We are now almost two weeks into our placement of the most beautiful 2 year old. He is so tiny and so sweet and so naughty and so hyper and so loving and so traumatized and so special and so mine.
I learned this week that this is going to be long term and not to expect him to go home anytime soon. I am okay with that and excited about planning our life with him in it, for now. We went on our first road trip on Monday and he did wonderful. He will be going out of town with us for Father's day weekend too and hopefully that will go just as well.
I am looking to change his daycare as soon as possible due to his current daycare being reeeeeeeeally far away and not the best fit for him. I have had a few issues with them in the last week and a half and it didn't take long to realize that he is not in the right place. This daycare was perfect for his older brother due to their training with special needs children but with baby boy, I feel like he is picking up behaviors from other children and he is the youngest child there, which is not a good thing. Today he came home all scratched up after another child and that is not okay with me.
Last week I got custody of my goddaughter who is 8 months old. We are now a family of five with four children and one mamma in the house. It is really weird to go from having two kids, with the youngest being 9.5 years old, to having two little ones that need to be carried, need a double stroller, and require mamma's attention and loving a whole lot more than the older two boys. I am loving every moment of this with and will admit that I have never been as exhausted as I am at this very moment. I count down the hours till I get to go to sleep. I have struggled with insomnia for years and have had to take melatonin to fall asleep. This past month I have fallen asleep more than once without the melatonin.
If you are just starting out as a foster parent, I have a few things that I want to suggest to you.
-Have as much money put to the side as possible before your first placement. I have had to buy a car seat, double stroller, a whole new wardrobe, shoes, diapers, wipes, (I had a crib for each child, thank goodness), baby gates galore (I have bought 4 of them), and so much more. I would say that I have spent about $1,000.00 in the last month on these placements and I didn't have to buy much for my goddaughter.
-Be prepared for lack of sleep and try to have someone who can help with your placements if you are single. I had my cousin and then my mamma here and I don't know how I would have done this without them. I had a few days where I didn't know how I would shower and if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have showered!
-Try to have some meals ready in your freezer to pop in the oven. I wish I would have done this prior to getting licensed. If you don't cook, have some money put to the side to order food (it's hard enough to get baths, etc. without having to figure out dinner for the first few days).
I can't think of anything else off of the top of my head because it is so late and my brain is tapping out for the day.
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