[shycar]

Well I got a call today. I get to pick up either tonight or tomorrrow a one day old baby girl. Im soooo excited. Our little guy will be leaving soon and I told them to put us on the list since it usually takes a while for a baby girl, but one week and here I am pulling out a bassinet and car seat. Wow Im sooo excited. She was born yesterday at 4 pounds and with crack exposed. The mother dissapeared at 5 am today and no one knows where she is. This is my first newborn and im sooo nervouse and excited. My youngest placement was at 2 months. Wow its sooo exciting

Well wish me luck.

[TexasJingles]

Congrats! How wonderful for you!

[saj]

Wishing you well with your new baby. Have you cared for an addicted infant yet?

Saj

[shycar]

well bad news. They finally found the mother and I guess she already had made arragement with the grandmother to have the baby. It was arraged before the baby was born. The grandma has the other children from her also. So I wont be getting her. This is the second time this week. We got a call on Sat for a 1 month old baby girl which never happened either. So im back on the list. We really want a girl and they are harder to find.

[saj]

for you, but happy that baby has a family to care for her. Hang in there as your little girl will find you.

Sincerely,
Saj

[mrsfrosty]

I am sorry to have read what happened to you. My husband and I have just begun the process we just filled out our paperwork and I have so many questions. Mostly about when and in what order do the next steps happen...Maybe some of you won't mind answering what the time line for you were
How long have you been waiting?
How many children have you had placed with you?
How long did it take after you finished your paperwork before they did your homestudy and then called you for a placement?
Thanks

[shycar]

mrsfrosty thank your for your kind words. We have been foster parents for a little over three years. We went through an agency. At the time the agency was barely starting in our city-- they were larger in another city. So for us it didnt take long, since they only had 10 homes at the time and only us were in the process of becoming foster parets. We started in April and got our first placement in July. Our first placement was respit for a family. When the little girl went back to her foster parent we got a call in two weeks for a sibling group. Since then we have had over 10 children in our homes. We decided to only do Foster Care at first. Then last year we asked for a legal risk child and within a week we got our little guy. But it wasnt our agency that called, we had a sibling group with us and the cw liked us and when she got him she thought he would be perfect fit, so she called us first and when we said yes she called our agency and made the arangement through them. He has been with us over a year and we hope to finalize everything by the end of this year. In the meantime we also take one foster child, but now we want to have a perm. girl in our home. Thats what we are working on. Every time the phone rings my heart beat fast hoping its our agency. I think the process depends on state and county. If your going through an agency or not. Our agency is now the second largest in our state so now for the new foster parents it tends to take longer, couse now they are more busy. i hope i got to answer your questions.

Good luck

[lambeausam]

I know the last two opportunities have been disappointing. On the positive side, at least they are thinking of your family when trying to find a home!


Sam

[Mom24Angels]

I will be praying for your girl. We have four children adopted through foster care. What a blessing they are. It was hard to go through the waiting part though. We have:

J - 9 y/o son
T - 7 y/o daughter
S - 4 y/o daughter
J - 3 y/o daughter
They were well worth the wait.!!

[mrsfrosty]

We got a letter assigning a CI and the fire marshall and DHEC inspection are the end of the month. Things seem to be moving along fast.

How are you doing? Have you heard anything else

[shycar]

Thank you all for the kind words.

lambeausam I know you are right. I should (no I am) happy that she went with family. Its just when I got the call I started pulling stuff out and got sooo excited. When my 2yr fs saw the bassinet he asked if we are getting a baby and I said yes a baby girl. He got soo excited. I still have the bassinet out just incase and he looks in every day and says no baby girl yet momma.

Mom24angels-Thanks for the prayers. I appreciate it very much.

mrsfrosty- Im glad thing are moving quickly and good luck. Nope no baby girl yet.

Today was my 1yr old fs hearing. The cw has not called, but no problem I can be very persistant, Ill keep calling till I hear from her. I have a feeling they will be moving my little guy real soon though. I hope that Ill get a week or two more, that way the whole family can say good bye and I can prepare my 2yr old. Ill keep you all in touch.

Thanks again

[mrsfrosty]

Shycar: I think that you are a very brave person. If you don't mind me asking what is the story on the little boy that will be leaving soon? Was he strictly a foster care placement? The little guy that was placed with you from the other county that was a high risk placement is he the one that will be finalized soon? And how old was he when you got him? I know that I am asking alot of questions but you seem nice enough to answer them.

Thanks
Dee Dee Frost

[shycar]

mrsfrosty-I dont mind at all. My little guy, who just turned one this weekend, was placed for foster only. Usually babies only stay a couple of months, but this guy has been with us for almost 11 months now. He was born drug exposed. His mom stated that it was her first time using drugs while preg. sooo they gave her the benefit of the doubt and placed the child back with her with the condition that she lived with her parents. She did well for 1 1/2 month and sw told her she can go back living at her house again. In one week sw gets a call from the father of the baby stating he is concerned about the baby that mom is using again. When sw called sure enough she was and thats when he was placed with me. After two months with us they decided to change from reunification to adoption, but then dad showed up and showed inerest and now after 11 months little T will be leaving soon. Prob in a month or so.

With our other guy he is almost 3 (wow how time flies). J came to us at 15 months old as a legal risk. His mom never showed up for a whole year until the month before termination. She came stating she wanted her son back and of course they started visitation. He didnt reconize her. But becouse mom has been gone and she still had to stay in rehab for 6 more months they term her rights. She decided not to appeal. Dad was in prison since J was 6 month old. He will be there for 5 more years before considering probation. His rights were terminated, but he appealed. That what we are waiting for the appeal. I know he wont get him back, but the wait is hard. Cw is hoping to have it settled by the end of this year so we can start the adoption process which can take another 6 months.

Now we are also waiting for another legal risk. I want J to have sibling. He loves T soo much. He wont let strangers touch him. He is soo protective of him and I dont want him to go through another child leaving so we decided to adopt another. Another child that will stay forever with him. We also got him a puppy .

Thanks again
Shy

[mrsfrosty]

Shycar: Thanks I understand about the bond that one child feels with another. I have a birthson Mason who is 9. My DH and I can not have any children of our own and DH does not have any children period. Mason so wants a brother or a sister. I think that it is important to have someone in your life that you have the opportunity to know from almost birth to death. my sister is my best girl friend. We are wanting to foster/adopt. I do worry about the disapointment that I will feel if a child is placed with us and then taken away. Everyone says that you have to feel reassured that you were there for the child when they needed you most and you gave it the best possible home with love and support while you could. I still think that it would be hard. If it does not work out and the father does not get your little guy will you keep him. Is it a sure thing or is he having to go through a process to gain custody?

[shycar]

mrsfrosty-I feel for you. My dh and I can not have children either. We decided to foster before adopting, my dh wanted to make sure he could love a child not born from us and i wanted to foster couse i wanted a child in my house asap. We love fostering. We have been doing it for 3 years. But its time now to start our own family. We have J and would like a sibling. Since foster/adopt can take sooo long we decided to start another legal risk. It is hard to let go. But what has helped me is to get to know the b-parents. You get to know them and see them as human who make mistakes not monsters. T will be leaving for sure, unless something happens to the father (like he starts drugs or left state) which will most likelly not happen. He has only been in trouble with the law once and never have used drugs. I also keep in mind that I know there is another child out there for me we just havent found eachother yet. Good luck with you and I hope you get a child for keeps. My first legal risk is still with us and we are adopting him hopefully soon. When I mean soon I mean end of this year or beggining of next. Always keep in mind there is a baby out ther for you soo keep trying and just give love and support to the ones that will not stay.

Good luck
shy