More details...

Last night we had Little Man's first CPI visit. Basically she just came over to take his picture and ask if we had any questions. She wasn't able to tell us the whole story of what happened, but she did give us some more details about the situation and how he came into care happened. It totally breaks my heart! I can't share details here for confidentiality reasons, but please be praying for these children...not just Little Man, but ALL children in foster care! Based on what we were told, it looks like Little Man will be here for quite awhile.

Last night was a tough one! He wouldn't sleep unless I was standing up and holding him on my chest! Seriously, I got about 3 hours of sleep. I just keep thinking of things from his perspective and that definitely helps me to remain more patient and calm amidst the screaming-LOL! My husband said "That's a sight I'll never forget. You walking back and forth giving such love to someone else's child trying to calm him down." Awww :) I have toothpicks holding my eyes open today, but the baby is happy and the other kids are having a much better day today as well, so Praise God for it all!!!!!!!!!

Sick

Well two nights ago was grieving and last night although better was still a challenge because he was up not being able to breathe. Poor thing how has a chest cold and his little cough is just pitiful :( Despite being sick, his attitude has been pretty good today. He is getting really good at rolling and he is already trying to get his knees up to do the army crawl! Yikes...we could be in trouble. He is definitely starting to teeth and there is drool galore! His poor chin has a terrible rash from all the wetness. We are trying to keep it dry and put Vit. E on it to heal the skin and it seems to be improving. Please all you established mommies if you have any other suggestions please pass them along :)

Our sleepywear carrier arrived the other day and we are totally in LOVE!! It took me a few times to get it right and tight enough, but once he is in there he is quiet in seconds and usually asleep in minutes! He giggles each time he sees me putting it on :)!!

I tell ya...the absolute hardest thing about foster care is going to be having to return them back to their parents. We as foster parents must love them with all our hearts and not hold back any love because of our fear of loss. These kids deserve no less than all that we have. Should Sweet Baby return to his birthmom, then God must have a plan in it all and we just have to obey and trust that He has a greater plan. Man will we grieve, but Sweet Baby is worth every tear! Many have asked us how long he will be here, and the answer we give is that we have NO idea! Although it is considered an abandonment case, there is birthmother contact, so I'm not really sure how this will proceed. We will just take it a day at a time and enjoy our time with Little M :)

Totally exhausted!

Two nights ago and then yesterday it became glaringly obvious that sweet baby has a major gas/digestion issue and was in a lot of pain and just plain unhappy :( A friend suggested I try soy formula and see if that works. I went out yesterday and got a can and couldn't believe the difference!! He is so much happier and although he still needs to burp several times a feeding, he doesn't scream in agony anymore :)!!! BUT...last night I think he really started to grieve his loss :( Actually it's a good thing (rather than not dealing with it), but he would not let us set him down at all. Usually he falls asleep in my arms, and then I lay him down with no issue. We tried several times to no avail...he started screaming the minute we laid him down. So...I slept with him in my arms most of the night (note: HE slept...hence my title!) and I am praying that tonight he is able to sleep in his crib again. If I get a chance I will try to post something about little ones and grieving later. I have gotten comments in the past (in regards to my other children) from people who do not believe that babies experience stress or grieve...that's simply not true! He is very aware that things are not "right" and he just has to express that differently. Ok..sweet baby is crying again..off I go!

Still looking good!

Things with Little M are still going well! He went down at 7:30 last night :) He woke up at 11:30 b/c of gas, and then 4:30 again because he soaked through his diaper, his gums were bothering him (the joys of teething!) and a bottle. He went back to sleep after that and slept until 8:00! I can do this schedule!!! It is horribly embarrassing, but my arms are killing me! This chunky monkey weighs in at 18lbs and my weakling arms aren't used to carrying an 18 lb weight around all day-LOL! The carrier will certainly help with that :) I think he may be starting with a bit of a cold, so I need to check into his Medicaid status today just in case he needs to be seen. I have a few other calls to make today and then our FDS will be over this afternoon to meet Little M :) It's definitely an adjustment having a baby in the house again (pre-thinking everything!) but it really has been a joy! Mr. A and Mr. I (yes! He's coming around) are loving on sweet Little M and giving him kisses galore! Mr. I was even kissing him this morning while he fed him his bottle :) There's something so cute about a 5yo saying in a high pitch voice "who's my cute baby?" over and over that just tickles me-LOL!

So Blessed!

Many of you have probably noticed my wishlist of sorts in the right hand column. Well....I have been wanting a Moby carrier ever since I heard of them, BUT today I got a comment (see below) from a woman who sells the sleepy wrap (http://www.sleepywrap.com/) The only difference is the material they are made of. She chose to bless us with a free one!!!! God is so good and using Little M to touch the hearts of many already :) I encourage you to check our her website and look into getting one for your little ones!! Thanks again Ashley!!

First morning together...

Well Little M is a GREAT sleeper!!! He went to sleep at 8:30 last night and slept until 7:30 this morning without waking up at all!!!! :) He got up and Mr. I helped me feed him a bottle :) Mr. A is totally in love with Little M!! He was sad when he went down for a nap. He played with him all morning. At about 9:30 Little M went down for a nap and slept for another hour. CPI just picked him up about 1/2 hour ago for his medical check-up. I would not be surprised if he was 20 lbs! I need to start working out just to carry him around-LOL!

The details of why he came to us are pure heartbreaking, but we feel so blessed that God choose us to take care of this little one. He is just so sweet and is a blessing to our family!

We took a break from homeschooling this morning to get adjusted and get a feel for Little M.'s routine and what our new "normal" will look like :)

He's here!

We got a call this evening that a little 5 mo old baby boy was abandoned and needed a home! We of course said yes! He is here :) He arrived sleeping and Mr. A and Mr. I were disappointed. He woke up about 1/2 hour later screaming his little lungs out! LOL! He is a heavy little guy and doesn't look like he's missed many feedings at all. He LOVES the Christmas tree and the looking at the lights got him to stop crying and I even got some smiles and laughs :) He is simply sweet! He had a bottle about 8:30 and fell asleep after some bouncing in my arms in about 5 min. Not bad! Poor thing has had a very long and hard day...praying we all get some sleep tonight! My other two are both not feeling well so I joked with Mr. M that God was preparing me this week for a baby! :)