Dream Baby

To say that Baby O was a dream baby is almost an understatement.  He was chubby and happy and loved to be cuddled.  He babbled and cooed the entire time he was being fed and splashed happily in the baby tub when he was being bathed.  He had a constant smile on his face and we were all in love.

Even though we had the Halloween nursery all set up, we set up a Pack n Play in our bedroom so he could be closer to us for nighttime feedings (he was, after all, only three months old, and he had gone through quite the adjustment in a very short period of time.  Who knows what had happened to him during those three months between when he was born and when CPS stepped in.

There was little to no information about him in the binder, but I did find out that he had not one but two other older siblings in foster care.  I was surprised.  If two kids were in foster care, why was he allowed to go home with mom?  (It was the first of many, many times I questioned the family court and CPS's decisions).

Baby O's case planner's name and number were in the book and since I knew from foster class that the worker had 24 hours to come and meet with us, inspect the house (again), and inventory his clothes, I gave her a call the next morning.  I got her voice mail and left a message.  Just to be on the safe side, I called the main number and they told me she was on vacation until the next day but that I should bring him to The Agency so the nurses could check him out.  I was on winter break, so Darryl and I brought him immediately.

The nurse took his photo, weighed him, and gave me a bit of a background on his family situation (whether this was allowed or not, I'm not sure).  She confirmed that he was indeed 16 lbs and told us who his pediatrician was so we could make appointments so he could be up to date on his shots.  We thought by his complexion and features that he was Hispanic, but the nurse told us that mom was African American and that dad was not known. I didn't care what race he was:  we were IN LOVE.


I texted my friends who had the sibling set because I remembered that one of their moms had been fostering with The Agency for ten years. I got her number and called her so she could tell me what to do regarding WIC, receipts, visits, and other info that you never think about asking.  She was a wealth of information and I was so very happy to have her as a resource, especially since the case planner wasn't available.

Darryl and I spent New Year's Eve at home with Baby O and Tiernen went out with friends.  I couldn't have been happier.  I didn't know how long this chubby bundle of love would be with us, but I knew I was loving it.  Because both of his siblings were in care, I had the sneaking suspicion that it would be for a while.  Is it terrible that I was happy about that?