162 Hours Later

It has been 162 hours since I picked up my first placement.


It was love at first sight.


As I sit here, I am trying to think back 168 hours ago ... what was I doing? What was I thinking? I hadn't even gotten the call yet. I was making plans. I was planning that night and the errands I was going to run, and the things that I was going to do. When with 1 phone call ... my life changed forever.


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This beautiful baby has given me the title of mom. I have no idea how long she will be in my care. Possibly today she'll be moved. Not likely, I am told. But in foster care ... anything can happen at anytime.


Cases can be set for reunification for 15 months, then all of a sudden parents rights are terminated. The goal might be for parent's rights to be terminated, when there is a court hearing and the kids are ordered home that night.


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Being a Foster Parent is risky. My heart is on the line. When I agreed to take a placement, it was pretty much setting my heart up to be broken.


Within 20 minutes I was smitten with a little angel that captivated my heart.


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The first evening was wonderful. She was so happy! She laughed, and slept and I tried to offer her a bottle, but she really wasn't all that interested.


We got home really late, but I knew that was going to happen. I knew we were in for a long night. I tried to put her down at 10:30 after her bath, but she was not for that at all. We tried to rock in the chair, but she was so fascinated by my puppy that sleep was not happening. Knowing that I had the following day off, but had appointments scheduled, I was ok that it was now going on 11:15.


Finally I pulled out the Ergobaby, placed her in it, and within 10 minutes she was out. I laid her in bed, and she was up 4 times between midnight and 6am. It was a long night.


We ran our errands and made it on time to our appointments on Friday. Only 24 hours had passed, and I was trying to get baby on schedule as she had never been on one before.

The weekend was really good. I went to church with my mom and 2 little sisters on Saturday. My cousin brought me dinner and visited. Then I went to my friends church on Sunday and did introductions. We hung out with some really awesome momma's and their little men that afternoon. On Monday, the holiday, I went to my moms and literally spent sun up to sundown there. I wanted my baby to know she could trust being there because she would be up there everyday this week until I put her in daycare.


I did find a daycare and she will go there 3 days a week starting next week.


The driving back and forth and trying to make everything happen at once has been the most draining.


After that first night, baby slept the entire night without getting up once. Then every night since she has only gotten up once during the night ... though last night she was up at 3am only needing her back rubbed and she went right back to sleep ... sleeping the majority of 9p to 8a.


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What a roller coaster of a first week it has been. There is nothing that I would change about it. Transitions suck, but baby is settling in and getting comfortable. She is starting to recognize the routine, too. She hates being put down, or when I walk out of the room. But she is a doll and she will be mine as long as I am called to have her. :)