.)

“I just know someone will pick you because…” Family and friends all have voiced reasons why they think my husband, step-daughter and I will be chosen by a birthmom (and maybe the birthdad, too) to raise her child. The reasons? Because we have an instant big sister in Dana. Because we put a high value on our children having a college education. Because we have a nice suburban house with a backyard and a swingset. Because we have two dogs. And my personal favorite, because we have a sense of humor.

Now, an ongoing national study of birthparents and adoptive families is shedding some light on the subject. The Early Growth and Development Study is tracking 360 adoptive families, 359 birthmothers and 114 birthfathers and monitoring the development of the adopted children through age 7. The study hopes to answer key questions about nature vs. nuture. And so far, it’s answering some big questions about why these birthparents selected a particular adoptive families. Interestingly, the adoptive families’ physical appearance, religious affiliation and type of home ranked well below the families’ ability to provide educational opportunities for the child and the close marital relationship of the couple. A full breakdown of the results is available in the July/August edition of Adoptive Families magazine. As for the swingset, it ranked in the basement in terms of importance. Guess we’ll have to rely on our sense of humor.