[Tunay4754]

Hello all. This is my firt visit to the foster board because we never expected to be fostering. We thought we couldn't handle fostering and then lose a child back to a family when we don't have any children yet at all, but God had other plans for us.

A family that we have known for 7 years has had their 4 kids removed from their care and the parents asked us to foster their baby boy, 5 months old. They named us the godparents so we would be considered family and could foster him.

We have been waiting to adopt a domestic infant for 2 years and have had some situations fall through and have turned to a Guatemalan adoption because of it and then this foster situation just fell into our laps. We have mixed emotions about it because we hope to never lose this baby boy that we've only had now for a week. His mother had called us in July asking us to adopt him and then never followed through. She has done this about 3 times and then tells us later that she could never do it. So this is why there are mixed feelings knowing that we may never be able to adopt him but wanting children so badly and being attached to him already. We hope for TPR but don't know if it will happen.

If anyone has experience with IL, Cook Co. foster situations, please e-mail me.

Thanks,
H

[kelceesmom]

I don't know anything about foster to adopt but maybe you can look at it this way for now. You are giving this little baby a safe place while the mom gets things in order. They are helpless and need people like you to help them through difficult times, keep them warm, fed and given lots of love. If it turns out that the mom goes through with an adoption plan then that is just a huge bonus. But in the end you know you did a wonderful thing for someone who is unable to take care of themselves. That baby boy. Good luck.