Almost home...

There seems to have been some confusion on when Baby Love is actually returning home. Back in October at court, it was stated that since Bio mom had nothing directly to do with the medical neglect, there was no reason Baby Love shouldn't go home to her.  They set a date for later this month for a home on trial. We have been starting the reunification process already with extended, unsupervised and now over nights visits.  Baby Love tolerates them well and seems adjusted.  Bio mom is looking forward to her baby being returned.  I am at peace with the judges decision.  My only concern regarding mom was addressed last month when she was drug tested by the county worker.  Everything came up clean.  I believe that foster care has worked in this case and I feel privileged to be a little part of something so big.  The agency worker has repeatedly asked if I was going to be all right after Baby Love leaves.  I will.  She is such a sweet girl.  We will most definitely miss her but I know she will be well taken care of and treasured.  That's what foster care is all about.  

Celebrate!!

Celebrating Baby Love's very first Thanksgiving.  Enjoy time with your loved ones and take a moment to reflect on all you have to be THANKful for!  

Reunification...

Baby Love is doing excellent.  Completely recovered from VSD*repair back in September. She's slowly gaining weight and is up to 10 pounds 3 ounces (last weighed).  She is still very tiny for 10 months old. Visits with bio mom are going well.  Last week at court it was decided that Baby Love will be transitioning home these next few weeks.  While we will miss her, I know that she will be safe with her mommy.  Grandma admitted to medical*neglect by still has a great relationship with Love and her mom.  Preventive*services will be in place for at least a year after she is home with her bio mom. Therapies will continue and they cannot 'fire' someone or change therapists without the consent of the judge.  In this situation, foster care has done exactly what is was set up for.  

Still here...

Baby Love is doing great.  My concern about her lack of desire to eat, last week prompted me to call her pediatrician.  He put her back on the feeding tube.  He also asked me to bring her in sometime this week for a weight check.  Well, that appointment was yesterday and she has GAINED 8 ounces!!!  Woohoo!  

Plan of service review...

Baby Love is doing well.  She regressed a bit and had to put her back on the continuous feed at night because she wasn't waking up to eat and could not be stimulated to suck on her bottle.  Overall, her recovery was a text book case.  I attended a meeting regarding the future of Baby Love's case plan.  Bio g-ma and g-pa were there along with the baby's lawyer, 2 agency workers and a county worker.  When bio g-pa stepped up to ask what the meeting was for the county worker explained that this meeting details the goals of the next 6 months of Baby Love in care he piped up real fast "well, bio mom is released next month and the day after that is court and Baby Love will be home".  The county worker had the deer-in-head-lights look in her eyes.  She slowly explained that they didn't know what the judge was going to do in this case and that we make these plans so we are all on the same page regarding Baby Love's care.  He truly thinks that she is going to be returned to her bio mom the after she is released from jail.  I think it's kind of funny that they think that they can use foster care as a baby sitting service. 

VSD repair and update

So Baby Love had her surgery on September 5th.  The surgery was 6 hours long and it was the longest wait ever!  Even though there were updates from the cardio thoracic surgeon's nurse every couple of hours, we didn't get to see her from 8am until almost 5pm.  It was so hard to wait. The surgery was a success and she is recovering well. She was discharged only 4 days after her surgery.  I brought her home with steri strips over her incision and a packed chest tube incision.  Her tiny feet were bruised and her groin had many holes from the IV's and sensors.  She was very happy to see us all and was all smiles...until we got home...the morphine was still in her system.  About 4 hours after we got home she was miserable!!! I went back and forth giving her Tylenol and Motrin every 3 hours to help alleviate her pain.  It seemed to help some.  The nurse sent her home with strict orders of 3 ounces of formula every 3 hours.  She did so well in  the hospital and they want her off the feeding tube.  First, her belly was only used to taking 2 ounces every 3 hours and second, she is not hungry enough to take the full 3 ounces.  It has definitely been a challenge getting her to eat and I have cheated and put her on the tube or given her a gravity feed with a 60 ml syringe.  The Dr's keep telling me to make sure her pain is under control before I try to feed her.  She has already had her follow-up appointments with the surgeon and the cardiologist and her repair looks great. 
She already has more energy and is moving so much more.  I am looking into trying solids with her in the near future.  I was a bit surprised when my case worker handed me a gift certificate to the Chees3 Cak3 Fact0ry.  The note inside the card was touching.   Bio mom will be released next month and I'm sure things will be changing. As we wait to see what the future holds for this sweet girl, we are loving on her and watching her grow.  Hoping things are a bit more boring for a while. 

Countdown... 9/3/13

Waiting to see if Baby Love's surgery will be sooner than later.  Her infection is cleared up and she is looking great!  Visits have been consistent with g-ma and she is doing well with physical therapy.  My older kids go back to school this week and I'm sure that Sprout will be lost without his buddies.  It's been a quiet last week before the chaos of sports, dance, cheer and riding start up again.  The kids are getting anxious to see their friends again and I am just about ready to get back into the day to day routine.  The preschool that my older kids attended contacted me about sending Sprout.  They are excited to get to know him.  Not sure if I'm ready to send him.  He is only 2.  He is such a smart boy and I know he'd do great but I don't think I can send him off 2 days a week.  Clearly, I have issues.  I just think there's plenty of time for that.