Hellobee

Hi everyone! I’ve been quiet the last couple of weeks, mostly because I was running out of things to write about pre-placement. The training was done, licensing finalized and we were in the waiting period. Well, we didn’t have to wait long! We took in our first “placement,” i.e. baby last Wednesday.

This is how it went down: We were both at home Wednesday due to bad weather, and the agency called at about 1:15 pm. They told us they had a six month old boy with one kidney and they told us his name. That was all the information CPS had given them at that point. We told them we’d call them back in a few minutes. We spent about 30 seconds discussing. Yes, we would take him. So we called back and the whirlwind began! They talked to CPS and called us back within about 15 minutes to ask how soon we could come in to the agency to pick him up. We showered, got ready, installed the car seat, and drove to the agency within an hour.

We walked into the agency and the social worker who had done our home study was holding a happy little boy with big blue eyes and almost no hair. I took him first, and honestly after that I’m not really sure what else was said. We talked a little about his pending doctors’ appointments, and the fact that his breathing sounded wheezy. We were given his doctor’s number and told that he had an appointment at UC Davis in the near future, but they didn’t know when. We needed to make appointments for him to be checked out for his breathing, for an ultrasound of his kidneys, and for his six month immunizations. We were given one jar of formula and told to contact the W.I.C. (Women, Infants and Children welfare program) office for vouchers. This is standard for all foster kids. In about ten minutes we were headed out the door with our first foster baby.

We’ve had a busy 50 hours or so with our new little guy. We went to T’s doctor’s office Thursday morning for an appointment with the nurse practitioner. She listened to his lungs (clear) and swabbed him for strep (negative). She prescribed Albuterol to use as needed for the wheezing, which has already started to get better even without the medication. She also filled out his “PRN” form, which is an authorization form for all of the standard over the counter meds that we might need to use. This includes sunscreen, Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Vicks Vaporub, hydrogen peroxide and about 50 other medications.

We had to pick up a few things at Wal-Mart, where Missus Turtle and T had to wait in the car. We were cautioned at the beginning of this process not to take foster kids into Wal-Mart in the first few days. In our rural area, Wal-Mart is unfortunately the only shop in town for most gear and basic baby items. Biological parents know this, and know that foster parents generally will want to pick up a few things shortly after bringing home their foster kids. So they often will hang out in the store, hoping to “accidentally” run into their kids. We took that advice seriously and kept T in the car.

“T” is a beautiful, happy six month old boy. He came into foster care because of neglect. Beyond that, we really don’t know anything yet. What we do know is that he is slightly small for his age, but in the normal range. He’s 6 months and a few days old, weighs 17 lbs and is 25.5 inches long. He has a kidney problem and a slight cold at the moment, but otherwise seems healthy. He sleeps pretty well, all things considered. He LOVES people, and is happy to interact with everyone.

He is quickly getting to know Missus Turtle and I though. My parents can already see the difference in his attachment to us. He loves the dogs and isn’t at all afraid of their licks or barks, making me think he’s had dogs in his life. I introduced him to the goats this afternoon. The goats loved him and he cracked up. Obviously, goats are hilarious. He was pretty serious when he came, just taking it all in. He’s showing more and more emotion as we get to know him better. Today has been filled with smiles, belly laughs and yes, a few more cries than yesterday.

T loves his quilt from the Project Linus

We’ve had some visits with my parents and grandparents. T is a social baby and loved all the attention. He seems comfortable with anyone and used to some amount of chaos. I wonder if our house is a bit quiet compared to what he’s used to. He almost seems restless without a great deal of activity surrounding him. T is a champion about all the car rides. He falls asleep the minute we hit the road and often stays asleep in the bucket seat until we have to take him out (like for the doctor to look at him). Luckily he wakes up happy every time.

This morning we had an ultrasound of T’s kidneys. I have intentionally refrained from doing any online research about his kidney condition. All I have is a diagnosis, no idea of how serious it is, what his prognosis is, or anything else. He does have two kidneys, but basically only one is functional. I am planning to ask a lot of questions at our UC Davis appointment next week. Until then my plan is to stay away from Dr. Google. He’s healthy right now, eating, peeing and pooping like a normal baby, so we will take things as they come.

I can’t wait to write more as I get to know T better. His first hearing is on Monday. I’m still undecided about whether I will attend or not. We would like to go so that we know what is going on, but in this small community our anonymity would really be at risk, so we may skip it. I have a good feeling about our agency and our social workers, so I’m hoping they will fill us in with all of the details if we end up not going.

Right now I really have no idea how long we will have him. We are prepared to work toward reunification, as that is the goal with every case, at least initially. Of course, in the backs of our minds, we are thinking about what other possibilities the future could hold for us and what that would mean for our little family.

I will write more soon. Keep us in your thoughts as we navigate these first days and weeks of foster parenthood!