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We have had our little foster baby in the house for a little over 2 weeks now, and she is such a delight! I haven't shared much about her, though I'd like to (I feel like I need therapy just thinking about all she has gone through in her little life!), to preserve her privacy and dignity there is alot I can't talk about.
But she is doing great! She came to us at 4 lb 12 oz, and she is a whopping 8 lb 5 oz now at almost 4 weeks. She is such a good baby too. I have memories of walking my kids up and down the living room floor at night trying to get them to fall asleep and stay asleep. Not so with this little one! She came to us already knowing how to fall asleep on her own. She has a very distinct pattern to her days: eat, stay awake for a while, get groggy, go to sleep, and start over again. Except at night when she skips the staying awake bit! Truly I did not know babies like her existed, she is SO good!
Even still, she does keep me getting up every 3 to 4 hours at night and likes to spray me with her projectile vomit at least daily (she has acid reflux and is on Zantac), so I am tired! I got a cold just right after we got her, and haven't been able to get rid of it. I'm not sure how I will with such sporadic sleep going on!
I don't know if I mentioned before, but in the state of Oklahoma, a kinship or family placement takes priority over a straight foster care placement, which is what we are. There is a relative that would like custody of this little one, and so is going through background checks now. If she is approved, the baby would go to live with her. Things do not look like they will go that way, but we will not know for at least a few months.
Baby had her first visit with her birthmom yesterday. I will say that it was interesting (and not in a good way) to say the least, but the most important thing I got out of it was that a)the birth mom loves her little baby A LOT, and b)although she is upset about the situation, she does not have any bad feelings, it seems, toward us as the foster family. I'm glad for that because I would really like to have a good working relationship with her, and am not the kind of person who knows how to deal with that kind of conflict. The baby was wide awake for the visit and well fed beforehand, so she was a little sweetie pie for her mom and they spent some time getting to know one another. I'm not sure if and when the next visit will be.
Yesterday our case worker also gave us a clothing voucher so we can do a little shopping for the little miss! Since she was so new when she came into custody, she came with nothing but the clothes on her back (a 3 to 6 mo. onesie and socks) and a receiving blanket. We have purchased alot of clothing for her already, but with the weather changing (yay!) she will be needing more warm clothing and the voucher will help a lot!
Miss O and Little Bean are enamored with her, but in different ways. Miss O is like my little helper, she even *tries* to change diapers for me! Little Bean loves how soft her skin is and how she makes "animal" noises and squeezes his fingers! We started homeschooling back up again on Tuesday, but I can tell I may need more time. My energy is really at an all time low. Thank goodness she is such an easy little baby, not sure I can handle much more!
When she came to us there were some concerns with her heart (possible situs inversus, or reversal of the heart) and she had some stomache distention, and had an x-ray. All was normal on that, and she is healthy in every way at this point. We are so thankful to have her for whatever amount of time. What an amazing (yet exhausting experience) this has been so far!
But she is doing great! She came to us at 4 lb 12 oz, and she is a whopping 8 lb 5 oz now at almost 4 weeks. She is such a good baby too. I have memories of walking my kids up and down the living room floor at night trying to get them to fall asleep and stay asleep. Not so with this little one! She came to us already knowing how to fall asleep on her own. She has a very distinct pattern to her days: eat, stay awake for a while, get groggy, go to sleep, and start over again. Except at night when she skips the staying awake bit! Truly I did not know babies like her existed, she is SO good!
Even still, she does keep me getting up every 3 to 4 hours at night and likes to spray me with her projectile vomit at least daily (she has acid reflux and is on Zantac), so I am tired! I got a cold just right after we got her, and haven't been able to get rid of it. I'm not sure how I will with such sporadic sleep going on!
I don't know if I mentioned before, but in the state of Oklahoma, a kinship or family placement takes priority over a straight foster care placement, which is what we are. There is a relative that would like custody of this little one, and so is going through background checks now. If she is approved, the baby would go to live with her. Things do not look like they will go that way, but we will not know for at least a few months.
Baby had her first visit with her birthmom yesterday. I will say that it was interesting (and not in a good way) to say the least, but the most important thing I got out of it was that a)the birth mom loves her little baby A LOT, and b)although she is upset about the situation, she does not have any bad feelings, it seems, toward us as the foster family. I'm glad for that because I would really like to have a good working relationship with her, and am not the kind of person who knows how to deal with that kind of conflict. The baby was wide awake for the visit and well fed beforehand, so she was a little sweetie pie for her mom and they spent some time getting to know one another. I'm not sure if and when the next visit will be.
Yesterday our case worker also gave us a clothing voucher so we can do a little shopping for the little miss! Since she was so new when she came into custody, she came with nothing but the clothes on her back (a 3 to 6 mo. onesie and socks) and a receiving blanket. We have purchased alot of clothing for her already, but with the weather changing (yay!) she will be needing more warm clothing and the voucher will help a lot!
Miss O and Little Bean are enamored with her, but in different ways. Miss O is like my little helper, she even *tries* to change diapers for me! Little Bean loves how soft her skin is and how she makes "animal" noises and squeezes his fingers! We started homeschooling back up again on Tuesday, but I can tell I may need more time. My energy is really at an all time low. Thank goodness she is such an easy little baby, not sure I can handle much more!
When she came to us there were some concerns with her heart (possible situs inversus, or reversal of the heart) and she had some stomache distention, and had an x-ray. All was normal on that, and she is healthy in every way at this point. We are so thankful to have her for whatever amount of time. What an amazing (yet exhausting experience) this has been so far!
4 comments:
Thats wonderful!! Praying for things to go smoothly!!
I glad to hear things are going so well. Babies are a blessing however they come! My Christopher was a wee little one too, I'm glad to hear that she is growing so well.
She sounds so sweet! We are foster parents also, and adopted our first placement (he came to us at 2 1/2 years old). It is a wonderful (and emotional) journey. Good luck!
What a wonderful blessing to your family. She sounds like such a content little girl.
Baby reflux can be difficult, my son had it also.
Following you from the crew.
Martha
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